Sports news - Arsenal, Mu’s salvation

POLL: FA Cup results and Semi-Final matches

The FA Cup has been an underdogs' tournament this season, but its first genuine heavyweight clash arrives on Monday when holders Arsenal visit old rivals Manchester United in the quarter-finals.
Recent events have left the FA Cup as the last realistic opportunity for both sides to apply a silver sheen to seasons that are rolling towards uncertain conclusions.
Arsenal have won four matches in a row in the league, but recent history has given them reason to fear trips to Old Trafford.
Arsene Wenger's side have not won there since September 2006 -- a run of 10 matches that includes two FA Cup defeats and a scarring 8-2 annihilation in the league in August 2011.
The Arsenal manager refuses to entertain talk of bad omens, however, saying: "I don't believe too much in history. I just believe in the performance on the day. At the moment we are doing very well away from home.
"The size of the pitch is exactly the same everywhere. It is just down to how much we turn up and how much effort we put in to win the game. Both teams will think, 'If we get over this hurdle, we have a good opportunity to win the competition.'
"We are confident from our Premier League run, so we go to Manchester United to qualify and to give absolutely everything."
It has been 11 years since United last lifted the trophy and captain Wayne Rooney is far from alone in Van Gaal's squad in having an FA Cup-shaped hole in his collection of winners' medals.
"We haven't been to a final for a few years. We want to try to win that game and we are looking forward to that," said the England striker.
"Of course, I think it is a massive trophy. It is a trophy that, growing up as a youngster, I used to love watching and I was fortunate enough to see Everton lift the FA Cup in 1995 when I was nine years old.
"It is something which I would love to do and hopefully it can be this year."
Robin van Persie and Juan Mata are the only members of the United squad to have won the FA Cup, but Van Persie's success came with Arsenal in that 2005 final and Mata's was with Chelsea in 2012.
An ankle injury means that Van Persie will miss the reunion with his former club, while centre-back Jonny Evans begins a six-match ban for spitting at Papiss Cisse during United's 1-0 win at Newcastle United on Wednesday.
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