Leeds United make their first ever trip to The Emirates tomorrow for the live-on-TV FA Cup 3rd round tie looking for a repeat of their shock victory at Old Trafford at the same stage last year.
Simon Grayson's men are chasing a second successive promotion, and a return to the Premier League after a 7 year absence, but defeat at Cardiff in midweek means they will travel south on the back of a run of four games without a win.
Under Arsene Wenger the Gunners have never lost an FA Cup tie to a club from a lower division while they have also never been beaten in a domestic cup tie at The Emirates.
This will be Leeds' first visit to Arsenal since a 5-0 Premier League defeat at Highbury in April 2004, where Thierry Henry hit four goals, although the clubs have enjoyed some epic meetings in the FA Cup over the years.
The last time they met in this competition was at Elland Road at the same stage in January 2004. After going ahead early on, when Mark Viduka charged down a clearance from Jens Lehmann, the Gunners ran out comfortable 4-1 winners in the end thanks to goals from Edu, Henry, Robert Pires and Kolo Toure.
However Leeds were the last ever visiting club to win an FA Cup tie at Highbury, a goal from Danny Wallace enough to give them a 1-0 4th round success in February 1997. That remains the last time the Londoners have lost an FA Cup tie on home soil.
Prior to that the clubs' had enjoyed two memorable meetings in the 4th round in 1993. The first match, at Highbury, saw Leeds race into a 2-0 lead with goals from Gary Speed and ex-Gunner Lee Chapman but Ray Parlour halved the deficit before Paul Merson then struck a marvellous late equaliser.
The replay at Elland Road ten days later was even more exciting. It was first blood to George Graham's Arsenal this time, thanks to Alan Smith, but goals from Carl Shutt and Gary McAllister looked to have put Leeds through with just eight minutes remaining. However Ian Wright sent the tie into extra time and it was the former Crystal Palace man who then won it for the Gunners in the first extra period, and they went on to lift the trophy at Wembley that May.
That was the third epic 4th round meeting between the clubs in a ten year period. Just two years earlier they had again met at Highbury but a disappointing tie ended in a goalless draw. The replay was memorable for an astonishing solo goal from Arsenal winger Anders Limpar, just seconds after Leeds had gone in front, but with no further scoring the tie went to a second replay back in London. It proved to be another dull affair but Arsenal, who would go on to lift the league title that season, missed a golden opportunity to progress when Lee Dixon hit a second half penalty over the crossbar, so it was back to Elland Road for a fourth game. This time it was the Gunners who made it through with first half goals from Dixon and Merson, meaning Chapman's late effort was no more then a consolation.
It had taken just the three games to separate the clubs' when they had been drawn together in the 4th round in January 1983. Leeds arrived at Highbury then, as now, a division below the hosts but the tie ended in a 1-1 draw. Three days later in Yorkshire, Leeds looked to have gone through with a goal in extra time but Graham Rix hit a dramatic injury time equaliser to send the clubs' back to London again. Arsenal made no mistake this time as strikes from Rix and Tony Woodcock gave them a 2-1 win and a fifth round meeting with Middlesbrough on their way to the semi finals.
That had been the first meeting between the sides in the FA Cup since the final of 1972. On that occasion a goal from Allan Clarke was just enough to give Leeds the cup, and some sort of revenge after Bertie Mee's Gunners had pipped them to the league title by a single point the previous year.
Prior to that the clubs' had only met once in the FA Cup, Arsenal winning a 6th round tie 1-0 at Highbury on their way to lifting the cup in 1950. Reg Lewis, who would go on to score both goals in the final that year, hit the only goal to send the Gunners into a semi final meeting with Chelsea.
So it seems history is very much against Grayson's men tomorrow but this is the FA Cup and, as they showed at Old Trafford twelve months ago, anything is possible in this, the most glamorous cup competition in the world.
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