Read Jamie Jackson’s match report from Old Trafford:

Sir Alex is smiling in the stands, ‘Glory, glory Man United’ is ringing out lustily. Could that match be a turning point for Louis van Gaal and his team? United were superb there – wholehearted, sharp, fresh, creative, gutsy. A skeleton side grew into the game, deserved the remarkable Rashford’s early pair and second-half strike from Herrera, and perhaps most impressive of all was the way in which they responded each time Arsenal pulled a goal back. They never looked cowed or flustered, and it has to be said that senior players such as Carrick, Mata and Blind were superb in marshalling the likes of Rashford and Varela through proceedings. This was light years from the United we’ve seen this season, in more ways than one.

And Arsenal? Oh, Arsenal. Let’s not beat about the bush – it was so, so disappointing from them. We should probably know what to expect by now, but this was a huge opportunity and they blew it. They were flat, sluggish and second best throughout, rarely threatening even after clawing themselves back into the game. You can’t rule them out of the title race, of course you can’t – but can you really see this team forcing it home? Those false dawns must be absolutely exasperating for their fans.

Right, you’ve a cup final to get your teeth into now. Thanks for your company as ever – and apologies that the live score on the blog got stuck at 2-1 today, technical issue I’m told. Cheers, and enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

90+5 min: A late change for United, James Weir replacing Herrera. Can they see it out?

90+4 min: Arsenal pumping the long balls forward now. All, so far, met by thumping clearances...

90+3 min: It’s back in the corner again with Januzaj, who then makes for the box and almost picks out Lingard. No charge of the light brigade from Arsenal yet, although Ozil picks up a booking for bashing Varela into the advertising hoardings.

90+1 min: We will have five added minutes. Arsenal don’t deserve a draw here. But this will be a long, long period of stoppage time for United.

89 min: Probably a bit of a stretch for United to imagine they can hold the ball down there until 90+4, or so. It’s given away eventually, but then great work from Fosu-Mensah and Januzaj gets the ball down the other flank to cheers.

88 min: Then Sanchez beats Varela to a header and almost slips Ramsey in, but his touch lets him down and De Gea gets out quickly. Nervy times. Elneny, who has played daftly since coming on, then fouls Lingard deep inside the Arsenal half to afford United some respite. The ball goes into the corner – and a corner is then won.

86 min: Close-ish there though, as another fine Ozil free-kick finds Koscielny at the back stick. His header loops up, and De Gea catches.

85 min: Arsenal are probing – there’s genuine urgency at last – but so far finding few spaces. But there’s time...

83 min: Welbeck now goes off, to a few boos. On comes Alex Iwobi, nephew of Jay Jay Okocha.

82 min: Varela concedes a corner after Sanchez, growing in influence now, finds Welbeck. Depay heads away powerfully at the near post.

80 min: Just a few signs that the earlier pattern – Arsenal probing, United dropping in a little too deep – is going to repeat itself now. Giroud heads over, beating Varela to a Sanchez cross, and United won’t want much more of that. Now Rashford comes off, to absolutely tumultuous applause. So well deserved! Adnan Januzaj replaces him.

78 min: Tottenham now lead against Swansea – Danny Rose scores. Arsenal need to win really, don’t they?

77 min: Wonderful take by Depay, killing a diagonal ball with his heel before it could come over his head. He’s been very bright today.

76 min: Herrera, just booked, is told to calm down by Pawson after fouling Sanchez. Van Gaal then ... and this is bizarre ... falls on his backside on the touchline while remonstrating with fourth official Mike Dean! I think he was mimicking a dive! It’s all taken a bit of a strange turn here.

73 min: Elneny is booked for a hack on Depay, his first contribution of the game. The temperature has raised a notch. Might be in for quite a final 20 minutes here.

73 min: Equaliser for Spurs against Swansea. Why not go dual-screen?

71 min: Fisticuffs as Ramsey, having been clipped by Herrera, pushes him to the floor for no obvious reason. There’s a long delay, howls of “Off! Off! Off!”, but Craig Pawson eventually shows a yellow card. Herrera is booked too. Was Ramsey lucky?

69 min: It should be said that United, for all the criticism they’ve had, have been as entertaining as you like today.

68 min: Nearly four. Depay and Rashford this time do link up to good effect, the former homing in on goal before Bellerin intervenes just in time.

67 min: Fair play to United, really. When Arsenal kept possession for the half’s opening minutes you feared for them but they got themselves right back into it and were in the ascendancy before the goal. This, so far, has been desperately half-hearted stuff from Arsenal.

63 min: A cute one-two on the edge of the box between Depay and Rashford doesn’t come off, but United are having a good spell at the moment. Here comes Giroud though! He does, indeed, come on for Walcott – who I’m afraid has been really sub-par.

61 min: Depay cuts in and thwacks in another shot. Cech saves well, although can’t grab it cleanly.

60 min: United have got a grip now after that ominous Arsenal start, although you suspect they’ll be confined to counters. Walcott is caught on the ball again; it must be Giroud time soon.

58 min: Fosu-Mensah is not, as far as I know, a full back by trade at all but has slotted into Rojo’s spot.

56 min: The free-kick, from the Ozil foul, is finally taken and goes all the way through to Schneiderlin at the back post. His shot is blocked by Sanchez.

56 min: Rojo is down, and it doesn’t look good. The ex-Ajax youngster Tim Fosu-Mensah replaces him for his debut, and United’s team gets yet younger!

54 min: Better from the home team, with Rashford pulling left and passing infield to Mata, who can’t quite play Depay in. Cech and Koscielny then both have some fun dallying on the ball and getting away with it. Then Lingard gets them up the right flank and Ozil rather crudely kicks him down.

53 min: Walcott crosses usefully enough from the right after getting on the end of a superb switch, but nobody is there. Then Sanchez runs along the edge of the box but his right-footer is blocked. United are getting sucked right back though.

50 min: Rojo gets in sharpish to deny Ramsey, who had got round the back after a fine Ozil touch. United won’t want the whole half to play out to this; it’s been all Arsenal so far.

50 min: Having just seen that ‘handball’ again, at last, I’m really not sure where else Rashford could have gone. Would have been harsh, for me.

48 min: Rashford is ok. Arsenal are knocking the ball about early on.

47 min: Replays apparently showed a Rashford handball in that late off-the-line skirmish at the end of the first half. United might have got a bit lucky, but I don’t think Arsenal can worry too much about luck here. They need to improve. Meantime, Rashford is down and receiving treatment ...

You heard!

Do we think Giroud might make hay in the second half, were he to be introduced? Get him on for Walcott? Arsenal’s goal, and a couple of subsequent flurries, certainly suggested that United’s makeshift defence isn’t the brightest in the air.

From James Bolle: “Loved Welbeck’s reaction to his goal - he wheeled away to celebrate, then seemed to remember where he was and decided against it, opting for a jog to halfway and a couple of muted high fives. But not in a showy “I’m not celebrating” way. The best non-celebration celebration I’ve ever seen. #welbz”

Thank you for the correct spelling of #welbz.

From Scott Stricker: “I’m concerned that the only Walcott touch I can remember is when he gave the ball away in the buildup to the first goal.”

Such potential though.

45+2 min: Another Arsenal corner now, and a chance – the ball pings off Schneiderlin and someone, not sure who, spirits it away from the line!

45+1 min: No dice. Ozil’s effort hits the wall; Sanchez’s follow-up ricochets off Depay for a corner. Rashford clears that – the boy’s put a shift in!

45 min: Welbeck is fouled three or four yards outside the box by Blind – chance for an equaliser here ...

45 min: Rashford, faced with Koscielny, goes on a run but can’t beat the centre-back. He had a good option or two to his left. I think we’ll let him off.

42 min: Perfect timing, that, for Arsenal – who had looked so flat. Now it’s United who could probably use the whistle.

Too right. What a day for them ... so far.

38 min: Sanchez overcooks a ball to Ramsey – goal kick. If Arsenal can’t come out of this with something it will be hard to take them very seriously. They’ve completely faded from view and will be grateful for the break as things stand.

36 min: Now Cech is out swiftly to gather after a mistake by Gabriel. The visitors need to sort themselves out sharpish. They do go on the attack now and Blind does well to block an Ozil cross-shot.

36 min: Depay, to screams of “shoot”, does so and lashes over after receiving a Koscielny clearance. But Old Trafford is bouncing right now. United have been superb; Arsenal, currently, are just invisible.

34 min: “Rashford is totally the English Müller,” writes Alex Flynn. “Perfect understanding of space. Nerveless first time finishes.” Steady now, this is the first or second time we’ve seen him play. But ... well ... what a story this is. United are teeming with confidence at the moment; Arsenal can’t get a touch.

Unbelievable. United put together another move down the right; it seems to have gone a bit loose but Lingard retrieves the ball and dinks a left-footed cross in from the corner of the box. Up goes Rashford, barely challenged, and glances a superb header across Cech! Wow.

27 min: Carrick, on that booking, is brave enough to make an absolutely *perfect* tackle on Welbeck in the area. Could not afford to go wrong there.

26 min: Who’ll be the happier so far? Probably United, who have settled down well, although Arsenal have had the best chance. Arsenal need to see a lot more from Walcott, in particular. He’s been invisible since that early run.

24 min: Mata now slots Herrera in on the left, where United are having some joy so far, but Cech gathers his centre. There isn’t really a focal point in the middle for them, not that this is a slight on Rashford.

22 min: Yellow card for makeshift centre back Carrick now, going in very late on Welbeck. Two bookings now for United defenders.

22 min: Depay, lively here, gets to the line but scoops his cross high and wide from a good position. Bellerin, the right back, has a match on his hands against Depay – it’s a real battle of the speedsters.

21 min: Newsflash – Swansea are ahead at Spurs!

20 min: And well away by Blind this time, after a sharp one-two between Monreal and Sanchez. The latter is onto the clearance, but can’t adjust his body and bobbles a volley wide. He could do with a goal today.

18 min: Any hopes Arsenal fans may have had of coming close to that 8-2 margin of a few years back have certainly died. Rojo does well to clear a Sanchez cross, though, and Arsenal are controlling possession at the moment.

16 min: It’s watchable, this, and United seem to be growing in confidence. Howls around Old Trafford now when Welbeck appears to have fouled Rojo on the left, but nothing is awarded.

14 min: ... and the free kick is really well held by Cech, clutching Depay’s fizzing right-footer as it whips round and bounces up in front of him. Good effort all round.

13 min: Rashford gets on a run, and almost wins a penalty! He sashays in from the left, gets between Bellerin and Gabriel, and is tripped by the latter. His momentum takes him into the area and the screams are for a spot kick but it’s – rightly – a free kick on the very corner of the box...

12 min: United do look purposeful when attacking though – none of that ponderous stuff – and a slick move sees a Mata cross flicked away from the poised Lingard by the head of ... I think ... Coquelin.

9 min: Yellow card for Varela for rugby-tackling Sanchez down on the left. Not a good time for a young right-back to be booked, really. It’s early.

8 min: Save by De Gea! United think Welbeck’s ball back to Monreal has gone out, but the left-back has kept it in and returns the ball to the striker. He in turn finds Ozil, who clips over a sublime first-time pass to find Monreal, who continued his run, through on goal. He perhaps delays a little too long and De Gea, standing his ground well, blocks with his legs!

6 min: Ramsey robs Depay in the Arsenal half but his diagonal ball can’t find Sanchez. A few signs that United are being caught on the ball rather too much by a snappy, high-pressing opponent.

4 min: A bit of nice possession for United until Varela sells Herrera short. They need to make sure they settle early on.

2 min: Depay does well on United’s left before finding Mata, who will need to have an influence today. His left-footed cross is headed away. Open start here.

1 min: Early scamper for Walcott down the right, and his cross is only half-cleared. Welbeck steams in but his shot is charged down and causes no problems for De Gea.

The teams are on their way out! This will need one heck of an effort from United, you sense. Strap in...

Kelvin writes: “Two things, first, Welbz is playing to add some pace upfront against what is surely one of the slowest defence in the league. Two, we won at OT the last time we went there, so baby seals can rest easy.”

Two things Kelvin. First, you forgot the ‘#’. Two, you didn’t win last time, you drew 1-1.

Thabo Mokaleng is a more confident United fan:

“I know I should be sitting here dreading an absolute spanking from Arsenal. Carrick doesn’t like filling in at CB and he’s guaranteed a howler. The rest of the squad is unconvincing, but I feel like there’s something there. If Arsenal think they’re coming here to stomp all over United they could be in for a nasty surprise.”

There is, of course, that.

Do Arsenal fans think it was harsh to drop Giroud? Perhaps Wenger had to do something – they haven’t clicked going forward of late although Alexis Sanchez has been a part of that too. Maybe the immutable law of the ex weighs in #Welbz’s favour too. Either way, it’s a bold one.

“Why is Jeremy Corbyn selling half and half scarves today at Old Trafford?” asks John Silk on Twitter.

Tod O’Brien wants Arsenal to shake off the disappointment of that 0-2 against Barcelona:

“After Wednesday we need to get back on track put that behind us and look to deliver. Welbeck looked completely comfortable when he came on, Walcott after 10 years really needs to show why we have kept faith with him because I would have let him go long before The Ox which is a travesty, quite frankly. Very sad for O-C who will now go on to terrorise us from another PL club.”

“We have gone from Aruba, Aruba being first up at the FIFA elections to Abuja the first email of the MBM broadcast,” writes Raymond Reardon. “The travelling flight time between the two is 24 hours if you have FIFA dollars or 2 months if you have Guardian travel allowance.”

Have I seen you in the canteen before?

Looking at these teams, you’d have to expect an Arsenal win. They won’t catch United more stretched than this. Prince, from Abuja in Nigeria, feels similarly. “I’ve just seen the United teamsheet and as a United Supporter I am dreading the next 90 minutes,” he emails. “Hoping we end the game with some dignity intact, But then miracles do happen.”

Want to know a bit more about new kid on the block Rashford? This Jamie Jackson piece is a must-read. He was rejected, it turns out, by Manchester City:

Nick will be here with the team news just after 1pm. In the meantime, why not read his brilliant interview with Sonny Pike?