the build up to manchester united’s fa cup quarter final against arsenal has inevitably rekindled memories of their epic encounter in 1999; roy keane’s sending off, peter schmeichel’s penalty save and ryan giggs’ mazy, mesmerising winner followed by a shirt stripping celebration united’s semi final victory at villa park that night came to epitomise sir alex ferguson’s treble winning team the penchant for high drama the never say die spirit that he instilled in his players and a ‘we’ll score more goals than you’ attitude in going toe to toe with any opponent, be it barcelona or blackburn rovers so as united prepare to face the gunners again for a place at wembley on monday night, it’s perhaps understandable if their supporters are growing disillusioned by the brand of football being offered up by louis van gaal’s team ryan giggs (right) scored arguably the greatest fa cup goal in manchester united's 1999 win over arsenal  giggs watches his left foot strike fly past david seaman as defender toy adams slides in too late  giggs' semi final winner was followed by a shirt stripping celebration in an iconic moment at villa park  united won the treble with ole gunnar solskjaer's late champions league strike against bayern munich  it doesn’t seem to matter what tactics the dutchman employs, the result seems to be the same whether it’s down to a three man defence, a midfield diamond, or simply a case of launching high balls up to marouane fellaini, united simply haven’t been very entertaining this season there is a caution, a lethargy, to van gaal’s side at odds with the traditions of the club the manchester united way giggs espoused it when he was installed as caretaker manager for the final four games of last season ‘it’s going to be my philosophy, manchester united’s philosophy,’ said giggs at the time ‘i want players to play with passion, speed, tempo and be brave with imagination – all the things that are expected of a manchester united player united’s philosophy is to attack’ no wonder the old trafford legend seemed a little underwhelmed as van gaal turned to him to celebrate a late 1 0 win over newcastle last week current manchester united boss louis van gaal has been criticised for his brand of football this season  van gaal's philosophy this season is different to united's trademark cavalier style of play  juan mata (right) leads the way as united's current crop prepare to face arsenal in the fa cup  david de gea, marouane fellaini and luke shaw (l r) could all start against the gunners at old trafford  paul scholes, giggs’s former team mate who joined him on the coaching staff for that brief stint last year, has described united’s football as ‘miserable’ ‘united’s history was built on attacking football, which does not always mean that the team kept clean sheets or did not concede chances,’ says scholes ‘to beat opposing teams you have to attack, and to attack you have to take risks too few of the players in the current team are prepared to take those risks’ ferguson’s teams did not always dazzle on the big stage, of course the goalless 2005 fa cup final against arsenal ranks as one of the worst in recent memory, though largely due to the negative tactics employed by arsene wenger before his side won on a penalty shootout equally, united’s 1979 final against the gunners is lauded as one of the classics by those who sometimes forget that the first 85 minutes were pretty turgid sir alex ferguson guided united to 13 premier league titles during his 1,500 games in charge of the club  eric cantona (left) led united to four premier league titles  during the 1990s  cristiano ronaldo (right) was the epitome of united's pleasing on the eye style during his time at the club  dave sexton was in charge of united that day his sacking two years later in 1981 was attributed to the fact that his team were just too boring even though united had just ended the season with seven straight wins, typically six of them by a one goal margin it is a reminder that results are not always everything at old trafford as van gaal continues to build on an impressive record of just two defeats in 22 games sexton paid the price for failing to play the united way; a cavalier style built on width and speed and a commitment to attack and entertain the fans ‘all those lads you see going to the factory in trafford park, they come to watch you on saturday,’ sir matt busby told a teenage bobby charlton on his arrival at the club ‘they have boring jobs, so you have to give them something they will enjoy’ dave sexton (centre) was sacked as united manager in 1981 after failing to play the united way  united supporters displayed a banner demanding the sacking of ferguson during the late 1980's  tommy docherty embraced busby’s philosophy ron atkinson too, though neither with the greatest success when home attendances dropped to 33,000 during ferguson’s darkest period in late 1989, it was largely down to a dreadful run of results that left united hovering above the relegation zone one could argue that united are not much worse to watch under van gaal than they were under david moyes, with better results but fans expect more from the £150million spent last summer and the names on the team sheet they find it hard to take when wayne rooney is dropped into midfield, fellaini goes up front, and sam allardyce of all people gets to label their team ‘long ball united’ in recent weeks, they have taken to urging their team to ‘attack, attack, attack’ and booed when the ball is passed back to david de gea van gaal is understandably proud of the fact that he has won a trophy in his first season at each of his clubs but as united aim to move a step closer to lifting the fa cup for a record 12th time, he would do well to remember that style counts every bit as much as silverware at old trafford angel di maria's form has dropped alarmingly after a bright start at old trafford following his summer move  di maria (centre) was substituted at half time during united's 2 0 win at home to sunderland last month  deploying marouane fellaini (right) as a makeshift forward has also received negative feedback this term 
monday night marouane fellaini louis van gaal this season martin keown sixth united the fa cup wayne rooney manchester united arsenal manchester united vs
manchester united face arsenal in the fa cup sixth round on monday night  united boss louis van gaal has been criticised for his tactics this season  star striker wayne rooney has been deployed largely in midfield this term  midfielder marouane fellaini has been used as a target centre forward too  martin keown: manchester united vs arsenal is a classic rivalry  manchester united vs arsenal: team news, probable line ups and more  click here for all the latest manchester united news 