Louis van Gaal has continued his fascinating praise of Arsenal before the clash against Man United on Sunday, saying that last season we should have beaten them at the Emirates.

The match against United at the Emirates was a disaster last season. It was a real chance to finally win against our rivals but instead, despite playing the better football, we lost 2-1 and Jack Wilshere got injured.

It seems that even United’s manager realises how lucky they were to beat us that day saying, “We played a very lucky game at the Emirates last season. I believe Arsenal were better, but we were better in the game in the FA Cup and we lost. That’s football. You can lose even when you are the better team.

“We also drew at home so that shows that we are equal more or less. Arsenal is a very good team with individual players from a high level, I think.”

Van Gaal has been incredibly complimentary of Arsenal before the tie and, as I said before, I’m unsure whether this is out of genuine respect or if it’s all part of his mindgames. Perhaps it’s just gotten to the stage where Wenger is so highly criticised that whenever someone is genuinely appreciative of his work, it appears suspicious.

The match at the Emirates is a huge test of our metal after we lost 3-2 at home to Olympiacos mid-week.