Mikel Arteta names ‘absolutely outstanding’ Man Utd star as the MOTM in FA Cup clash | OneFootball

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta could hardly believe how his side throw away the opportunity to eliminate Manchester United from the FA Cup, but heaps praise on Altay Bayindir.

Many Red Devils faithful were worried when they saw the Turk’s name on the team sheet ahead of the third-round clash at the Emirates. After all, his last visit to North London yielded a disastrous outcome as he put on a poor showing against Tottenham Hotspur in the quarter-final of the Carabao clash. This includes conceding from a direct corner kick which proved to be the winner for Spurs.

Nevertheless, the 26-year-old has a substantially better showing this time around. This includes saving a spot-kick during the match as well as making several decisive stops to preserve the 1-1 draw while Ruben Amorim’s men were reduced to 10 following Diogo Dalot’s expulsion.

Moreover, Bayindir denied Kai Havertz in the shoutouts, which allowed Man Utd to prevail 5-3 and advance to the next round.

Mike Arteta raises the hat for Altay Bayindir

Altay Bayindir celebrates with the United fans after saving Kai Havertz’s penalty. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

For his part, Arteta was incredulous with the outcome, while admitting Bayindir was the ultimate Man of the Match.

“It’s football and a part of our execution is the goalkeeper who was probably the best player,” said the Arenal manager in his post-match interview (via Metro).

“It’s unbelievable. Obviously, you measure the performance and what we did in relation to the position, you-know, you deserve to win the game by a mile.  But the reality is we are out and the only thing that’s going to be judged it that but internally I can’t.

“I love my players. I love our team and I love how good they are and what they do because in 1000 games, you should lose one and probably it was this one. You need things to go your way and tonight it didn’t. When you go to penalties you know that it’s a flick of the coin and it can go either way.”

Moreover, Bayindir received praise of the highest order from England legend Alan Shearer who described his display as ‘outstanding’.

“Altay Bayindir was absolutely outstanding. It was a three-way tie between him and [Matthijs] De Ligt and [Harry] Maguire who I thought were also superb.”

This was certainly a timely masterclass from the second-goal goalkeeper as Man Utd could change their mind on his future.