FA Cup tie between Manchester United and Arsenal not quite the 'Big One' anymore

FA CUP clashes between Arsenal and Manchester United have been 10-a-penny since the Premier League began but there is something different about Monday's encounter.

The clash between Arsenal and Manchester United isn't considered as the GETTY

The clash between Arsenal and Manchester United isn't considered as the "Big One" anymore

Nobody considers it the "Big One" anymore.

Not even Arsene Wenger, who has been Arsenal manager for all seven of those previous FA Cup clashes.

On no fewer than five of those occasions, it was a one-off cup meeting between the top two sides in the country at the time. Always it has been a battle between two of the top three.

Indeed, tonight is the first time in more than 30 years that the teams have met in the competition without at least one of them being in the top flight's top two.

Which is perhaps why Wenger looks back nostalgically to the days when Arsenal v Manchester United was the one the whole world was watching.

"Yes, of course it would be good to get back to the days when we were dominating with United," he said.

"Today you have more competitors and it will get worse with the seasons coming because you get more money in because that means even the smaller teams will be capable to buy the best players in Europe. Maybe the competition will become harder for everybody."

Arsenal-Man United is special - Wenger [AMBIENT]

As a result, winning the FA Cup becomes even harder – and more important. With no title race to occupy either manager, this is arguably the most important cup clash for the respective managers since third-placed Manchester United, already all but mathematically out of the hunt for the title, met 12-placed Arsenal, without a trophy for four years, in the 1983 semi-final.

Once you get to the quarter final you think that's a good opportunity to win a trophy

Arsene Wenger

Ron Atkinson's United won and went on to lift the cup, earning him three more years at the helm, while Terry Neill was sacked by the end of the year.

The future may not be quite so stark for the current hot-seat incumbents but, with full-strength teams expected on both sides, nobody is taking anything for granted.

"Once you get to the quarter final you think that's a good opportunity to win a trophy," said Wenger. "You want to do it."

Louis van Gaal would be delighted to end a difficult first season at Old Trafford with some silverware and after nine trophy-less years ended with Wembley success last season, Wenger too knows the importance of winning the cup.

"It gave us energy because we had a few years without winning a trophy and on that front it was vital," he said.

"The change in the team is linked with that extra belief. I think the mentality is very healthy, they want to do well and we will be focused on the night."

They will need to be, because another glance at the overall head-to-head records shows that in their last 10 visits to Old Trafford, Arsenal have lost nine times and drawn once.

Their paltry return of just five goals swamped by United's 23. Wenger, unsurprisingly, is having none of it.

"As I told you before, I don't believe that," he said. "If I've learnt something in my life it's that the performance on the day decides the outcome of the day, not where you play.

"When the teams is less good, they lose. It doesn't matter what shirt they wear, or what stadium they play in. It is down to quality."

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