Well, well, well. Who’d have thought Manchester United would make it so easy for Arsenal to progress to the semi-finals of the FA Cup? In the post-match FA Cup draw Peter Schmeichel summed it up perfectly when he said that Manchester United played like a team who didn’t want to win; or something along those lines. Arsenal played United at their own game last night and, at the end of 90 minutes, reminded everyone of the class team they are when playing football at its best.
1. Revenge is sweet
It’s been a good number of years since Arsenal managed to beat Manchester United in any competition, domestic or otherwise. To be precise the last time we beat United was on Saturday, 8 November 2008 in the Premier League, though it’s been nine years since Arsenal have won at Old Trafford.
This win was a truly sweet revenge in more ways than one; firstly it was United’s only hope of lifting any trophy this season and, secondly, it was a United academy reject who scored the winning goal. With Nacho Monreal’s unexpected goal putting us ahead in the 25th minute I think we truly believed we were in with a chance.
Then came Wayne Rooney’s equaliser a few minutes later and the odds were no longer stacked in our favour. However, Danny Welbeck goal’s in the 61st minute, was just the boost Arsenal needed. You could see from the live footage and photo stills just how much that goal meant to Welbeck.
I wonder if he thought of it as sweet revenge on his first return to Old Trafford since the rejection by Louis van Gaal that saw Welbeck sign for Arsenal on deadline day in September 2014. Maybe after last night’s result we’ll all feel as if the “United” Hex has been lifted once and for all.