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Tickets went on sale yesterday to season ticket-holders, giving them the option to buy two per person. With the interest generated among home fans, and Arsenal supporters being allocated the entire Midland Road stand – the ground capacity has been set at 24,000, and it is expected that City will see their biggest attendance in modern times.

Rhodes was also encouraged by the financial boost the cup tie would give the club, and said: “I would expect us to earn in the region of £300,000 from the Arsenal game through ticket sales and the game being shown live on Sky, which brings in around £125,000 (of that sum).

“For a club like ourselves, that is great news. At the start of the season, we budgeted for a £600,000 deficit in order to push the boat out and give ourselves the best chance of success on the field.

“The flipside of doing that was we would have to make up that entire deficit during the season – either through increased gate receipts by being successful in the Cups and league, the add-ons in terms of fees for the youth players we have sold in the past or, as a last resort, selling players in January.

“Bringing in £300,000 from one game will go a long way towards bridging that gap. In that respect, progress in the FA Cup (tonight against Northampton Town) is also important because it will bring in prize money and at least one more game.”

City’s clash with Northampton has been hampered slightly by a missed training session, after Garry Thompson and Jon McLaughlin complained of symptoms related to a bug that had been going round the players last week.

Other than that, Phil Parkinson has no new injury concerns, but is expected to rotate his squad after the victory against Aldershot at the weekend, with youngsters Adam Baker and Forrayah Bass vying for a place in the matchday squad.

Leeds boss Neil Warnock is set to turn his attentions elsewhere after being rebuffed in an attempt to sign Stoke City striker Cameron Jerome on loan.

The Huddersfield-born frontman appeared to be heading to Elland Road last Thursday only for Potters manager Tony Pulis to perform a U-turn.

Meanwhile, GFH Capital – the firm intent on taking charge of United – remain confident of pushing a deal through after shrugging aside speculation regarding a rival bidder.

Reports over the weekend suggested that US businessman Preston Haskell offered an alternative option for the sale of the Championship club.

Haskell, who until recently owned a minority stake in the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL franchise with his family, was said to be keen to hand Warnock a £10m transfer kitty in an attempt to get United’s floundering promotion challenge back on track.

Huddersfield Town defender Paul Dixon has been added to the Scotland squad for tomorrow’s friendly in Luxembourg.

The left-back is among five players drafted in by caretaker boss Billy Stark after nine members of the original pool withdrew through injury.

Dixon, who joined Town from Dundee United in the summer, won his first two caps in the World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Macedonia earlier this season.