LONDON, December 9 – Premier League leaders Arsenal will face arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the pick of next month’s FA Cup third round ties after the north London duo were drawn against one another on Sunday.
Between them the clubs have won the FA Cup 18 times, although Arsenal haven’t lifted the trophy since 2005 — their last major piece of silverware — while the last of Spurs’ eight Cup final wins was in 1991.
“We’ve not had enough tough games, so they gave us another one,” joked Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger when discussing the draw following the Gunners’ 1-1 league draw with Everton at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
So far this season the capital clubs have met just once, with Arsenal enjoying a 1-0 Premier League win over Spurs at the Emirates in September thanks to a goal from French striker Olivier Giroud.
Manchester United, the only side to have won the FA Cup more times than the London duo, are also involved in all Premier League tie at home to Swansea.
United have won the FA Cup 11 times but the last was back in 2004 and Saturday’s Premier League defeat by Newcastle meant they’d lost five times in 15 matches under new manager David Moyes.
The other all Premier League ties pit Norwich against Fulham, with Newcastle at home to Cardiff and West Brom welcoming Crystal Palace to the Hawthorns.
FA Cup holders Wigan, now in the second-tier Championship following relegation last season, begin their defence against MK Dons while Manchester City, last season’s beaten finalists, travel to nearby Blackburn Rovers.
Liverpool, who went second in the Premier League after a 4-1 win over West Ham on Saturday, could face Oldham — the team that knocked them out of the Cup last season — if the Latics overcome Mansfield in their second round replay.
Meanwhile the top three teams in the second-tier Championship have all been drawn way to Premier League opponents, with leaders Burnley at Southampton, second-placed QPR travelling to Everton and Leicester, currently third, facing Stoke.
Derby, fourth in the Championship, face a daunting home tie against a Chelsea side looking to win the FA Cup for the fifth time in eight seasons.
In other ties involving Premier League clubs, West Ham are away to Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa face Sheffield United, Middlesbrough meet Hull and bottom-of-the-table Sunderland are at home to Carlisle.
Another notable tie sees Bolton Wanderers at home to Blackpool, a repeat of the ‘Matthews final’ of 1953 where Blackpool’s 4-3 victory at Wembley gave English football great Stanley Matthews his lone FA Cup winner’s medal.
Ties will be played on the weekend of January 4-5.
FA Cup 3rd rd draw
Barnsley v Hartlepool or Coventry
Yeovil v Leyton Orient
Liverpool v Oldham or Mansfield
Nottingham Forest v West Ham
Bristol City v Watford
Southend v Millwall
Middlesbrough v Hull
West Brom v Crystal Palace
Kidderminster v Peterborough
Doncaster v Stevenage
Stoke v Leicester
Southampton v Burnley
Newcastle v Cardiff
Rochdale v Leeds
Wigan v MK Dons
Charlton v Wrexham or Oxford
Manchester United v Swansea
Port Vale v Plymouth
Norwich v Fulham
Aston Villa v Sheffield United
Macclesfield v Sheffield Wednesday
Sunderland v Carlisle
Bolton v Blackpool
Blackburn v Manchester City
Everton v QPR
Brighton v Reading
Arsenal v Tottenham
Birmingham v Bristol Rovers or Crawley
Grimsby v Huddersfield
Ipswich v Preston
Derby v Chelsea
Bournemouth v Fleetwood or Burton
Ties to be played over the weekend of January 4-5
