Arsenal legend David Seaman has admitted he’s ‘a little bit nervous’ ahead of the club’s FA Cup clash against Manchester United.
In the biggest match of the third-round, FA Cup record-winners Arsenal take on holders United at the Emirates on Sunday.
The Gunners are favourites to win given that they sit 17 points ahead of the Red Devils in the Premier League table, but their recent form is concerning.
They dropped crucial points in the title race over the festive period and on Tuesday night lost 2-0 at home to Newcastle United in the first-leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final.
Moreover, Mikel Arteta is dealing with a number of injury and fitness issues, with Bukayo Saka, Ethan Nwaneri, Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu sidelined.
As a result, he may be inclined to rest senior players and experiment with some youngsters against United who put in their best performance under Ruben Amorim as they drew 2-2 at Liverpool in their last game.
Speaking on his Seaman Says podcast, the former England goalkeeper was asked if United’s performance at Anfield had made him more ‘nervous’ for the FA Cup clash.
He replied: ‘A little bit because of how good they showed they can play when they play as a team, but I know it depends on what teams they put out there.
‘I know that Mikel changes the team for these sorts of competitions, so it depends how strong he goes, how strong Man United go. Still a little bit nervous though.
‘I think the experiment might be forced on him [Arteta] because of illness, injuries, what players are you getting back. It might just be the strongest team possible.
‘I would imagine that he’ll change the goalkeeper because Neto hasn’t played because he was cup-tied for the Carabao Cup, so it will be interesting to see him play. It’s almost like “what’s left?” weirdly.
‘Putting youngsters in for big games like this can be tricky. It happened with Jack Porter in the Carabao Cup where we just got away with it.
‘He was a 16-year-old playing in goal for Arsenal. I was watching it at home, and I was so nervous for him. It’s a big stage.’
Nevertheless, Seaman, a four-time FA Cup winner with Arsenal, believes the north Londoners have enough to win and advance to the fourth-round.
He added: ‘I feel quite confident, as much as we don’t really know what sort of team will go out there.
‘I still feel that [with] home advantage they’ll do the job. I’d go 2-1 or 3-1 win.’
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