Ruben Amorim claimed his Manchester United team deserved to secure a place in the fourth round of the FA Cup at the expense of Arsenal because they 'suffered together'.
Man United played with 10 men from 61 minutes after Diogo Dalot received a second yellow card for a challenge on Mikel Merino.
The visitors dug in to take the match to extra time and then go to penalties. The win follows their 2-0 defeat to the Gunners at the Emirates on December 4 – Amorim's first defeat as United boss.
He said: 'We showed a different spirit (compared to our last game against Arsenal), even with ten men. We are improving in that area. I think we had a lot of trouble controlling the ball at the beginning of the game. We didn't have any big chances, but we did suffer from running after the ball.
'They (Arsenal) brought in new players, they had control of the ball all the time, it was a sacrifice for my players. But we deserved to get through this round because we all suffered together and showed character and that is very important.
'The players were very tired, but I had the feeling from the first minute that today was our day. I also felt a connection with our fans, our staff. In that respect it was a very good day for us.
“I think that's clear (we're becoming more resilient). I think it's also clear that if we score first, it helps us suffer. It's like more power.'
On the inspired display of goalkeeper Altay Bayindir, who made a series of crucial saves, he added: “He is a good guy, he works a lot and life has beautiful things. A few weeks ago we had a difficult moment, but now he is like a hero to us.'
Mikel Arteta was left with a crash during a competition he won in 2020 – his only major success at Arsenal.
He said: 'It's unbelievable (we lost). Obviously you measure the performance and what we did in relation to the position, you know you deserve to win the race by a mile.
'I love my players. I love our team and I love how good they are and what they do because in 1000 games you should lose one and it was probably this one.
'The ball has to go into the net and then you have to beat the opponent, that is the reality.'
A further blemish was the injury to Gabriel Jesus, who was stretchered off the pitch in the first half.
“No update, but it doesn't look good,” he added. “He was in quite a lot of pain, he had to be taken off on a stretcher and he doesn't look good.”
Comments