Louis van Gaal is banking on Rooney to land FA Cup

Louis van Gaal believes Wayne Rooney’s fighting spirit can help secure the England captain’s first FA Cup — and the Manchester United manager’s first trophy in English football.

United have had a stop-start season and have often appeared to not be firing on all cylinders, but victory over Arsenal in the FA Cup quarter-final tonight would be a huge boost to Van Gaal’s first season in charge.

Rooney’s never-say-die spirit paid off once again on Wednesday when his refusal to give up on a seeming lost cause forced Newcastle into an error allowing Ashley Young to score a last-minute winner.