Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has revealed that the team is ready to win the FA Cup trophy again, five years after they defeated Chelsea at Wembley to emerge as champions.
Arteta captained the Gunners to the trophy in his first season as a player in 2014 before winning it again in his first season as a coach in 2020.
The Gunners will take on Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday in the third round of the competition as they begin their quest to win the trophy.
Arteta is confident that the club can win a record-extending 15th FA Cup trophy this season starting with a win against Manchester United.
He said: “It’s a massive part of our history. We’ve won it 14 times and it is a competition very attached to us.
“It’s a beautiful game to play against a massive club, and a very special occasion as well with the amount of supporters that they’re going to bring, so it’s a very big game.”
Arsenal came back from a goal down against Chelsea in the final in 2020 to win 2-1 thanks to brace from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Arteta admitted it was a tough period in his first season but he was delighted to win the trophy.
He said: “I was so happy and proud because it was a really tough period, emotionally as well. To take my first managerial job in the middle of the season, then go home for two-and-a-half months, then start competing again in those circumstances, it was tricky. But I was so happy with the result. I just want to replicate the same but sharing it with other people.
“We have to be noisier, more on the front foot, certainly [more] than them. It’s a special occasion to create that atmosphere, I think it’s a beautiful football atmosphere, so let’s make it our own.”
Arteta has been impressed with Ruben Amorim since the Portuguese manager took over from Erik Ten Hag in November.
He said: “When you look especially at the big teams [they’ve played], how they perform and the results that they’ve got, it’s very impressive.
“I know him well, I followed him a lot when he was in Portugal and there is a big reason why he is where he is at the moment, and he deserves to be there.”
Manchester United are the defending champions of the competition after beating Manchester City 2-1 in May to win the trophy for the 13th time.
The Red Devils ended their four-match winless run against Liverpool with a credible 2-2 draw at Anfield.
Amorim has vowed to play his best team in the encounter as he aims to build on the Liverpool’s performance.
He said: “At this moment, I’m living day by day. “What I’m thinking is that we have had one week without a game, we had a day off [after Liverpool] and we could work the team a little bit.
“So it doesn’t make sense to rest players now, for both of the games here, so we have to put out the best team and we have to follow the last performance. Now we are rotating less, although sometimes I have had to choose fresh legs. Now I feel they are at the same level.
“I didn’t rotate because I wanted to rotate, I was just trying to find the best solutions to win. I had some doubts and the guys who were more fresh were able to cope with the demands of the game.
“We want to win the FA Cup and you never know what can happen in this type of competition. Sometimes it’s better to win this type of game, so my focus now is day by day and we just want to win this tie.”
The Red Devils are currently languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table, seven points above the relegation zone.
