Man United are the reigning FA Cup champions, and it is premature to see them face Arsenal in the third round. Both teams are contenders for the title and one of them is forced to leave the tournament very early at the Emirates.
The "Red Devils" entered the match with the "Gunners" in a state of being floundering in the Premier League. Meanwhile, the home team is not doing much better, having just lost 0-2 to Newcastle in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final. Arsenal desperately needs a title after many years of empty-handedness under Mikel Arteta despite his impressive performance. The Premier League and Champions League are seemingly impossible goals, so the FA Cup is highly regarded.
However, after more than 120 minutes at home, The Gunners once again bowed their heads in disappointment. They lost an inexcusable match against Man United.
Why do we say Man United are brave? Because when entering this match, despite being the away team and being rated lower, M.U still played aggressively and maintained absolute adherence to the 3-4-3 formation "nailed down" by Ruben Amorim. The Portuguese coach's point of view remains unchanged, only attacking can help the team win and act as a psychological springboard for the rest of the season.
If we look at the negative side, the yellow cards, even the red cards received by Man United are the result of fouls. But on the positive side, it is the dedication, not afraid of collision to intimidate the opponent. Or simply, Bruno Fernandes and his teammates did everything to protect Altay Bayindir's goal. Arsenal attacked continuously but also had many times been stopped by such situations of the opponent.
The courage also comes from the way many Man United players face adversity. When Diogo Dalot received a red card, the away team did not panic and remained disciplined in their play. Especially captain Bruno, after receiving a yellow card from a refereeing error, he suppressed his anger and did not make any more mistakes until the end of the match.
Or Harry Maguire, from a centre-back who was afraid of being twisted and positioned, the former Man United captain played one of his best matches in the past few years, since arriving at Old Trafford. He appeared in every highlight and was rated the highest scorer of the match before fouling Kai Havertz and leading to a penalty for the home team.
However, although the situation was a mistake by the referee, Maguire immediately suppressed his anger after a slight scuffle with his opponent. When the former "Red Devils" captain was exhausted, he left the highest excitement for his teammates and his replacement, young center-back Leny Yoro. Everyone stood firm until the last minute to bring Arsenal to the penalty shootout.
The last person to mention is Altay Bayindir. The Turkish goalkeeper seemed to be redundant at Old Trafford when Andre Onana was constantly the main goalkeeper in recent times. However, with Amorim, every player is given the opportunity to prove his ability. This match against Arsenal in the third round of the FA Cup was the most important moment for Bayindir to seize the opportunity and he did very well.
A few unsafe tackles in the first half could not knock Bayindir's confidence. Onana was weak in defending against high balls, but Bayindir proved to be very good at this. Arsenal's corners and set pieces were almost meaningless when the Turkish goalkeeper directly cleared or directed the defense to completely block.
The second half and penalty shootout saw Bayindir deliver his best performance since joining the Red Devils. He made two fantastic saves before the shootout. When the two teams stepped up to the penalty spot, the moment Bayindir blocked Kai Havertz's shot seemed to have sealed the outcome for Arsenal in this match.
Havertz won Arsenal a penalty in the second half but it was Bayindir who denied Martin Odegaard. A brave and perfect performance from the 26-year-old helped Man United move on as defending champions.
After this match, hopefully Ruben Amorim and his team can continue to maintain their momentum and courage in the remaining stages of the season. In the immediate future, in arenas where there may be titles such as the FA Cup or Europa League, Man United must be careful. As for the Premier League, at all costs the Old Trafford team must finish in the Top 6 to ensure a ticket to the European Cup.
