Man Utd's Wayne Rooney has spoken of his delight at the return of goal provider Antonio Valencia.
Striker delighted to see goal provider Valencia return to the wing
Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has spoken of his delight at the return of goal provider Antonio Valencia.
The Ecuador winger proved a major source of goals for Rooney last term but has been out of action since sustaining a serious ankle injury against Rangers in September.
But the 25-year-old returned as a second-half substitute in Saturday's 2-0 FA Cup triumph over Arsenal and Rooney, who scored just four minutes after his team-mate's return, hailed the reappearance of the Ecuadorian.
The England striker said: "I can't tell you how good it is to see him back out there.
"It was Antonio's first game back after six months out and he looked like he'd never been away.
"It's fantastic for him and fantastic for us to have him back and playing the way he did."
Desperate
Following Sunday's draw, United will face arch-rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-finals and Rooney is desperate to win the trophy after tasting defeat to Arsenal in the 2005 showpiece and then Chelsea two years later in the first final at the new Wembley.
He said: "I am desperate to win the FA Cup. It's got great history and I remember watching it as a young kid.
"To lose two finals was devastating so it's a great chance now for us to go on and win it this season."
After their latest cup defeat, Arsene Wenger's side have seen hopes of a quadruple dwindle away to leave just the Premier League to aim for.
While Rooney admits the second-placed Gunners will be fresher for league games than leaders United - who are still in the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League - the striker wonders how the recent defeats will affect Wenger's side.
"You don't know how they'll respond," he added. "It's obviously been a tough 10 days to go out of three competitions.
"We know they will be fresh for the Premier League games now and won't have to focus on other competitions.
"In some ways it's good for them, but if they want to win trophies it's not so good."
