Weekend Review: Penalty pain for Gunners as Tottenham edge tense Tamworth tie

Bookies were left bouncing after the weekend’s FA Cup action as Brentford, Spurs, Arsenal and Manchester United all dealt blows to the punters.

Manchester United (17/4) beat Arsenal (13/20) in a penalty shootout at the Emirates Stadium to progress to the fourth round, with the draw in 90 minutes a big result for operators.

Bruno Fernandes gave the away side the lead in the second half before Diogo Dalot was sent off after receiving a second yellow card.  

Gabriel equalised for the Gunners shortly after, before captain Martin Ødegaard had a controversial penalty saved by Altay Bayindir.  

With the game eventually going to a penalty shootout, Kai Havertz missed a crucial spot kick, allowing Joshua Zirkzee to wrap up the victory for the Red Devils.  

Elsewhere, Tottenham (1/25) needed extra time to see off non-league side Tamworth (33/1), with late goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Brennan Johnson adding to an own goal from Nathan Tshikuna.  

Spurs were held to a 0-0 draw in 90 minutes against the National League side, who turn their attention to Boldmere St Michaels in the Birmingham Senior Cup tomorrow.

The new rules this season also meant Tamworth were denied a money-spinning reply in north London which would have helped the non-league club with vital revenue for the years ahead.

The biggest shock of the third round weekend saw the Championship’s bottom side Plymouth Argyle (11/1) knock out Premier League outfit Brentford (1/5) in a 1-0 win in west London.  

Other Premier League sides enjoyed a weekend without shock, as Manchester City (1/20) put eight past neighbours Salford City, Chelsea (3/100) ran out comfortable 5-0 winners at home to Morecambe and Liverpool (1/50) won 4-0 at home to Accrington Stanley. 

Wolves, Newcastle, Ipswich, Bournemouth, Brighton, Nottingham Forest, Everton, Southampton, Crystal Palace and Fulham all progressed against lower league opposition.  

The only other all-Premier League tie saw Aston Villa (13/20) beat West Ham (7/2) 2-1 at Villa Park, in Graham Potter’s first game in charge of the Hammers.  

Bet365’s Steve Freeth said the bookmaker had enjoyed a successful weekend of cup action. 

He remarked: “Traditionalists love FA Cup third round weekend, and the same can be said for bookmakers after the surprise defeat for 2/9 Brentford and 1/25 Tottenham being taken to extra-time by Tamworth.  

“The high-profile clash between Arsenal and Manchester United also produced a big result for us.  

“Liverpool and Manchester City were clearly popular coupon picks and we did lose on both games due to the bet builder business, but Plymouth’s win in west London knocked out so much on the multiple front.” 

Kindred Group’s Ali Gill added: “Arsenal will probably feel they should have managed to get through, but after all was said and done, that went down as just about a profitable result in the book, as did Spurs eventually scraping through against Tamworth having returned a draw in 90 minutes.

“City’s 8-0 demolition of Salford was the biggest hit for us over the third round.”

Betfred’s Alan Firkins also laid out how City was a blot on an otherwise positive weekend for the Warrington-based firm.

He said: “In-form Salford, who had kept six clean sheets on the spin, got stage fright at the Etihad as James McAtee stole the show with a hat-trick in a thumping 8-0 Manchester City success. 

“We took plenty on City winning by four-plus goals and punters were pretty content throughout.

“Turnover narrowly failed to match a normal Premier League weekend, but business was brisk and third round weekend remains iconic and ever-popular with customers,” he added.

Across in Europe, a Harry Kane goal was enough to give Bayern Munich (7/25) a 1-0 win away at Borussia Mönchengladbach (7/1).

Reigning Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen (9/10) managed a 3-2 win away at Borussia Dortmund (8/5)

In Spain, an El Clasico in the Spanish Super Cup saw Barcelona (17/10) run out 5-2 winners against Real Madrid (13/10), with Kylian Mbappe, Robert Lewandoski and Lamine Yamal all getting themselves on the scoresheet.  

In Serie A, league leaders Napoli (1 /4) enjoyed a 2-0 win at home to Verona (9/1), while second place Inter Milan (3/10) won 1-0 away at Venezia (9/1).  

Juventus (1/1) drew their 12th game of the season after being held to a 1-1 stalemate in the Turin Derby against Torino (11/4). AC Milan (3/10) also drew 1-1 in their home match with Cagliari (15/2) 

Kindred Group’s Gill commented on how the weekend’s European fixtures had impacted the operator.  

He said: “An El Clasico in the Super Cup was another absolute goal fest as Barça came out 5-2 winners. Despite all the goals and big names on the scoresheet, we only came out marginally behind there, so possibly just about got away with on. 

“AC Milan being held to a 1-1 draw at home to Cagliari was a great result for us, as was Bayern Munich only managing one against Mönchengladbach, despite Harry Kane scoring the goal.” 

Freeth added: “We also had some huge draws in Europe, especially in Serie A with AC Milan, Atalanta and Juventus all finishing level, while over in La Liga we also saw Espanyol and Sevilla drawing 1-1.

“In France, the punters had some joy with 13/10 Marseille winning at Rennes, and they saved the best until last with the goal fest between Barcelona and Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup, but we’ve made a decent start to 2025.”

Elsewhere, in the NFL’s Wild Card weekend, the Buffalo Bills emerged as 31-7 winners against the Denver Broncos as the road to Super Bowl LIX ramps up.  

The Baltimore Ravens won 28-14 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, while the Houston Texans beat the Los Angeles Chargers 32-12.  

The Philadelphia Eagles won 22-10 against the Green Bay Packers, and the Washington Commanders beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-20.  

Betfred’s Alan Firkins said: “The race to Super Bowl LIX began in earnest with Wild Card weekend, but the top seeds and our favourites in the outright market don’t appear until next weekend’s divisional round (Lions 3/1, Chiefs 7/2).  

“Brave man or woman who’d predict the winner right now, with Ravens (4s), Eagles (5s) and Bills (11/2) all looking great after comfortable opening wins.” 

Finally, bet365 confirmed it had paid out more than £1.4m during its 6 Scores Challenge last year.

The operator expended £500,000 to four jackpot winners, in addition to £925,872 in consolation prizes to more than 9,000 players.