I don’t know – Mikel Arteta not sure about trophy hopes after ‘incredible’ loss
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Mikel Arteta admitted he is uncertain if he will be able to deliver a trophy for Arsenal after seeing his side dumped out of the FA Cup by holders Manchester United at the Emirates – a defeat he described as “incredible”. United played half of a thrilling third-round tie with 10 men when Diogo Dalot was dismissed moments after Bruno Fernandes had put the visitors ahead. Gabriel equalised for the Gunners before Martin Odegaard was denied from the penalty spot by Altay Bayindir.
The stand-in United stopper, hailed a “hero” by United boss Ruben Amorim, made a string of fine saves to take the match to extra time, and then denied Kai Havertz in a 5-3 shootout win to send Arsenal crashing out. Arsenal’s early exit comes just four days after they were dealt a blow in their bid to reach the Carabao Cup final following a 2-0 opening-leg last-four defeat against Newcastle.
Arteta has revived Arsenal’s fortunes, but the club’s 2020 FA Cup win remains the sole silverware of his five-year tenure. And when asked if there is a danger his side’s latest setback will have a psychological impact on his crop of players, Arteta replied: “We are relying on not performing like this and waiting for one shot to go on target and score a goal, I don’t want to bet on that. I bet on that team to try to do.
“Are we going to win big trophies? I don’t know. But playing like this, there are very few teams in the world that can play at that level. “It is incredible how you don’t win that game. The dominance, the superiority, and everything that we did to try to win the game and we didn’t get what we deserved. We go home extremely sad but I cannot be prouder of my players.”.
