Mikel Arteta insists Arsenal's FA Cup defeat to 10-man Man Utd was 'one in a thousand' & boldly claims Gunners 'deserved to win by a mile'

The north London outfit dominated for long periods against their old adversaries at Emirates Stadium, particularly after Diogo Dalot had been dismissed for the visitors. They did, however, fall behind to a Bruno Fernandes strike and squandered a number of golden opportunities – including a Martin Odegaard penalty - to win the tie inside 90 and 120 minutes.

Ultimately, the third-round contest went to spot-kicks. Kai Havertz missed from 12 yards, as his effort was saved by Altay Bayindir, and United prevailed 5-3 in a dramatic shootout. Arteta believes an early exit from cup competition was harsh on his side, as they did more than enough to emerge victorious.

Arteta told BBC Sport when reflecting on a frustrating afternoon for Arsenal: “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 1,000 games, you should loose one and probably it was this one. You have to understand this as well, it's part of our industry, our game and move on because you don't have time to do that because on Wednesday we have a massive one.”

Arteta added: “It's football and it is a part of that execution, 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.

“It's an incredible team. I'm so proud of my players. I love my players and I cannot be prouder because it's very difficult to demand something else than the performance that they put in there. The ball has to go in the net and then you have to batter the opponent, that's the reality.”

Arsenal, who are trailing their Carabao Cup semi-final with Newcastle 2-0 after the first leg of that encounter, will be back in action on Wednesday when taking in a derby date with arch-rivals Tottenham – as they endeavour to keep pace with Liverpool in the Premier League title race.