Arsenal made it to their second consecutive FA Cup semi final after beating 10-man Manchester United 2-1. The Gunners won at Old Trafford for the first time in 11 attempts and will now face either Reading or Bradford in the semis. The visitors took the lead in the first half, thanks to some brilliant work from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, which was brilliantly finished off by Nacho Monreal.
But their lead didn’t last long as Angel Di Maria’s wonderful cross from the right wing was headed home by Wayne Rooney. After a frenetic first half, things settled down after the interval and it took a slack back pass from Antonio Valencia to break the deadlock. Danny Welbeck was on hand to score on his return to Old Trafford, to send Arsenal on their way and dump his former club out of the cup.
Here are the major talking points.
1. Where do United go from here?
So far this season, Manchester United have been the footballing equivalent of the Schrodinger’s cat. They have simultaneously managed to be both good and bad. While their results over the past few months were certainly impressive, their performances wasn’t up to the necessary standards. Still, they were in the top four and had a realistic chance of ending the season with a trophy.
Defeat to Arsenal now means that the top four is the only thing that United have to play for this season. As bad as last season was, they at least managed to win a trophy, even if it was only the Community Shield. For the money that was spent last summer, a top four finish and a trophy would have been the bare minimum. Now, it looks as though, even that is beyond Louis Van Gaal’s side.