Altay Bayindir and Joshua Zirkzee were the heroes of the penalty shoot-out as ten-man Manchester United defeated Arsenal in an epic match to reach the fourth round of the FA Cup, where they will host Leicester.
The United goalkeeper compounded Kai Havertz's nightmare afternoon with a full-stretch stop from the Gunners striker to give the holders a 5-3 win from 12 yards after the tie finished 1-1 after extra time at the Emirates .
Havertz missed two glorious close-range openings during the match and never looked confident of making up for it in the shoot-out. His saved penalty gave Zirkzee the chance to take the winning penalty and the Dutchman scored before reveling in United's big away success following his own recent struggles in front of goal.
Diogo Dalot's sending-off had forced United to play an hour with one player less, but Arsenal could not add Gabriel's equalizer to Bruno Fernandes' breakaway goal, with Martin Odegaard's controversial penalty also saved by Bayindir in normal time. “Justice” United then posted on their social media account.
It's a huge result for United boss Ruben Amorim, adding to successful recent challenges at Manchester City and Liverpool. Their next match, against Leicester, will be played between February 7 and 10.
But this is also an outcome that raises questions about Arsenal's attacking capabilities and whether they need a new striker this month.
In the space of a week they have suffered a 2-0 Carabao Cup semi-final defeat to Newcastle in the first leg of the Carabao Cup and been knocked out of the FA Cup. Next? A North London derby with Tottenham, where their Premier League ambitions cannot afford to concede another goal.
How the drama unfolded…
There was drama and controversy during this match.
Arsenal were furious when Gabriel Martinelli's first-half strike was disallowed for offside, with Harry Maguire punched as he appeared to try to clear the ball in passing. They then cursed their luck again when Gabriel Jesus was carried off after challenging Fernandes.
Arsenal's frustration mounted even higher when Fernandes converted a brilliant United counter, with Alejandro Garnacho – linked to a send-off – driving the visitors in front after Gabriel's slip.
Havertz – who had a miserable game – squandered a great opportunity to react immediately and went crookedly wide from close range, but it was in Arsenal's favor when Dalot took a heavy touch and lunged at Mikel Merino, earning him a second yellow card yielded. It was a double penalty for United, with Gabriel clinically equalizing moments later when the ball fell to him in the penalty area.
Emotions erupted again as Havertz went down under Maguire's challenge in the box. The centre-back charged furiously at the Arsenal striker as the penalty was awarded. Havertz was then back on deck after colliding with Manuel Ugarte, holding his head. It was Odegaard who then held his head as Bayindir saved his penalty.
The stand-in United stopper then brilliantly denied Declan Rice – before Havertz missed an even better chance than his earlier opening, giving United a respite from three yards out in the 88th minute.
It was Matthijs de Ligt who came to United's rescue in extra time, deflecting Leandro Trossard to prevent a certain goal, before David Raya made a good save at his near post after the turnaround to keep out Zirkzee's deflected shot.
United were badly beaten here in the Premier League at the beginning of December. This looked like progress under Amorim – the fact that they fought with 10 players for so long made the victory even sweeter.
Arteta: Unbelievable we didn't win that match
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta:
'It's unbelievable that you don't win that match. That's actually true [how you] summarizes it. The dominance, the superiority over the opposition, everything we did to win the match. We didn't deserve it, we didn't get what we deserved. But there is an element of putting the ball in the back of the net, we did that once. With the amount of situations, chances and penalties we got. We don't. We go home very sad, but I couldn't be more proud of my players.
Asked what he said to Havertz after the match: “To him and to all of them: that I love them, that we all love them. Individually and collectively they are a joy. What this team produces every three days is incredible, anyway.” what's happening. I'm not going to lose sight of that because of one or two results because we didn't deserve them. Whatever we can do better, let's try to do it. But it's hard to achieve, it's an emotional part. It's something that has to do with trust as well.”
On the need to sign a new striker: “We missed in different ways, from different players. I understand that guys [point of view]but I couldn't love our players more and we are very focused on the players we have to perform at the highest level. The rest is not in our hands, not in my hands.”
Amorim sees signs of progress
Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim:
“Especially in the first half we played better than in the second half [Premier League] game. We were better at set pieces, more aggressive and we showed courage, even with ten men.
“The elimination was very tough for us. There were some chances from Arsenal. The players were very tired.
“But I felt from the first minute that today was our day. And I felt a connection with our fans.
“If we score first, it helps us to suffer. It gives more power to suffer. We can calm down the game. We understand the way we play better. Sometimes we don't play well, but at certain times you can control game. It's clear that we're improving with the way we suffer. It's a good thing for a team.
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