“I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they won” - Alan Shearer makes bold prediction about Arsenal vs Manchester United in FA Cup

Premier League legend Alan Shearer believes Manchester United can get past Arsenal in their FA Cup encounter. The two sides will face off in the third round of the competition at the Emirates on Sunday, January 12.

The Gunners have had an inconsistent 2024-25 season and sit third in the Premier League standings. They are winless in their last two games, though, having drawn 1-1 against Brighton & Hove Albion in the league on January 4. They then lost 2-0 against Newcastle United at home in the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-final on Tuesday.

Manchester United, meanwhile, ended a run of four defeats by playing out a 2-2 draw against Liverpool at Anfield in the Premier League on January 5. They put in a good performance and arguably unfortunate to not take all three points. Alan Shearer believes that if United can put in a similar performance on Sunday, they can beat the Gunners. He said (via Mirror):

"If Man Utd turn up with the same attitude and performance, I can see them going through to the next round. I just think that Arsenal are struggling in front of goal, and haven't scored as many goals as they want. They missed one or two against Newcastle and I can see Man United going in there, and if they put in another good performance then I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they won."

The north London side beat Manchester United 2-0 at the Emirates in their Premier League clash earlier this season.

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Alan Shearer asserts important of FA Cup clash against Manchester United for Arsenal

The Gunners last won a major trophy back in 2020 as they won the FA Cup. It was Mikel Arteta's first season in charge of the club, having taken over from Unai Emery mid-season. However, they have only won two FA Community Shields since then.

Alan Shearer said that he's interested in knowing the team Arteta puts out against Manchester United. He asserted that it is a big game for Arsenal due to their fate in the other competition, saying (via Mirror):

"Arsenal have to try and bounce back - I don’t know what kind of team they’ll put out. I think that it’ll be interesting to see them with so much riding on this game now.

"They’re up against it in the Carabao Cup now, as well as the league and are going okay in the Champions League. So, they need to go and win something this season and maybe the FA Cup is going to be their best opportunity."

The Gunners have notably won the FA Cup the most number of times with 14 while Manchester United have won 13.