Having perused the rules of the FA Cup, there is nothing to state that players are not eligible to face their parent clubs in the competition.

The Premier League prohibits players on loan playing against their parent clubs, but the FA Cup competition rules don’t express any similar ruling. Players on season-long loans don’t even have to be given permission to appear, unlike players on short-term loans, who require written permission on the Friday before the game.

Hull City beat bury in a fourth round tie on Saturday, with Arsenal loanee Chuba Akpom scoring his first professional hat-trick to send the Tigers through.

Akpom has played fairly regularly this season, while Isaac Hayden has appeared more often in recent weeks after Steve Bruce accepted he hadn’t used the versatile player often enough.

Back in 2012, Arsenal drew Leeds United in the FA Cup and gave Sanchez Watt permission to play against us in the competition. Arsène Wenger has spoken out against the Premier League rules which stop players playing against their parent clubs, so we can expect Akpom and Hayden to be given permission – should it be required – to line up against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

Let’s just hope, if that does happen, such a decision doesn’t come back to harm us.