United knock Arsenal out of the FA Cup, is Arteta in trouble?

Man United knock Arsenal out of the FA Cup on penalties. Arteta faces scrutiny, while injuries pile up for the Gunners. Is their season slipping away?

Altay Bayindir celebrates after stopping Martin Odegaard's penalty in United's FA Cup success over the Gunners at the Emirates on Sunday. United won 5-3 on penalties. (Photo credit: BBC)

Manchester United proved their worth at the Emirates on Sunday, knocking Arsenal out of the Emirates FA Cup on penalties after a 1-1 draw at the end of extra time.

Mikel Arteta celebrated five years at the helm in the Arsenal dugout in December, but is it time for Arsenal to start thinking beyond the Spaniard? Did the back-to-back title challenge with Manchester City take such a toll on Arteta that he has now lost it?

Arsenal's Carabao Cup hopes were shattered last week against Newcastle, and they followed that up with another subpar performance at home in the FA Cup, significantly reducing their chances of winning this season.

When it comes to Manchester United and Ruben Amorim, they arrived at the Emirates with a clear plan, which they adhered to. Since the latter days of Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United has become a counterattacking side, and they seem to be on their way to mastering the art.

Arsenal dominated the entirety of the game at the Emirates on Sunday but failed to advantage when United struck first. Bruno Fernandes executed a sensational counterattack to perfection, curling one in after Alejandro Garnacho fed him.

Moments later, Diogo Dalot received assistance after making a reckless lunge towards Kai Havertz. Arsenal levelled almost immediately with an improvised finish by Gabriel Maghalaes off Mathijs De Ligt; you’d think Arsenal would go on and win from there.

While Arsenal continued to dominate, they didn’t look like scoring, not even after being awarded a penalty, which Martin Ødegaard missed. United sat deep and launched scarce counterattacks, but to no avail.  As the game progressed, United achieved their desired outcome: penalty shootouts.

Kai Havertz missed from the spot, but that isn’t the only story of the night. The German missed numerous opportunities, including a spectacular one towards the end of regulation time, prompting questions about whether the Gunners would actively search for new forwards.

Words coming out of the Arsenal medical room are that Gabriel Jesus has ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament; he joins Bukayo Saka, Ben White, and Ethan Nwaneri on the long-term injury list. Will this be a tenable excuse for the Gunners if they don’t win anything this season?