Joshua Zirkzee gets redemption and Kai Havertz ‘nightmare goes on and on’ as Manchester United beat Arsenal
Today at 01:06 PM
Altay Bayindir and Joshua Zirkzee went from villains to heroes as they inspired Manchester United to victory over Arsenal.
The ten-man Red Devils kickstarted their FA Cup defence by beating the Gunners on penalty at the Emirates Stadium.
Zirkzee netted the winning spot-kick after Bayindir had earlier saved from Kai Havertz from 12 yards.
United had taken the lead in the second half after a clinical counter attack.
Bruno Fernandes’ emphatic finish capped off the ruthless move for Ruben Amorim’s side.
However, their lead was thrown into jeopardy by Diogo Dalot just after the hour mark.
The Portuguese was shown a second yellow card for a wild lunge, reducing his side to ten men.
Arsenal immediately punished the error as Gabriel capitalised on a poor punch from Bayindir to equalise.
The United goalkeeper would redeem himself with a string of saves to keep his side level, though, as the match went the distance.
Firstly, he saved Martin Odegaard’s penalty after a controversial spot-kick was awarded against Harry Maguire.
Tensions almost boiled over after the decision, with VAR not in use to overturn Andrew Madley on-field verdict.
A clash between Manuel Ugarte and Havertz left the German forward on the floor, but neither player was punished.
Bayindir then brilliantly tipped over when Declan Rice looked destined to score.
They were not the only goalkeeping heroics, though, with David Raya also saving Zirkzee’s deflected strike in extra-time.
However, Raya was powerless to keep out any of United’s efforts during the shootout.
Instead, Bayindir once again dove down to his left to tip Havertz’s effort round the post.
“Havertz’s nightmare gets worse and worse,” talkSPORT commentator Joe Shennan said after Arsenal’s FA Cup dreams went up in smoke.
More to follow…
