‘That’s CRAZY’ – Fans spot what Joshua Zirkzee did after scoring Man Utd’s winning penalty to dump Arsenal out of FA Cup
FANS were in stitches after spotting Joshua Zirkzee’s celebration after his winning penalty knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup.
The Manchester United striker, 23, has struggled in his debut season with the Red Devils following his £36.5million transfer from Bologna.
But he grabbed his magic moment in the spotlight with both hands in the shootout after the thrilling 1-1 draw.
Zirkzee stepped up and sent David Raya the wrong way to fire home the winning penalty.
And he immediately ran off to celebrate with his jubilant supporters, with 8,000 travelling United fans housed behind the goal where the shootout took place.
Delighted Zirkzee could not hide his joy and brilliantly waved towards the fans as they roared and punched the air as the holders knocked their old rivals out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle.
The forward then pretended to shoot a gun – after firing his side through.
Zirkzee’s team-mates – including hero of the day Altay Bayindir – joined him by the corner flag, jumping on him and clearly buzzing for their under-pressure pal.
But plenty of viewers watching the celebrations reckon there may have been a cheeky, subliminal message from Zirkzee aimed at hosts Arsenal as they crashed out.
One said: “These players let Zirkzee come to Emirates and wave us bye-bye out of the cup, I’m sick.”
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Another wrote: “Zirkzee waving to the Arsenal fans in their own stadium.”
A third added: “Zirkzee waving us goodbye is CRAZY.”
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.
A fourth typed: “The wave from Zirkzee hahahaha.”
A fifth commented: “Waving goodbye to Arsenal’s hopes of winning a trophy this season.”
And a final user replied: “Joshua Zirkzee waving goodbye to Arsenal is going to be one of my favorite pictures, and if we will the FA Cup again it’ll be iconic!”
Zirkzee came on for Rasmus Hojlund on 81 minutes before playing through extra time and starring in the shootout.
But most of the drama unfolded while he was sat on the bench.
https://twitter.com/BBCSport/status/1878501283306283188Bruno Fernandes let rip at referee Andy Madley when he was denied a free-kick – and picked up a yellow card for launching his boot in anger.
But the Portuguese playmaker showed his class with a superb first-time finish to break the deadlock.
However, the game turned when his compatriot Diogo Dalot saw red for a second yellow after diving in on Mikel Merino.
Two minutes later, Gabriel equalised via a deflected strike.
Then tempers boiled over when Harry Maguire was adjudged to have fouled Kai Havertz in the box, sparking a mass brawl in which the Englishman allegedly called his opponent a “cheat”.
Bayindir saved Martin Odegaard’s spot-kick, though, and then delivered again in the shootout to deny Havertz.
Zirkzee will be hoping he can wave goodbye to Leicester City’s FA Cup dreams when Ruud van Nistelrooy takes his Foxes to Old Trafford in round four.