"We did everything to win this game" - Mikel Arteta reacts after Arsenal get knocked out of FA Cup by Manchester United
Mikel Arteta shared his thoughts on Arsenal getting eliminated from the FA Cup by Manchester United. The Gunners lost on penalties in the third round of the annual knockout competition on Sunday (Jan. 12) at Emirates Stadium.
Following an eventful yet goalless first half, Manchester United opened their scoring with Bruno Fernandes' right-footed shot in the 52nd minute. Arsenal's equalizer came with Gabriel Magalhaes' left-footed shot from a set-piece in the 63rd minute.
The Red Devils were left with 10 men on the pitch after Diogo Dalot received two yellow cards. He was shown his first booking after committing a foul on Myles Lewis-Skelly in the 49th minute. Later in the 61st minute, the defender was given his second for a tackle on Mikel Merino.
The hosts were awarded a penalty after Harry Maguire committed a foul on Kai Havertz. However, Martin Odegaard could not convert it, failing to take the lead for the Gunners.
The match went to a penalty shootout after neither side could register a goal by the end of extra time. While Fernandes and Amad Diallo successfully netted the first two penalties for Manchester United, Havertz missed the second one for Arsenal.
While both sides went on to score in the rest of the penalties, Joshua Zirkzee netted the fifth one for the Red Devils to secure the win.
Arsenal maintained a ball possession of 70% against Manchester United while having seven shots on target and missing four big chances. During his post-match press conference, Mikel Arteta opened up about his squad's loss and said (via @MiguelDelaney on X):
"Incredible you don't win a game, to sum up. The dominance, the superiority in possession, we did everything to win the game."
Arteta also expressed being proud of his squad's performances last week even though the Gunners failed to secure a win and said (via Football London):
"We go home extremely sad but I cannot be prouder of my players, the team, the individual collectively what they produced on Wednesday against two top teams it's incredible. But we haven’t got rewarded and that’s the downside too."
While Arsenal's journey in this season's FA Cup is over, the Gunners still have a fair share of chances to bag some silverware in the Premier League, the EFL Cup and the UEFA Champions League.
Mikel Arteta provides update on Gabriel Jesus following injury in Arsenal's clash against Manchester United
Mikel Arteta has provided an update on Gabriel Jesus after the Brazilian star had to be stretchered off the pitch in their FA Cup third-round clash against Manchester United.
Jesus went down, holding his knee after colliding with Bruno Fernandes. The Gunners striker, who appeared to be in pain, was seen being carried off on a stretcher as he covered his face with his shirt. Raheem Sterling replaced him in the 40th minute.
Jesus made 22 touches while maintaining a pass accuracy of 92%. Following the Gunners' loss on penalties, Arteta provided some insight into the 27-year-old's injury (via Football London):
"Big worry, that’s my feeling. He had to come off on a stretcher with a lot of pain, touching his knee. It’s not looking good."
With four injured players in the squad, including Ethan Nwaneri, Bukayo Saka, Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Ben White, Arteta will hope Jesus' potential injury is not a big one.
Jesus was sidelined for five matches for the Gunners in February last season after sustaining a knee injury. When asked if it's the same knee as the forward's previous injury in the post-match press conference, Arteta said:
"No, I think it's the other one. The worrying factor is the feeling that he had. When he had to come off and the pain that he was in."
Gabriel Jesus has netted seven goals and provided two assists in 26 appearances across competitions for Arsenal this season.
