Man Utd star facing ban after FA Cup brawl in penalty shootout win over Arsenal

Man Utd midfielder Manuel Ugarte could face retrospective action after being seen headbutting Arsenal star Kai Havertz on Sunday.

The Red Devils went in front on 52 minutes in their FA Cup third round clash when Bruno Fernandes produced a brilliant finish to beat David Raya in the Gunners net.

But their lead only lasted 11 minutes with Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes scoring just two minutes after Diogo Dalot was sent off for Man Utd.

Arsenal were then awarded a penalty on 69 minutes when Harry Maguire took Havertz out in the penalty area, but Martin Odegaard’s spot-kick was saved by Man Utd goalkeeper Altay Bayindir.

The Man Utd and Arsenal players were involved in a brawl moments after the penalty kick was given by referee Andrew Madley with Maguire going to confront Havertz before more players got involved.

Havertz fell to the floor during the incident after television replays showed Ugarte throwing his head towards the Germany international.

And Man Utd midfielder Ugarte could now face a retrospective ban from the Football Association as Madley didn’t award any card to the Uruguayan and the referee appeared to miss the incident during the melee.

Arsenal missed a number of good chances as Man Utd held on in extra time before Bayindir was the hero again as the Red Devils triumphed 5-3 on penalties.

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Ruben Amorim was thrilled with his team’s performance versus Arsenal as Man Utd followed up their impressive display against Liverpool last weekend with another good showing.

Amorim told a post-match press conference: “I think we play, especially in the first half, we play better [than] in the first game. We were better in set pieces today, more aggressive. We show different spirit, even with 10 men. We are improving on that aspect.

“I think we had a lot of difficulties in the beginning of the game to control the game with the ball and then we suffered, not big opportunities, but we suffered running after the ball, especially to switch of play, to win the first pressure of Arsenal.

“But then we can take in this moment, take the game to a different level when we talk about aggressivity. And that is a very good thing. We managed to score and then I felt in that moment we were able to improve with the ball, but with the [player] sent off [it] was really hard on us.

“And then we suffered all together, defending very well, with some opportunities from Arsenal. The players were really tired, but I felt since the first minute that today was our day. And I felt also a connection with our fans, our staff. It was a very good day for us in that aspect. We need to improve the way we play football.”

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