Arsenal 1-1 Man United (3-5 on penalties); FA Cup Report

Arsenal was eliminated from the FA Cup after a penalty shootout at the Emirates Stadium. The first half was dull and disjointed. In the second half, Bruno Fernandes scored for Manchester United on a counterattack. They soon lost Diogo Dalot to a second yellow card and went down to ten men.

Arsenal quickly equalized when Gabriel scored with an improvised shot. Martin Odegaard had a penalty saved, and they missed several chances from Kai Havertz and Declan Rice. The match went to extra time.

Despite having a player advantage, they couldn’t score. The game went to penalties, where Havertz’s shot was saved. All other penalties were also saved, leading to their elimination.

The Gunners started strong, wanting to recover from a previous loss to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup. They wore their all-white ‘No More Red’ kit to raise awareness about knife crime in London. In the first half, they had more possession but didn’t challenge their goalkeeper, Altay Bayindir.

Late in the first half, Gabriel Jesus was injured and had to leave the game. Raheem Sterling replaced him. The first half was filled with fouls and lacked rhythm, ending with an Odegaard free-kick going over the bar.

Early in the second half, United scored after a mistake by Gabriel. Fernandes finished strongly, and their fans cheered. Soon, Dalot was sent off for a tackle on Martinelli. From the free-kick, Gabriel scored the equalizer with a deflected shot. The game became exciting.

With 20 minutes remaining, Arsenal had a chance to take the lead from a penalty. Havertz was fouled by Maguire, and the referee awarded the spot kick. After some pushing among players, order was restored. Odegaard took the penalty, striking low to the keeper’s left, but Bayindir saved it.

Bayindir made another excellent save, denying Declan Rice’s header from an Odegaard cross. The gunners had momentum after our equalizer, but the penalty save hindered our progress.

However, they kept creating chances, but Havertz missed a close shot, shooting over from under the bar. Deep in injury time, Rice shifted to his left foot and aimed low towards the corner, but Bayindir saved again, pushing it away for a corner.

Moving to extra time. Rice had the first effort but his shot was blocked. Havertz crossed for Trossard, but De Ligt cleared it off the line. At the start of the second half, Raya saved them with a strong fingertip save from Zirkzee’s shot. Partey had a shot deflected over, and the full-time led to a penalty shootout. This is how the penalty played out.

Bruno Fernandes – scored 1-0

Martin Odegaard – equalized -1

Amad Diallo – scored 2-1

Kai Havertz – saved 2-1

Leny Yoro – scored 3-1

Declan Rice – scored 3-2

Lisandro Martinez – scored 4-2

Thomas Partey – scored 4-3

Joshua Zirkzee – scored 5-3

In the end, Manchester United won the penalty shootout 5-3 after taking four successful penalties and having one saved, while Arsenal scored three of their penalties, with one also saved.

Arsenal will play Tottenham at home in the Premier League on Wednesday, followed by Aston Villa next weekend.