Early kick-offs
It took 17 years for Arsenal and Manchester United to first meet in FA Cup competition. The Gunners drew first blood with a 3-2 win at United’s Bank Street ground in Clayton, a Bert Freeman double sealing their place in the 1906 semi-final.
The two teams were not drawn together for another 31 years, during which time United lifted the trophy once, in 1909. Arsenal had come to the fore by the thirties, winning the cup at the start of the decade and again in 1936. They were in imperious form when United visited Highbury for their Fourth Round tie in early 1937, demolishing the visitors 5-0.
Meetings were similarly sporadic in the post-war period. United were drawn as hosts for a Fifth Round fixture in 1951, and again for a Fourth Round game in 1962: they won both by a solitary goal.
The first FA Cup Final meeting
The two teams first met on neutral territory for the 1979 FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium. Neither side had been in the running for other domestic or continental honours: a win would not only add more silverware to the cabinet, but also secure a spot in the Cup Winners’ Cup.
With five minutes remaining, the Gunners looked to be cruising to a 2-0 win thanks to first-half goals from Brian Talbot and Frank Stapleton. However, the game burst into life at the death, first with United centre-half Gordon McQueen turning in Joe Jordan’s low cross, then Sammy McIlroy bundling past two desperate challenges in the box to level proceedings in the 88th minute.
Extra time beckoned and the momentum appeared to be with Dave Sexton’s men, but there was one final twist in the tale. A searching Graham Rix cross to the back post evaded ‘keeper Gary Bailey and was met by Alan Sunderland, getting in behind his marker to steer home a late winner.
The game was later dubbed the ‘five-minute final’, and is often considered to be one of the most dramatic finishes in FA Cup final history.
United gained a measure of revenge in 1983, defeating Arsenal in a Villa Park semi-final en route to lifting the trophy. Five years later, the North London side returned the favour with a Fifth Round victory in a cup run of their own, though they were denied by Luton Town in one of the competition’s classic finals.
The Premier League era
The rivalry between the two clubs truly ignited in the nineties, owing to their increasing competitiveness and the simmering animosity of Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger in the respective dugouts.
The initial 1999 semi-final between Arsenal and United was hardly a classic, remaining goalless after 120 minutes and necessitating a replay. That fixture, taking place three days later, was a cracker. David Beckham’s superb long-range strike was cancelled out by a deflected shot from Dennis Bergkamp just after the hour mark.
Nicolas Anelka thought he’d turned the game around when he collected a Bergkamp rebound and sidefooted in, only for the linesman’s flag to go up. Roy Keane was then dismissed for a second bookable offence, and when Phil Neville brought down Ray Parlour in the box, an Arsenal victory seemed inevitable. However, Peter Schmeichel palmed away Bergkamp’s penalty, and the game headed to extra time.
Ryan Giggs had been introduced as a substitute on the hour, and those fresher legs were put to good use. Picking up a loose ball inside his own half, the Welshman jinked and slalomed his way past four Arsenal defenders before lashing high into the roof of the net, whirling his shirt around his head in celebration.
United held off the Gunners in the Premier League, comfortably defeat Newcastle in the FA Cup Final, then produced another remarkable comeback against Bayern Munich in the Champions League to complete the Treble.
The new millennium
Ferguson bested Wenger again in the 2004 semi, a Paul Scholes goal enough to seal progression to the final, but both teams would feature at Wembley as finalists the following year.
Though Manchester United were the better side, they could not break down the Gunners’ defence in 90 minutes nor in extra time, resulting in the a first ever FA Cup Final shootout. Ironically, it was Scholes – responsible for putting Arsenal out of the competition the previous year – who could not find the back of the net, denied by Jens Lehmann in a 5-4 defeat.
Since that 2005 final, the teams have met four times in the earlier rounds, United winning three of those encounters. The last was during the reign of Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, an impressive 3-1 victory at the Emirates courtesy of goals from Sanchez, Lingard and Martial.
Though they have played one another 16 times and in two finals, this weekend marks the first time Arsenal and Manchester United have met at this early juncture.
Both teams will be desperate to add to their imperious FA Cup records – the Gunners have triumphed 14 times, more than any other side, with United just one win behind – and claim bragging rights against a modern rival.