It is what Wayne Rooney described as the “start of a big two or three weeks” for Manchester United, although perhaps even that statement fails to capture the significance of what promises to be the defining stage of a crucial season for the club.

The importance of overcoming Arsenal in the FA Cup quarter-finals at Old Trafford tonight and remaining in a competition that they have not won for 11 years, and which represents their last realistic chance of silverware this season, will be reflected in the atmosphere.

Old Trafford will be awash with flags and banners as part of plans to ensure that Louis van Gaal’s team are given “raucous backing in the pursuit of . . . a trip to Wembley”, a move