Arsenal 1 Man Utd 1 (aet, 3-5 pens): Kai Havertz misses crucial spot kick as Gunners dumped out by ten-man United
FOR 45 minutes, it was the worst tie of the weekend.
Supporters of these famous old clubs, along with players who have featured for both of these FA Cup giants, must have been shaking their heads in disbelief.
And then we had an absolute cracker.
A remarkable, edge-of-your-seat third round scrap which took us back to the days when Arsenal and United, under Arsene Wenger and Alex Ferguson, were the kings of English football.
We even had a good old-fashioned ruck between Kai Havertz and Manuel Ugarte although Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane would have made mincemeat out of both of them.
In the end, Cup United holders – down to 10 men for the last hour after Diogo Dalot’s sending off – somehow won.
The hero was no 2 keeper Altay Bayindir, awful at Spurs in the Carabao Cup but brilliant here.
He saved Martin Odegaard’s penalty in the second half and then stopped Kai Havertz’s spot kick in the shoot-out.
United scored all five of their penalties with Joshua Zirkzee settling the tie.
Seven days after the 2-2 draw at Liverpool, new United manager Rubin Amorim will again be delighted with the way his team – although thankful for some terrible Arsenal finishing – refused to give up.
As for Arsenal this was a bad one.
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The frustration towards Mikel Arteta is growing and the last thing he needs is a north London derby on Wednesday.
Yet really, Arsenal should have won this.
The fact referee Andy Madley did not have the best of games, to put it mildly, added more controversy to a clash which was minus VAR.
Bruno Fernandes gave United the lead and Gabriel Magalhaes, at fault for the goal, then scored the equaliser.
Diogo Dalot was sent off for a second yellow card in the 61st minute and Arsenal were then handed a penalty after ref Madley believed that Harry Maguire had fouled Havetz.
At best, it was a really soft decision.
In the following melee, a fuming Ugarte seemed to headbutt Havertz but that was not seen by the officials so he could be trouble with the FA.
Martin Odegaard then saw his penalty saved by United keeper Bayindir although his work for the day was far from done.
For the fourth season, Arsenal took the pitch in an all-white kit – with their numbers barely visible – as part of their No More Red initiative which campaigns against knife crime.
Those shirts were camped in the United half and Gabriel Martinelli thought he had put Arsenal in the lead but was miles offside.
Yet United slowly grew into the game and Arsenal keeper David Raya kept out a long-range shot from Kobbie Mainoo and an angled drive from Alejandro Garnacho
United – with some justification – were furious with referee Madley for failing to award a free-kick when Gabriel Jesus caught Fernandes outside the area.
Man Utd ratings vs Arsenal as Maguire and Co dig deep to win after Dalot's moment of madness
MANCHESTER UNITED produced a heroic effort to squeeze past Arsenal and into the FA Cup’s fourth round on penalties.
The Red Devils were forced to dig deep at the Emirates following Diogo Dalot’s 61st minute red card.
On a freezing cold afternoon in North London, SunSport’s Kealan Hughes rates and slates each United performer…
ALTAY BAYINDIR – 8
Poor punch up in the air which allowed the ball to fall nicely for Gabriel to finish.
Redeemed himself with a brilliant penalty save to keep the score level, before superbly denying Declan Rice twice.
NOUSSAIR MAZRAOUI – 7
Was assured on and off the ball if unspectacular. Got his body on the line as the Gunners pushed for a winner.
MATTHIJS DE LIGT – 8
Solid in defence and kept the backline well organised. Produced the best tackle of the match on the goalline to deny Leandro Trossard a certain goal.
HARRY MAGUIRE – 8
Commanding in the air and made several key blocks but gave away the penalty which Arsenal missed to go in front.
Got away with an earlier error as he failed to clear – the ball landed at Kai Havertz’s feet but he somehow skewed wide with his effort.
LISANDRO MARTINEZ – 7
Had to be on high alert to deal with the movement of Arsenal forwards but it was a task he managed well.
DIOGO DALOT – 3
Booked for a mistimed lunge on Lewis-Skelly. He followed that up with another silly, late foul on Merino with the ball about to go out of play for his second yellow. Stupid red card.
MANUEL UGARTE – 7
A firefighter all across the pitch for his side, although spent most of the match in his own half given Arsenal’s dominance.
Was booked for one foul too many just before the hour mark and was lucky to escape a red card as he went head-to-head with Havertz after the penalty incident.
KOBBIE MAINOO – 6
Lively in the middle and kept a close eye on Jorginho. Looked sharp on the ball and showed some clever touches.
Should have done better to head clear before Gabriel’s equaliser.
ALEJANDRO GARNACHO – 7
Always an outlet on the counter which was much needed for the Red Devils.
Made the most of a Gabriel error to burst in on goal and pass across to Fernandes to score.
BRUNO FERNANDES – 7
Was booked for throwing a trademark tantrum after claiming he was fouled on the edge of the box when lining up a shot.
Showed his class with a brilliant first-time finish which he bent around a defender into the far corner.
RASMUS HOJLUND – 3
Failed to provide the focal point that United badly needed, which meant almost every pass forward was dealt with by the Arsenal centre-halves. Was fortunate there was no VAR to take a look at his apparent elbow on William Saliba, which left the Arsenal star bloodied.
SUBSTITUTES
Amad (for Garnacho, 80mins) – 6
Lively on the counter too but just lacking a bit of quality – though was outnumbered every time he got the ball.
Joshua Zirkzee (for Hojlund, 80mins) – 6
Some very clever touches when he came on and provided a presence up front at a time United badly needed it.
Toby Collyer (for Mainoo, 80mins) – 5
Showed plenty of energy but was missing quality in some areas.
Tyrell Malacia (for Ugarte, extra-time) – 6
Stuck to his task well.
Leno Yoro (for Maguire, 104) – 6
Did his job well during the closing stages of the match. Converted his penalty in the shoot-out with aplomb.
United’s captain Fernandes was so annoyed that he threw his boot – which had come off following the challenge – back onto the ground and was cautioned by Madley.
Jesus injured himself in that challenge and the former Manchester City player was in tears as he left the pitch on a stretcher.
He now joins Bukayo Saka on the sidelines and these injury issues could really now bite manager Mikel Arteta on the backside.
United’s fans booed the introduction of former City winger Raheem Sterling yet those 8000 supporters were celebrating widely seven minutes into the second half when Fernandes guided the ball into the corner from the edge of the area.
It came following a swift counter-attack from Garnacho and the fact defender Gabriel was caught in possession after slipping while heading the ball.
United were reduced to 10 men when Dalot, stupidly, dived in both feet to challenge Mikel Merino and he was always going to get a second yellow.
Worse was to follow for United when keeper Bayindir chose to punch rather than catch Martinelli’s cross and the ball eventually fell for Gabriel and his half-volley deflected into the net off Matthijs De Ligt.
United had every reason to be furious with ref Madley when he awarded a penalty after Havertz’s minimal contact with Maguire.
Ugarte was livid with Havertz and the Uruguayan did seem to drop the nut on the German and now looks likely to be getting a ban as punishment.
United keeper Bayindir made a decent save to keep out Odegaard’s penalty and then produced a flying stop to keep out a header from Declan Rice but the England midfielder simply had to score.
Incredibly, that bad miss was not even as awful as Havertz’s in the 88th minute when he somehow lifted the ball over the bar from a couple of yards.
Rice was then denied in injury time by Bayindir when he brilliantly kept out a shot deflected off De Ligt, who then delivered an extraordinary goal-line clearance in extra-time to deny Leandro Trossard.
In the second period of extra-time, Zirkzee’s deflected near-post shot was brilliantly saved by Raya and it went to penalties.
Yet Zirkzee did put the ball in the net to seal the tie in the shoot-out and without doubt, he will not be going anywhere this January.
Arsenal ratings vs Man Utd as Martinelli looks lively but wasteful Havertz costs Gunners another trophy chance
KAI HAVERTZ missed two sitters and a penalty in the shoot-out as Arsenal were dumped out of the FA Cup.
The Gunners huffed and puffed but failed to find a winner, even after extra-time, against Manchester United’s 10 men.
And it all went wrong in the penalty shootout as Altay Bayindir saved Havertz’s effort.
Here is how SunSport’s Kealan Hughes rated the Arsenal stars…
DAVID RAYA – 6
Could do nothing about United’s goal and produced a stellar stop to deny Zirkzee in extra-time.
JURRIEN TIMBER – 7
Very effective on the overlap and worked well being fed by Odegaard.
Tested a couple of times by Alejandro Garnacho who proved a problem on the counter-attack.
WILLIAM SALIBA – 7
Dealt with Hojlund well although the striker did not pose much of a threat.
GABRIEL – 6
Terrible error to lose possession to Alejandro Garnacho who was put through on goal and set up Bruno Fernandes to score.
Made amends with a brilliant finish Bukayo Saka would have been proud of.
MYLES LEWIS-SKELLY – 5
A quiet game at left-back, probably should have got forward more particularly after United went down to ten men and had Garnacho filling in at right-back.
JORGINHO – 5
Kept things ticking over in the middle and was always an outlet for his team-mates.
MIKEL MERINO – 4
Anonymous in the middle. Difficult to see what he brings to this Arsenal side.
Missed a good chance to put his side ahead moments after the equaliser and was taken off shortly after that.
MARTIN ODEGAARD – 7
A pleasure to watch. Made everything happen, his ability to turn on the ball in the middle of the park created opportunities time after time.
But he missed the chance to win the game from the penalty spot.
GABRIEL JESUS – 6
Lovely pass to break the lines and put through Martinelli, who found the back of the net but was offside.
Fell awkwardly when defending a cross in the first half and was carried off on a stretcher.
GABRIEL MARTINELLI – 7
Was the main attacking threat in the first half with his direct style causing the visitors all sorts of problems.
Produced good movement and a finish to match but his goal was disallowed for offside.
KAI HAVERTZ – 3
Won the penalty after a deft touch past Maguire.
But he missed two sitters including one just three minutes from time to win the match, and his penalty miss proved decisive in the shoot-out.
SUBSTITUTES
Raheem Sterling (for Jesus, 40mins) – 6
Looked sharp when he got the ball and did well in the build-up to Havertz winning the penalty.
Declan Rice (for Merino, 73mins) – 6
Almost scored with what might have been his first touch but his header was brilliantly saved.
Should have grabbed the winner in the dying moments but his low effort was again superbly matched by Bayindir.
Leandro Trossard (for Lewis-Skelly, extra-time) – 5
Will wonder how he didn’t score after Matthijs de Ligt produced a goalline clearance to deny him.
Blazed over with an effort from just outside the box.
Thomas Partey (for Timber, 101mins) – 5
Put in a few good crosses. Came close to a winner with an effort that was deflected narrowly over the bar.
Kieran Tierney (for Jorginho, 113mins) –
His arrival onto the pitch was greeted with a big cheer but he did not have much time to impact the match.