Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta described the team’s FA Cup third-round loss to Manchester United on Sunday as “unbelievable.”
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Arteta calls Arsenal FA Cup loss “unbelievable”
Bruno Fernandes put United ahead in the 52nd minute, before Diogo Dalot was sent off nine minutes later for a tackle on Mikel Merino.
Gabriel Magalhães equalized in the 63rd minute, but Martin Ødegaard missed a penalty 18 minutes before the end of normal time, leaving the result in the balance at the Emirates Stadium.
United felt the penalty decision was fair, even though Harry Maguire made minimal contact with Kai Havertz in the box.
There is no VAR in the FA Cup until the fifth round.
However, the hosts spent much of the game defending as Arsenal pressed for a winning goal.
Unfortunately, Kai Havertz was the only player to miss in the shootout, with goalkeeper Altay Bayindir saving his spot kick.
This allowed Joshua Zirkzee to score the winning penalty for the 10-man United side.
The victory set up a fourth-round tie at home against Leicester City for United.
“One-in-a-thousand occurrence”
Arsenal are winless in their last three games across all competitions.
They first lost to Brighton in the Premier League and then to Newcastle United in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final.
Arteta described the loss to United as a “one-in-a-thousand occurrence,” but he wants his players to move forward.
“It’s unbelievable,” Arteta told the BBC.
“Obviously, you measure the performance and what we did in relation to the position, you know, you deserve to win the game by a mile. But the reality is we are out, and the only thing that’s going to be judged is that, but internally, I can’t.”
“I love my players. I love our team and I love how good they are and what they do because in a thousand games, you should lose one, and probably it was this one. You have to understand this as well, it’s part of our industry, our game and move on because you don’t have time to do that, because on Wednesday we have a massive one.”
