Mark Goldbridge has offered a bizarre conspiracy after Manchester United were drawn against Arsenal in the FA Cup.
The draw for the third round took place at United's iconic ground Old Trafford on Monday evening, live on BBC Two. Mark Hughes and Dion Dublin were tasked with pulling out the balls and creating 32 ties.
All Premier League and Championship sides have joined the party, which includes two Non League sides in Tamworth and Dagenham and Redbridge.
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Tamworth, currently 16th in the National League, were rewarded with a home tie against Spurs, while Accrington Stanley will travel to Liverpool and Manchester City host Gary Neville's Salford City.
Everton take on Peterborough United in a clash which could see Ashley Young come up against his 18-year-old son.
But United will travel to play Arsenal at the Emirates in a repeat of one of the FA Cup's most iconic fixtures. And Goldbridge, a United fan and streamer, claims something fishy was going on.
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He took to X to write: "Man City vs Salford at home and we get Arsenal away. Someone heating the balls up again?".
Though the draw was done by two ex United players, Goldbridge's take was shared by a fair few other people online - with so saying the draw was "rigged".
A second said: "That’s fixed. Arsenal vs Utd. I’m sure he (Dublin or Hughes) didn’t even mix them around."
A third stated: "Calling fix, United getting drawn away to Arsenal, City getting Salford at home and Liverpool getting an effective nobody."
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Another commented: "City vs Salford. Liverpool vs Accrington. Chelsea vs Morecambe... Arsenal vs United. Of course."
There is no suggestion to say the claims have any substance whatsoever, and it should be noted that United played Wigan, Newport and Coventry in their run to the FA Cup final last season.
They beat rivals City 2-1 in the final and are looking to retain their crown under new boss Ruben Amorim. If they do manage to go all the way, United will level Arsenal's record tally of 14 FA Cup wins.
How to watch this week’s Premier League matches for free
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Amazon Prime members can watch this week’s Premier League matches as part of their subscription at no extra cost. Normally priced at £8.99 a month, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial and cancel at the end of it if you don’t want to continue your subscription. Sign up here.
Before then the pair of sides will meet in the Premier League on Wednesday in a 20.15 kick-off at the Emirates.
Topics: Arsenal, Manchester United, Mark Goldbridge, Fan Reactions
Josh Lawless