Manchester United Overcame 10-Men Arsenal in Thrilling FA Cup Tie
The Emirates Stadium witnessed a dramatic encounter between Arsenal and a 10-man Manchester United in the FA Cup third round tie. The game ended 1-1 after extra time, with United edging past their opponents in the penalty shootout, 5-3.
In the penalty shootout, Arsenal’s Kai Havertz became the only player among the first four penalty takers to miss, as a brilliant stop from Manchester United’s second-choice goalkeeper Altay Bayindir proved the decisive moment. The hero of the night was Joshua Zirkzee, who stepped up to seal the victory for Manchester United.
The match began uneventfully, with United dominating possession in the early stages. It wasn’t until the second half that the Red Devils finally broke the deadlock through a stunning effort from Bruno Fernandes, which found its way into the net in the 52nd minute. A great run by Alejandro Garnacho had provided the spark for Fernandes’ goal, which gave United a crucial lead in the game.
However, the visitors’ joy was short-lived as Diogo Dalot saw his red card just 10 minutes later. The Portuguese right-back had already received a yellow card earlier in the match for a reckless challenge on Myles Lewis-Skelly. The second yellow card he received for a wild tackle on Mikel Merino left United with a numerical disadvantage for the rest of the game.
Arsenal took full advantage of this situation, scoring the equalizing goal 2 minutes after Dalot’s red card. A poor attempted punch from Bayindir fell at the feet of Gabriel, whose shot took a wicked deflection off Matthijs de Ligt, and found its way into the net. The Gunners were now on level terms, and they sought to capitalize on United’s depleted numbers.
In the 72nd minute, a penalty was awarded to Arsenal after a contentious decision, which suggested that Harry Maguire had committed a foul on Kai Havertz. However, Bayindir produced a superb save from Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard, who had converted several crucial penalties for his team in the past. This crucial save by Bayindir gave a much-needed boost to United, who continued to sit deeper and absorb pressure from their opponents.
As the game progressed, Arsenal’s chances of winning the match began to dwindle. Declan Rice, who had come on as a substitute, had a clear-headed opportunity to put the Gunners in the lead, but Bayindir made an incredible save to deny him.
The Gunners’ golden chance to win the match came towards the end of the game when Kai Havertz had a close-range opportunity to score. However, Havertz failed to capitalize on this chance as his shot went horribly wide of the goal. This mishap by Havertz gave Bayindir and his team another 30 minutes to keep United out.
In the extra period, De Ligt produced two moments of brilliance to prevent Arsenal from scoring. He blocked a shot from Declan Rice with his feet and later intercepted a shot from close range from Leandro Trossard. These crucial saves by De Ligt gave Manchester United a glimmer of hope as they sought to snatch an unlikely winner.
As it turned out, it was not the Gunners but United who nearly snatched an unlikely winner. A goalbound shot from Zirkzee was saved by David Raya towards the end of the second period of extra time. This save from Raya meant that the game would now be decided by a penalty shootout.
The penalty shootout, which followed a dramatic and eventful encounter between the two teams, proved to be a fitting conclusion to the game. In the shootout, Arsenal’s Kai Havertz became the only player to miss among the first four penalty takers, as Bayindir produced a brilliant stop from the German midfielder.
With the score now 2-1 in favor of Manchester United, Joshua Zirkzee stepped up to seal the victory for his team. His penalty kick proved to be the decisive moment of the game as United prevailed in the shootout, 5-3.
Despite starting as the underdogs, Manchester United’s triumph in the penalty shootout has given them a boost ahead of their fourth-round match against Leicester City. The Red Devils will now look to build on this victory and continue their pursuit of a 14th FA Cup title.
Meanwhile, Arsenal’s defeat has left manager Mikel Arteta questioning his side’s inability to win the game. He admitted that his team did not get the result they deserved, but he is confident that his side will bounce back stronger from this setback.
