**Arsenal discovered their opponents for the FA Cup third round on Monday evening and have been dealt a home tie against holders Manchester United.**
The Gunners enter the tournament at this stage due to their status as a Premier League side and will immediately face off against one of their biggest rivals.
Mikel Arteta will be excited by the prospect of overseeing a cup tie against a team that he has enjoyed some great results against during his time as Arsenal boss.
Mikel Arteta will be wanting to make it past this round / HENRY NICHOLLS/GettyImages
The draw was made on Monday evening at Old Trafford, the home of holders Manchester United. Arsenal were one of the first names pulled out the the hat as they were paired with the reigning champions with a home advantage.
The Gunners are set to face United on Wednesday evening in a crunch clash that will have a huge impact on their title hopes.
It will not be an easy tie for Arsenal as their opponents have enjoyed a good start to life under new manager Ruben Amorim. While the Gunners will likely be considered favourites to win the tie, United may cause an upset, just as they did in last season's FA Cup final to beat Manchester City 2-1.
> The draw has been made for the Emirates FA Cup third round 👇
>
> — Arsenal (@Arsenal) [December 2, 2024](https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1863666569303429320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
The two sides have faced off in the FA Cup on plenty of occasions over the years with there being some notorious fixtures throughout the heights of their rivalry. Their latest cup encounter came in the fourth round of the 2018/19 edition of the competition, with United coming away from Emirates Stadium with a 3-1 victory.
Arsenal should be looking to beat United as they must be aiming to win the tournament this season. They failed to make it past the third round of the tournament in their latest attempt, [losing 2-0 at home to Liverpool](https://paininthearsenal.com/posts/arsenal-0-2-liverpool-player-ratings-as-wasteful-gunners-bow-out-of-fa-cup), so will not want to replicate this.
The tie, along with all other third round matchups, will be played across the weekend of 11-12 January 2025.