Wayne Rooney upset by Manchester United's FA Cup exit against Arsenal
Tuesday 10 March 2015 14:35, UK
Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney admits his side blew a great chance to win the FA Cup when they were beaten by Arsenal on Monday night.
United have now gone 11 years without winning the competition and it is the only domestic honour Rooney is yet to win, adding to his dismay at being defeated by the Gunners.
Victory would have seen them take on Bradford City or Reading at Wembley in the semi-finals, with Liverpool and Aston Villa the only other Premier League sides remaining in the draw.
"I want to win the cup for, and with, the team; it's not about me wanting to win the FA Cup," Rooney told MUTV.
"That's why it's so sad for us to get knocked out; we knew we'd have a great opportunity if we'd won on Monday night."
Rooney equalised for United four minutes after Nacho Monreal's opener, but a goal by former United striker Danny Welbeck was enough to send Arsenal through.
"We're obviously disappointed," Rooney added. "Going into half time having equalised, we felt that we'd create enough chances to win the game, but it wasn't to be."
Rooney also had sympathy for Antonio Valencia, whose poor backpass left Welbeck in the clear to round United keeper David de Gea and tap the ball into an empty net.
"Mistakes happen, but it's not nice when you're on the receiving end of one which costs us a goal," Rooney said.
"It's a hard one to take, but we have to dust ourselves down and get ready for Sunday.
"Conceding the second goal the way we did in the second half meant that we were always chasing the game afterwards; they made it difficult for us and defended well."
