Mikel Arteta would’ve expected Arsenal to dispatch Manchester United from the FA Cup over 90 minutes even before the Red Devils went down a man and soon conceded penalty to his Gunners.
And he certainly wouldn’t have expected to lose.
[ RECAP, HIGHLIGHTS — Arsenal 1-1 (3-5 pens) Man Utd ]
The third round match went 120 minutes at the Emirates Stadium, as the white-clad Gunners failed to bring a lot of color to the final third against Ruben Amorim’s bunkered-in visitors.
The questions will be obvious to Arteta before he meets a microphone, as the Gunners continue to struggle to finish chances in the absence of injured Bukayo Saka.
Mikel Arteta reaction — Arsenal’s manager talks red card, penalty vs Manchester United in FA Cup
“Incredible how you don’t win that game, to sum it up,” Arteta said. “The dominance, the superiority in relation to the opposition, and everything we did to try and win the game. … We didn’t get what we deserved.”
On Gabriel Jesus injury: “A big worry, thats my feeling. He had to come off with a stretcher. The impact, the feeling that he had.”
On losing two Cup games this week: “I understand that point but it’s a remarkable week — what we did to two of the best teams in the country.”
On the game specifically: “It’s unbelievable,” he said, via the BBC. “Obviously, you measure the performance and what we did in relation to the position, 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 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 1000 games like this, you lose one and probably it was this one. … It’s football and it is a part of that execution, you need things to go your way and tonight it didn’t. When you go to penalties you know that it’s a flip of the coin and it can go either way. …. I’m so proud of my players. I love my players and I cannot be prouder because it’s very difficult to demand something else than the performance that they put in there.”
