It's the FA Cup final and Arsenal's players will be watching on along with every other city in the country bar Manchester as City and United face-off for a derby to decide who will lift the trophy. However, there are some significant implications for the Gunners based on the result.
Mikel Arteta’s side were knocked out by finalists Manchester City in the fourth round after losing 1-0 to a Nathan Ake strike at the Etihad Stadium. Arsenal lost out to City in the title race too and progression to next week’s Champions League final means Pep Guardiola has the chance to win his second of three potential trophies this season.
Man United have already one a trophy themselves having beaten Newcastle United in the League Cup final earlier this year. football.london takes a look at the three reasons why they would prefer Man City win the competition.
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Community Shield opportunity
Were City to win the FA Cup, it would rule out the chance of a rematch between Man United and themselves in the Community Shield, which pits the winners of the league and the FA Cup against one another the weekend before the new Premier League season starts. In this scenario, the team who comes second in the league takes on this task instead.
Therefore, Arsenal would indeed be the team that face City in the kick-off of the new season. The clash for the shield is due to take place on August 6, giving Arteta a chance of a true test of what will be a new squad ahead of the league season.
Last year saw Liverpool beat Man City with goals from Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and then new boy Darwin Nunez. Meanwhile, Erling Haaland blanked but the season turned out very differently for both forwards in the end.
The Rice test
With the potential of a clash with Man City, Arsenal could therefore use their new players and see how they might fair when up against the league’s best. Declan Rice is understood to be the club’s priority for the summer football.london understands.
If the Gunners were to add Rice and other potential upgrades to their team, having the chance to try them out in a game of such magnitude would provide great insight. That said, it wouldn’t be conclusive, as mentioned, Liverpool’s success meant little in the course of the season, finishing outside the top four and Nunez failing to live up to expectation
Manchester United, no thank you
The rivalry between Arsenal and Manchester United is well documented but hasn’t necessarily been as heated as what it once was. That said, with little-to-no feeling toward City for most supporters of most clubs, when Guardiola's side pick up another trophy the emotions are far more subdued.
Meanwhile, with United having won the League Cup, Arsenal would not want them picking up another piece of silverware. There’s a strong argument the Gunners have still had a better campaign than their old rivals, but adding the FA Cup to their fourth spot and the League Cup would swing it significantly in their favour.
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