Manchester United vs Arsenal

     

Manchester United vs Arsenal

The quarter-finals of the FA Cup took place on 9/3/15 and consisted of a tight match between Manchester United vs Arsenal; it took place at Old Trafford with kick-off at 7:45.

I was supporting Manchester United as I always have done before. The match kicked off as I buzzed with excitement- I couldn't help breaking into a wide grin as Wayne Rooney, Di Maria and Falcao were all in the starting line- up for Manchester United.

26 minutes into the first-half, Oxlade- Chamberlain danced through four Man Utd defenders including Antonio Valencia (who left his position to come to tackle Chamberlain, therefore leaving Nacho Monreal unmarked). My heart jumped as I sensed danger. I knew it. I just knew it. Chamberlain played a pass to Monreal that was as quick as a bullet. This left Monreal a simple finish to make and the net almost ripped with the power that Nacho Monreal put in his shot.

I was sweating and burning with anger; Manchester United were losing 1-0. I swallowed nervously as Arsenal attacked. Oh no! They had broken past our defence and Alexis Sanchez was left one on one against De Gea. My heart was thumping heavily as Sanchez put the shot away. De Gea lost his balance and stumbled but he still stuck his leg out. The ball curled in the air as I held my breath. Sweat was beading up on my wrinkled forehead and it streamed down my chubby cheek. The ball bounced on De Gea's leg and...hit the crossbar! I shot up as my elation was almost an unbearable gurgle in my stomach. The scoreboard hadn't changed; it was still 1-0.

A few minutes after, Di Maria was dancing through the right wing and he curled an early cross in for Rooney. Rooney and my heart leapt as he met the ball with his head. The shot was a rocket flying through the air and it smashed the back of the net and bounced back out. I almost screamed with happiness. I was as delighted as a lark. I was in the seventh heaven. The crowd seemed to be just as happy as I was as they were loudly shouting:

"Glory Glory Man United!"

About half an hour after, Manchester United were passing the ball around and it went to Valencia. He was pressurised until he was left with no choice. He played a back pass to De Gea. Only, it wasn't just any kind of back pass. It was underpowered and De Gea had to rush out of his area to reach it but it was too late.  Danny Welbeck -against his former club at his former club's stadium- intercepted the pass and with one touch, he went around the keeper. There was only one outcome to come from this: a goal. And believe it or not it was a goal. I bit my nail angrily as Danny Welbeck danced around doing his celebration that he never had a chance to do at Manchester United because he rarely ever had a chance to score.

With 10 minutes left, Di Maria broke into the box as I jumped with a mixture of hope and happiness. He was pulled by an Arsenal player and he dropped down. The referee Michael Oliver sprinted towards the penalty area and took out the yellow card. Was it a penalty? No. The yellow card is pointed to Di Maria for diving. Di Maria- just like I was- was frustrated as he protested. Michael Oliver walked away to show that he will not take any protests into account. Di Maria- his rage sweeping through him like a tidal wave, surrounding him like a foul stench. He grabbed the referee's shirt and pulled him back. Michael Oliver was furious at this action and- without any hesitation brought out the yellow card again- but this time it wasn't alone, the red was with it. Di Maria was sent off.

There was less than one minute left of stoppage time, I buried my head inside as the match was coming to a close. Michael Owen held the whistle in his mouth and blew it immediately. Arsenal were through to the semi- finals.