As a stretcher picked up the injured Gabriel Jesús on the Emirates pitch, one almost expected him to stop and also pick up the remains of Arsenal's crumbling campaign.
A season that started out very promising but is now on the brink of collapse. In the end, Gabriel's left-footed volley, two minutes after Diogo Dalot's second yellow card for fouling Mikel Merino, was not enough to keep Mikel Arteta's team in the FA Cup, the competition that featured the best chance for the Gunners to win titles this season. .
It remains Arteta's last and only major Arsenal triumph, dating back to 2020. The Spaniard's actions on the touchline gave further indication of the value he had placed on this fixture.
Dalot's sliding challenge on Merino sent Arteta running from his seat towards the byline with the urgency of a pool lifeguard, waving his arms in anguish. In extra time, Arteta had become a ball boy and was rushing to win the ball back for his team.
Before Sunday's defeat, a 1-1 draw with Brighton in the Premier League, followed by a 2-0 loss to Newcastle on Tuesday in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg, had left the Gunners in the mire. .
Now, it is this nine-day period that has completely changed the fortunes of Arsenal's season for the worse, and made the prospect of a trophy at this club look, at least for this season, really difficult.
Arsenal's season started very promising but is now on the brink of collapse
Mikel Arteta's actions on the sidelines gave an indication of the value he had placed on the FA Cup
Kai Havertz had his face buried in the grass after firing the ball over the bar.
The gap to Liverpool in the league is six points (the Reds have a game in hand), the two-goal deficit to the Magpies away from home is an uphill task and the Champions League has several better contenders.
Arteta has taken this club far in five seasons. Going from consecutive eighth places to the expectation of obtaining titles, as well as a massive cultural reset, is not an easy task. However, serious questions remain to be resolved, particularly focused, once again, on the front line.
It was that kind of afternoon for the Gunners. Kai Havertz had his face buried in the grass after firing the ball over Altay Bayindir's goal from a yard out in the 88th minute, prompting Arteta to touch his cheeks.
Yes, Manchester United under Rubén Amorim was resilient. He suffered his first defeat as Man United manager on December 4, against Arsenal at the Emirates. That 2-0 defeat, via two set-pieces, precipitated the terrible run that has left United teetering above the league's relegation zone.
Amorim's return to the scene where he first saw the magnitude of the disaster he inherits at United had clearly shaken both him and his team.
Even with 10 men from the hour mark, they were in this fight until the end. But the stubbornness of the visitors, honed at Anfield a week earlier, ignores an obvious problem for the home team that is not new: their attack.
It's as basic as the white kit worn on Sunday for the club's 'No More Red' knife crime awareness campaign. It's also an area that has been hidden for the past two seasons amid a focus on fixing everything else except their front line.
Since Arteta was appointed Gunners manager in December 2019, only six attacking signings have been made: Jesus, Havertz, Leandro Trossard, Raheem Sterling (on loan from Chelsea), Willian (left in August 2021) and Marquinhos ( loaned to the Brazilian team). Cruzeiro). In that same period, 17 defenders have been signed.
Since Arteta was appointed in December 2019, only six attacking signings have been made
Gabriel Jesús was sent off on a stretcher after suffering an injury against Manchester United
Sterling, Jesus' replacement on Sunday, who returned from a knee injury, showed promising signs. But the winger, signed in the final hours of the previous transfer window due to Chelsea's desperation to get rid of him, being one of the Gunners' main attacking threats is a clear indictment of a failed strategy.
The statistics reflect it. On Tuesday, Arsenal took 23 unsuccessful shots, the second-most in a single game without scoring under Arteta.
On Sunday, they took 26 shots, resulting in just one goal, from a center back. Already without Bukayo Saka and Ethan Nwaneri, if Jesús' injury does not lead the north London club to buy an attacker in this January window, nothing will.