'I'll show all of you!' - Solskjaer claims Alexis will 'love it' if Arsenal fans turn on him

The interim Manchester United boss is expecting a positive reaction, with the Chilean likely to be booed every time he touches the ball on Friday

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes Alexis Sanchez will relish facing Arsenal in the FA Cup, insisting that he'll be determined to silence the crowd should they give him stick in Friday's game at Emirates Stadium.

The Red Devils have been paired with Unai Emery's side in the fourth round of the competition, with Alexis due to face the Gunners at their home ground for the first time since joining United.

Indeed, in the last meeting between the two at Emirates Stadium in December 2017, Alexis featured for Arsenal in the 3-1 defeat, with David de Gea pulling off a number of miraculous saves to deny the hosts.

Alexis has failed to find the sort of form that convinced United to take him to Old Trafford in a swap deal involving Henrikh Mkhitaryan back in January 2018, with the 30-year-old having scored just four goals in all competitions.

He has, however, been struggling with injury over the last couple of months and has made just one start since November as he featured in the FA Cup third-round win over Reading.

Confirming that the Chilean will play against his former side, Solskjaer backed Alexis to silence the Arsenal support, with the fans likely to give him stick following his decision to leave the Gunners in favour of their Premier Leaguerivals.

The Norwegian told reporters: "He'll be involved. I think he’ll love it if the crowd turn against him. As a player, pride kicks in and you think 'I'll show all of you'. He's been fantastic in training, his attitude has been spot on so hopefully he'll enjoy the game."

Solskjaer also ruled out Marouane Fellaini, Chris Smalling and Marcos Rojo, although confirmed that the England centre-back had returned to training.

When asked about any other injury issues heading into the game, he added: "No, it’s still those three. Smalling has started training so hopefully he’ll be available maybe next week so it’s looking good for him. Fellaini and Rojo are still a bit away."

United and Arsenal shared a fierce rivalry over the 1990's, with the infamous battles between Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira adding to the intrigue as both sides challenged for the Premier League title under Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.

And Solskjaer looks back on his clashes with the Gunners during his playing career with fond memories.

He said: "Fantastic, that’s the one fierce rivalry on a football basis in my years between the two of us. Always the closest rivals, they win the double, we win the treble, and the games were just fantastic. We had a great team and they had a very good team.

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"I think I scored once against David Seaman, but the French connection they had; Henry, Vieira, Pires, Petit, I met them a couple of times in the FA Cup.

"I think I won two semi-finals but we lost 2-0 at home one year, there were some tackles flying in between the two teams. Fantastic games."

United are currently on a run of seven wins in a row in all competitions since Solskjaer's arrival as interim manager, while the Gunners will be looking to kick on after their 2-0 win over Chelsea last time out.