Winners and Losers as 10-man Man Utd beat Arsenal on penalties in the FA Cup

10-man Man Utd have beaten Arsenal on penalties in the FA Cup third round.

After a cagey first-half, things exploded to life after the break. Man Utd took the lead with a breathtaking counter-attack, finished off by Bruno Fernandes.

United's lead was threatened as Diogo Dalot was sent off for a second yellow card nine minutes later, and Arsenal pulled level soon after via a deflected effort from Gabriel.

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The game then ebbed and flowed until Arsenal were awarded a contentious penalty, but Martin Odegaard saw his effort saved by Altay Bayindir.

That was the end of the scoring but far from the end of the drama as things remained level all the way through extra-time and the game was settled by a dramatic penalty shootout where Kai Havertz was the only miss and Joshua Zirkzee scored the winner.

Who were the winners and losers after such a thrilling clash?

Winner: Altay Bayindir

"You have to be ready every minute, every second," said Altay Bayindir after the match. This was an immense display from a goalkeeper who, when last we saw him, was conceding straight from a corner away to Spurs.

This trip to North London was much more fruitful for the Turkish stopper. Bayindir made save after save to deny Arsenal, coming off his line to claim crosses and quite notably repelling those deadly Arsenal corners every time one came in.

The only goal he conceded was a deflected effort from Gabriel, and in the meantime he saved Martin Odegaard's penalty. A goal at that time would have surely turned the tide against Man Utd as Arsenal had all the momentum, but Bayindir dove across his goal to make a spectacular save and denied the Norwegian attacking midfielder.

Bayindir then capped an incredible evening of action by saving Kai Havertz's penalty in the shoot-out, diving low to his left to deny the German and set Man Utd on the way to victory.

Loser: Kai Havertz

Much has been made about Arsenal's lack of a so-called elite striker. Gabriel Jesus' purple patch notwithstanding, Mikel Arteta has always kept faith with Kai Havertz as a false nine.

And you can see why. Havertz has the physical frame of a proper line-leading striker but the mentality of a much shorter, creative attacking midfielder.

When Arsenal are humming, this gives them a level of control as well as a genuine box presence that makes them dangerous. But when things aren't working?

Well, you get today.

Havertz wasn't much of a presence in the game except when he was missing incredible chances from basically point-blank range. He missed two sitters, the second of which was so inexplicable it was like when you're playing FIFA and randomly forget you're playing with Alternate controls instead of Classic so you hit chipped pass when you meant to shoot.

He then missed his penalty in the shootout, basically passing the ball back to Altay Bayindir. The fitting cap to a disastrous afternoon for the German.

Winner: VAR

Who would have ever predicted that an English football audience would be clamouring for VAR? But as Joni Mitchell once said: "you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone."

All manner of nonsense happened in this game, from a dodgy penalty that wasn't to (at least) one red card for hands to the throat in the scuffle that followed said penalty.

While the chaos was emjoyable for the neutral, it did really highlight just how much VAR has improved the English game, even if it's not as free-flowing as it once was.

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Loser: Diogo Dalot

A week removed from his masterclass against Trent Alexander-Arnold at Anfield, Diogo Dalot put in more of a disasterclass against Arsenal at the Emirates.

The Portuguese full-back wasn't as offensively sharp as he had been against Liverpool, and defensively he was given something of a chasing by the Arsenal attack.

All of this culminated, of course, in his red card. And while his first yellow was a bit harsh, sliding in as he did for his second yellow knowing you are already on a booking is catastrophically silly and really put Man Utd in a difficult spot when they had the game under control.

Winner: Ruben Amorim

"We need to do it every week, every game, every three days or whatever," said Bruno Fernandes after the game. It was a phenomenal effort from the Man Utd captain but his focus post-match being that United need to replicate this effort against every team not just the giants speaks to how well Ruben Amorim is getting his message across.

"It's not that Arsenal deserved to lose, but we deserved to win," said Amorim after the match, and he's absolutely right. Man Utd were incredible today, especially after going down to 10 men following Dalot's red card.

United dug in, gritted their teeth and repelled Arsenal attacks over and over again. They counter-attacked with momentum and had chances themselves.

What was clear is that, despite not getting any new players in yet, Ruben Amorim is the real deal. This is a serious coach with serious ideas.

Yeah, there are obvious areas for improvement but it's telling that with a week's worth of prep actually giving him time to work on the tactics involved in playing the 3-4-2-1, the team is looking so much sharper and like they can match almost anyone.

Get this guy a couple of proper wing-backs and a goalscorer and Ruben Amorim's Man Utd could really take off!

Loser: Mikel Arteta

It's perhaps a bit obvious to say that Mikel Arteta is a loser, but he is and for more than one reason. Obviously, in the most basic sense: his team lost, and against 10-men at that!

But Arsenal weren't at their free-flowing best against Man Utd. Yes they created a handful of great chances and missed them/had them saved, but there was nothing else besides that.

Martin Odegaard is clearly a wizard, but with Bukayo Saka out injured the Norwegian is the only genuine outlet for the Gunners in the final third. Too many of the rest of their team are happy to play for set-pieces.

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And the biggest reason Arteta is a loser is the injuries.

Gabriel Jesus has been hot lately, but left the pitch in the first-half with what looked like a serious injury, Arteta said: "it's not looking good," after the game.

And Jorginho limped out of the match in extra time, an injury which may have cost Arsenal in the shoot-out given Jorginho is automatic from the spot.

One hopes both players make swift recoveries, because losing them even for the medium-term could be a huge burden on a side already struggling without Bukayo Saka.