Arsenal’s FA Cup journey ended just as it began, as the Gunners were knocked out by Manchester United.
Ruben Amorim’s side came to the Emirates and conquered after losing 2-0 to Arsenal earlier in the Premier League season.
The FA Cup dream is over for Mikel Arteta, who was exposed to the horrors that his Arsenal squad are producing in attack, in what was a terrible display in the final third.
Man United beat Arsenal on penalties to hand the Gunners their second defeat in the space of a week, sending Arteta back to the drawing board.
Ruben Amorim reacts to Martin Odegaard moment
The 120 minutes of action that played out at the Emirates was painful for the home supporters as Arsenal failed to break down the ten men of Man United.
Martin Keown compared watching Arsenal to going to the dentist, which was a horrendously accurate depiction of the performance.
Arteta has seen his side fire 49 shots on goal over the previous two matches, resulting in one goal, telling of where the Gunners are going wrong.
Arsenal had plenty of chances to score, including a penalty to give the hosts the lead in the 72nd minute, an opportunity that Martin Odegaard squandered.
Amorim praised Odegaard before the game and mentioned the Arsenal captain after the fixture too, noting the importance of his penalty miss.
“It [penalty miss] was really important because it gives us more strength,” Amorim said in his post-match press conference, before shedding light on his squad’s issues when it came to limiting Odegaard.
“Then with one less player, he’s really hard to press. It’s really hard to press a team like Arsenal with 11 players, imagine with 10 players, and then you are in a disadvantage.
“It is really hard because they can control the ball. They were already controlling the ball in a lot of moments. So it was vital to win the game, to draw the game.”
What Odegaard said about his penalty miss
Odegaard hasn’t scored from open play in nine months, emphasising how badly the Norweigan needed a goal against United.
The skipper, and the fans at the Emirates, would’ve settled for a spot kick to win the game however, it wasn’t meant to be for the hosts.
Arsenal fans are unhappy with Odegaard’s form at present, as the midfielder has struggled to reach his best, something that wasn’t helped by his miss against United.
Reacting to the missed penalty, the captain was brief in his analysis of the moment, simply saying it wasn’t ‘good enough’.
“It’s not good enough from me, I have to score that one. I think it was a crucial moment as well, so it was a tough one to take. That’s it.”
It’s onwards and hopefully upwards for Arsenal, who host Tottenham on Wednesday in the North London Derby.
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