Arsenal vs Manchester United LIVE: FA Cup team news and line-ups ahead of third-round blockbuster

Two changes for Manchester United, including a start for cup keeper Altay Bayindir in goal.

Manchester United XI: Bayindir; De Ligt, Maguire, Martinez; Mazraoui, Ugarte, Mainoo, Dalot; Garnacho, Hojlund, Fernandes.

It’s a relatively strong looking Arsenal side, with Gabriel Jesus on the wing and Kai Havertz through the centre.

Arsenal XI: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Jorginho, Merino; Martinelli, Havertz, Jesus.

Manchester United have received informal contact for homegrown stars like Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo but, so far, nothing has come close to anything the club would find acceptable. That’s just one complication to this transfer window.

Another is what happened when a European club learnt of United’s interest in one of their players. He was told to “forget the Champions League or proper European competition, and you won’t even be competing for the domestic league”. It’s been a consideration for other targets, putting players off Old Trafford. United won’t even have to deal with such hurdles until they can make sales, of course, which isn’t guaranteed.

If Ruben Amorim is frustrated, he might find a sympathetic ear at Arsenal on Sunday. Mikel Arteta was in exactly this situation five years ago.

The FA Cup third round remains one of the most memorable weekends of the football season, but the competition will look a little different this year after a seismic change.

As always, the draw has thrown together some intriguing ties, from a showdown between two of the competition’s most successful sides in Arsenal and Manchester United, to a meeting of Tottenham Hotspur and National League side Tamworth FC.

But while these fairytale ties against top-flight sides can still be the high point of a season for some clubs in the lower tiers, the decision to scrap replays from this season onwards has not been a popular one.

The FA Cup draw for the fourth round will take place after the conclusion of Arsenal vs Manchester United.

That match kicks off at 3pm, so the draw should be getting started shortly after 5pm GMT depending on whether or not extra-time is needed in that tie.

Arsenal will wear their all-white kit, which supports the club’s campaign against knife crime and youth violence, in their FA Cup clash against Manchester United this weekend.

The Gunners take on United at the Emirates Stadium in the third round of the oldest cup competition in the world on Sunday afternoon and will be sporting an all-white kit for a fourth year in a row.

Arsenal’s normal home red-and-white kit will be “drained of red” as part of their ‘No More Red’ campaign that helps fight knife crime and youth violence on the streets of London.

While Ruben Amorim wants to keep Kobbie Mainoo at Old Trafford, he does not believe the 19-year-old England international has hit his ceiling.

“I think Kobbie Mainoo is improving a lot during these last matches,” Amorim said on Friday. “You guys (in the media) feel that Kobbie Mainoo is the finished product but he is not. He has so much potential to grow up even more. He’s really, really good but he can be so much better.”

When asked if he wanted Mainoo to stay, Amorim replied: “Yeah. My players are always my favourites so I really love my players and want to keep my players, especially the talented ones. It is a special moment in this club, it is a hard moment, we will see, but I am really happy with Kobbie, he is improving.

“Our idea is always to keep the best players and the players that we build for this club but we know the position the club is in at the moment and we will see but I am really happy and like our players, especially the guys from the academy.”

Ruben Amorim has declared that he wants to keep Kobbie Mainoo at Manchester United but stopped short of saying he can guarantee the midfielder will stay at Old Trafford.

United head coach Amorim suggested his priority in January is not to buy players but Mainoo is a target for Chelsea and the 19-year-old, who has been in talks with United about a new contract, could help raise funds as the sale of a homegrown player is particularly lucrative under PSR regulations.

Mainoo only began two of United’s first eight games under Amorim but has started three of the last four and impressed in the 2-2 draw with Liverpool on Sunday.

Arsenal are six points adrift of leaders Liverpool in the race for the Premier League having played a game more and are also facing an uphill battle to reach the final of the Carabao Cup following an underwhelming 2-0 defeat at home to Newcastle.

Arsenal supporters headed to the exit long before the full-time whistle of the opening-leg fixture at the Emirates to indicate a disgruntled fanbase, but midfielder Mikel Merino has urged the Gunners to stick together as they look to win a trophy this season.

“Nowadays with social media and everything around football, you obviously hear a little bit of what’s happening with the fans. But as players, what we try to do is just lock down that noise,” Merino said.

“We know how difficult it is to win every single game in this league where every team is really, really strong. It is about finding that balance, finding that middle ground, where you’re not always at the top of the mountain or falling down. When you don’t feel that pressure, that’s where the best performance will come.”

Mikel Merino has admitted to being under the biggest pressure of his career so far to deliver silverware for Arsenal.

The Euro 2024-winning midfielder is set to make his 21st appearance for the Gunners when Mikel Arteta’s side host Manchester United in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday.

Speaking ahead of Arsenal’s clash against United, the 28-year-old said: “This is a club where you have huge pressure every single game and that is something that has changed a little bit from my past.

“Pressure is a privilege. If you have pressure, it means that you are fighting for the huge things.

“That’s what players like me, and players like the ones we have in the team, want to do. Play for big titles. And obviously having that pressure is good news.”