Manchester United playmaker Joshua Zirkzee has spoken openly and emotionally about the invaluable support he received from our fans during his debut season.
The Dutchman sat down with club reporter Harry Robinson in May to explore five big moments as a Red so far, including his important goals against Fulham, Real Sociedad and Lyon. But it’s his decisive penalty in January's Emirates FA Cup shootout success at Arsenal that arguably deserves the most attention.
Zirkzee received a mixed reaction from the crowd during our difficult Premier League loss to Newcastle on 30 December, before our travelling fans showed their passionate backing during the galvanising draw at Liverpool just days later.
Then came our trip to the Emirates Stadium.
The 10-man Reds fought bravely against a high-flying Arsenal side to prompt a dramatic penalty shootout in north London. Amid a backdrop of intense scrutiny, Joshua coolly stepped up and converted an excellent spot-kick that secured our progression to the next round.
As Zirk explains during our interview, that moment provided an injection of confidence that ultimately fuelled an encouraging second half of the season. So much so, it’s fair to say the Netherlands international is on his way to becoming a cult hero amongst supporters.
Reflecting on that game at Arsenal, and indeed a challenging period, Josh told us how he coped: “My dad was there for me, my mum, my best friend who basically lived with me in Manchester, so I was surrounded by good people.
“I was surrounded by great team-mates, they made sure I felt all right and at the end of the day I'm here to play football, so there's no reason for me to really fold in that situation.
“I suppose it was a great response, I think. It gave me a confidence boost as well because, let's not forget as well, the away game against Liverpool is where, in my head, I had kind of lost the fans a little bit [against Newcastle] and the fans were then chanting my name [at Anfield].
“It just gave me a confidence boost that I am not really finished here, you know what I mean. Then Arsenal was just great because it was 10 men surviving against a good team and, in the end, winning it in a way like this. It was another eruption, you know. It was a nice moment.”
Asked about the support he received from our fans at Anfield, Zirkzee says it gave him a major boost: “Yeah, 100 per cent, confidence and more so it gave a reason to work even harder to do ever more to not let them down. The least you can do is repay them with hard work.”
“The Real Sociedad home game was, for me, maybe the first time I saw Old Trafford really go crazy. Like, no matter the situation, because they scored first and I think that was the first time we turned the game around because of the fans. They just really took us there!
“That was nice, that was really nice and everyone was fired up because of that. It is up there with one of my better performances but I think everyone in the team played really good in that game and, as I said, the fans really took us there. You start playing with confidence and great things happen. That was a special night.”