Mikel Arteta defended under-fire Arsenal striker Kai Havertz after enduring another day off in front of goal against Manchester United on Sunday.
Just five days after a 2–0 first leg defeat to Newcastle United in the EFL Cup semi-finals, Arsenal were dumped out of the FA Cup by the Red Devils, who triumphed 5–3 on penalties after a 1–1 draw . at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal played with a numerical advantage for about an hour after Diogo Dalot's red card, with Martin Odegaard seeing a penalty saved by stand-in United goalkeeper Altay Bayindir at 1-1.
Havertz, meanwhile, missed numerous clear-cut chances and was the only player to fail to score in the shoot-out, seeing his kick turned around the post by Bayindir.
The German – who also struggled against Newcastle – led all players for shots (five) and touches in the area (11), but failed to convert his chances, yielding a total of 0.8 expected goals (xG) .
However, Arteta remains confident in Havertz and his other attackers, saying: 'For him and for all of them, I love them, we all love them. Individually and collectively they are a joy.
“What this team produces every three days is incredible, no matter what. I'm not going to lose sight of that because of one or two results, because we didn't deserve it.
“What we can do better, let's try to do that. But it's difficult to achieve, it's an emotional part, it's also about trust.”
Havertz has scored seven goals from 7.81 xG in the Premier League this season, while his shooting accuracy of 50% is the fourth worst of any player to score at least five goals (behind Brennan Johnson, Antoine Semenyo and Morgan Rogers).
Arsenal attempted 26 shots to United's seven, which equates to a massive figure of 3.22 xG compared to their opponents' 0.27, while they also had 55 touches in the visitors' 13 area.
Arteta could hardly believe their hopes of FA Cup glory were over, saying: “With the number of situations, chances and penalties we had, you have to score more and we didn't do that.
“We go home very sad, but I couldn't be more proud of my players.”
Arsenal were also dealt a major blow when in-form striker Gabriel Jesus was taken off on a stretcher late in the first half, having scored six goals in his previous six games.
Many supporters have called for Arsenal to sign a new striker in the January transfer window, and while those calls are unlikely to subside, Arteta trusts his current squad.
“I understand that [transfer talk] But I couldn't love our players more and we are very focused on the players we need to perform at the highest level,” said Arteta.
“The rest is not in our hands, not in my hands.”
Arsenal are back in Premier League action on Wednesday against neighbors Tottenham, by which time they could be nine points behind leaders Liverpool.
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