It’s the biggest games since … well, last week I guess. Arsenal vs Manchester United. Like Celtic vs Rangers, Real Madrid vs Barcelona, Milan vs Juventus, Kaizer Chiefs vs Orlando Pirates. A game that divides a nation and provokes discussion at every bar between hiccups.
Last week the country’s two top clubs (stop bleating, Chelsea fans, you can’t buy greatness) met in the Premiership at Highbury and drew 1-1 amid much whining about unawarded penalties.
On Saturday it’s Sir Alex Ferguson versus Arsène Wenger yet again, this time in the classic FA Cup semifinal showdown at Villa Park.
The war goes on. On the psychological level we’ve got United claiming that Arsenal superstar Thierry Henry had a nasty exchange with his team-mate Lauren in the tunnel at Highbury last week. Henry denies it.
Then we’ve got Arsenal hinting about resting Henry and suggesting that Freddi Ljungberg is carrying an injury too.
The nation is agog. We hang on every nuance uttered from lips of these two utter opposites. There’s Fergie, blue-nosed ex-docker from Strathclyde effing and blinding his way around the press conference. Then smooth Arsène, so suave, so Franco-German, never ruffled … except when referees like Graham Poll make his life a misery.
Fergie barked after last Sunday: ‘I think we reminded everybody that we are not dead yet. We played with great tenacity and intensity during the match. We showed our desire and we will show it next Saturday too.â€
Wenger oozed: ‘We are flat at not winning, but I must say what the boys have done since the start of the season is remarkable and I am very proud of them.â€
Does the FA Cup matter as much as the league? It does for United. The championship is gone for good. Arsenal, unbeaten for a record 30 games, have the first piece of the treble firmly in the bag.
And of course, United — the only side ever to win the treble (in 1999) —are out of Europe. Which leaves the world’s oldest knock-out trophy, first contested in 1872.
A season without silverware simply is not acceptable at Old Trafford.
And with Roy Carroll in goal, I think it’s a real possibility. He was completely flummoxed by Henry’s magnificent bender on Sunday at Highbury and I’ve got to say I don’t think the Northern Ireland international is a patch on previous United keepers Tim Howard, Fabien Barthez or Peter Schmeichel.
If Henry is fit and plays — and that’s a real if — Arsenal should ease into the final, where they will play the very ordinary winners of the Sunday semifinal between Sunderland and Millwall.
Yup. You’ve got the weary Wearsiders, shock winners against mighty Leeds in 1973 or the dodgy dockers, infamous for their fascist fans.
Their clash at United’s Old Trafford will certainly be fascinating, if not a work of art. Millwall, with the typically feisty Dennis Wise in charge, have pushed their way into the play-off zone at the top of division one and could even find themselves back in the top flight for the first time since the advent of the Premiership in 1992.
Thing is, the winner of this semifinal gets a free pass in to Europe because both United and Arsenal are already booked in for the Champions League by their League position. Can you imagine it?
Wisey says: ‘We’re 90 minutes away from being in Europe and being in the Cup final and we’ve definitely got a chance, but we never thought we’d have an opportunity to get into Europe.
‘I spoke to Theo Paphitis, our chairman, after the Burnley game earlier in the Cup run to ask him what happens if we get into Europe because we haven’t got anything in our contracts about playing on the continent.
‘He joked and said that if we get there he would take all his clothes off and run around London. But I never got it in writing and I’m still waiting.â€
Yup, that’s Millwall for you. Bare-faced cheek.
Sunderland, who finally got rid of Peter Reid and drafted in tough former Ireland manager Mick McCarthy, are also pushing strongly for promotion to the Premiership.
But I just can’t see them getting past a Millwall fired up by little Wise and their army of supporters, who will make the motorways north fairly hazardous on Sunday.
Game of the day outside the FA Cup? That’s got to be Spurs vs Chelsea. A real belter. Spurs are fairly safe in mid-table but Chelsea are desperate to keep the pressure on Arsenal.
If the Blues win despite all the shenanigans over their esteemed manager Claudio Ranieri and that disloyal Sven-Goran Eriksson, they’ll be within four points of Arsenal. And then, you never know …