Four things we learnt as United hold their nerve to knock Arsenal out of FA Cup on penalties

Manchester United travelled to London today aiming to upset the odds and knock Arsenal out of the FA Cup.

Altay Bayindir got a rare start in goal and a chance to redeem himself after a poor showing versus Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao cup defeat in December.

Lisandro Martinez, Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt formed the back three as Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot filled in once again in the wingback positions.

Manuel Ugarte and Kobbie Mainoo started again as the midfield duo and there was a return to the team for Alejandro Garnacho, despite numerous rumours linking the Argentine with a move away from the club.

Bruno Fernandes and Rasmus Hojlund completed the attack as they usually do as Amad Diallo was dropped to the bench having had a slight knock during the week.

Here are four things we learnt from the match.

United continue tight first halves away against top sides

As the first half ended 0-0, United’s first 45 minutes were almost a carbon copy of the game at the Emirates in December.

The Red Devils had more possession last month, as they were happy to be solid in defence in this match but in both games, there were few Arsenal chances in the opening half. In fact, the Gunners failed to have a shot on target.

United also kept a clean sheet in the first 45 minutes at Anfield last week and only conceded one away to Tottenham and Manchester City.

As a result, they have only conceded two goals in five first halves away to top teams in the land, which highlights the growing understanding of Amorim’s system and the departure from the chaos ball of Erik ten Hag’s tenure.

The Red Devils need to carry more attacking threat

While United impressed in defensive organisation in the first half, they struggled to carry much threat with the ball.

United did actually have more shots on target than the hosts in the opening 45 minutes but in reality, rarely threatened in an offensive way.

It has been a recurrent theme for quite a while at the club, long before Amorim’s arrival, as United have struggled to counter attack.

One of the club’s most famous traditions is their historic ability to hit teams on the break and score lightning quick goals but this rarely seems to be a feature of the club’s attacking play these days.

While Amorim does want to have more possession and slow build up play, in games like this it is essential that United’s solid defensive shape is balanced with menacing pace and threat on the counter.

The Red Devils proved they certainly have the talent to do so, when they smashed in an opener from Bruno Fernandes after great work on the counter by Garnacho. This needs to happen more frequently if Amorim’s side are truly to be a threat away from home in the big games.

United have a problem with discipline

Not only was Fernandes cautioned for needless dissent in the first half, Diogo Dalot received two yellow cards in less than 20 minutes to reduce United to 10 men.

To add insult to injury, Arsenal equalised just moments later to compound the away side’s misery.

United also went down to ten men against Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers on Boxing Day.

Ruben Amorim is clearly building a foundation of solidity but this will count for nothing unless he can get his players to keep their cool when the pressure is really on.

Altay Bayindir’s big moments finally arrived

Bayindir’s first big moments as a United player arrived as he made a string of fine saves in the second half to take the tie to extra time.

He made a great penalty stop from Martin Odegaard and a fine save to tip over a Declan Rice header.

The Turk also kept his side in the game when he impressively got down low to keep out another late effort from Rice.

Bayindir’s biggest moment would come in the penalty shootout when he saved Kai Havertz’s effort as United came out on top 5-4.

Whilst the former Fenerbahce man is unlikely to threaten Andre Onana’s spot as number one, this was the first match where he had a real impact in a positive sense and he will hope this can give him the confidence to kickstart his United career.

Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social