Amorim's stature grows as misfiring Arsenal exit cup

While Ruben Amorim said that he instantly felt “today was our day”, Mikel Arteta now has to figure out what next for Arsenal’s season.

- MIGUEL DELANEY

So much for the FA Cup losing its meaning. This defiant penalty shoot-out victory for 10-man Manchester United could have significant consequences for the campaigns of both clubs. For Amorim, it only fosters momentum and a greater sense of unity after last Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Liverpool.

These are the kind of results, and battles, on which greater things are built. Necessary “sufferings”, as Amorim would put it, not least for redemptive match-winning heroes Altay Bayindir and Joshua Zirkzee. United’s day meanwhile put a cap on Arsenal’s week, right up to the injury to Gabriel Jesus.

Mikel Arteta’s team could only draw 1-1 with Brighton in the Premier League, lose 2-0 at home to Newcastle United in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals and now lose 5-3 on penalties to go out of the FA Cup third round after an immensely frustrating 1-1 draw.

As with the defeat to Newcastle, this was another case of so many missed chances, when Arsenal were just crying out for a finisher. Martin Odegaard’s missed penalty would even have done it.

A playmaker squandering a spot-kick in a raucous FA Cup tie against United? That, as well as so many other elements of this game, has happened when these two clubs have met in this competition before. It is probably the pairing with the richest history in the competition, and this only added to it.