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Van Der Sar Hopes To Gain Title Edge

Sat 16 Feb, 09:09 AM


Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar is aiming to give Arsenal food for thought when the title rivals meet in the FA Cup on Saturday evening.

The Gunners stand five points clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League table after beating Blackburn on Monday.

United in contrast are hurting following a derby defeat by Sven-Goran Eriksson's Manchester City.

It is little wonder Dutch international Van der Sar wants to get back on track in the fifth round in front of their own fans.

He said: "It is a massive game against Arsenal. They are usually tight games and always nice to play in.

"Like us they have great players, who want to play good football. If we play well and win it gives you a nice feeling.

"It will also give us an extra boost in that we can beat them to the title."

Manager Sir Alex Ferguson felt the defeat by City came about because the players were emotionally drained by the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Munich air crash.

Van der Sar and defender Wes Brown both admitted it had been a difficult day.

"It was emotional," said Van der Sar. "But it was good to remember those who died as they are a big part of United's history.

"We would love to have had a victory but we did a lot of things wrong in the first half.

"Sometimes it is good to reflect on a game like that so you can learn from the negatives and move on."

Brown added: "It certainly felt a bit different on Sunday, remembering Munich and the Busby Babes.

We seemed to forget we were playing in a derby and did not approach the game in the right way."

The United defender is relishing the cup clash.

"There is certainly added spice to the game because we are the top two clubs, " he said.

"We did not play well against City and we are determined that will not happen again.

If we can beat Arsenal it might put a bit of doubt in their minds about winning the title."

Ferguson is expected to shuffle his pack and striker Louis Saha could return to the starting line-up after a six-match absence with a knee injury.

Wayne Rooney and Patrice Evra are also available after suspension.

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