Newborn baby's death did not deter Bournemouth midfielder Harry Arter from playing against Manchester United

Eddie Howe embraces Arter at the final whistle

Bournemouth midfielder Harry Arter starred in his side’s 2-1 victory over Manchester United on Saturday night. However, it was a wonder that the Cherries player was even on the pitch at all, as he and his partner lost their newborn baby earlier in the week.

It’s been a tumultous week for the Republic of Ireland international, as professional triumphs over Chelsea and Manchester United paled in comparison to his personal tragedy. Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe was full of praise for Arter, voicing how proud he was of his player.

Speaking to the BBC after the game, Howe was fulsome in his praise for Arter, saying, “I think he's handled himself with real dignity throughout the process, and to play the way he did today, with the emotions running through his body, I can't credit him enough for that.”

Arter’s teammates at Bournemouth expressed their support by taking to the field with black armbands. In fact, Junior Stanislaus appeared to dedicate his opening goal to Arter, runing towards the midfielder after scoring into the top corner directly from a corner, where Arter was mobbed by his teammates.

Howe was happy with the response of his team to support Arter, saying, “He showed real strength to keep his emotions in check, and I've got to say his team-mates rallied around him really well. There were some emotional scenes in the dressing room afterwards.”

“I'm really proud of him, but the pain for them won't go away, so we'll have to look after Harry, and our thoughts are with him and his family at this time.”

Arter was a driving force in midfield for the Cherries, his hard-tackling constantly troubling and stifling Manchester United’s midfield. The midfielder was booked in the 84^th minute, and was close to tears as his name went in the book. Howe sensibly substituted the midfielder after two minutes, and was seen embracing and comforting the midfielder as the final whistle blew.

Speaking about Arter’s condition before the game, Howe said, “It's been a hugely emotional week for him. Harry wanted to play, there was no doubt in his mind that he wanted to play. I had to make an assessment of him, but there was no doubt once I'd spoken to him that I was going to play him today.”

Arter’s strength of will to take to the field was an inspiration for his teammates, who ran their socks of to register their 2^nd giant killing act in a week, a result that propelled Bournemouth up the table to 14^th, ahead of defending champions Chelsea.