Arsenal and Manchester United faced each other at the Emirates Stadium this Saturday afternoon. We have the player ratings.
When two of the biggest clubs in England face each other, there’s always high expectations from football fans. Gunners and Red Devils may have been disappointed by a goalless tie, but the game was far from boring.
In fact, both teams had big missed chances and any of them could have secured the win. In the first half, Manchester United were the dominating side with 63% ball possession. However, both sides had the same number of goal opportunities. Additionally, the Red Devils suffered a big blow before the end of the first 45 minutes as McTominay asked to leave the pitch. Speaking after the game, Solskjaer told reporters that the midfielder had experienced some stomach cramps.
In the second half, Arteta decided to make an unusual change. The young manager replaced Martinelli with Willian for tactical reasons. However, Martinelli had been the Gunners’ best player in the first part of the game. On the other hand, Willian’s appearance meant that a record was broken at this league fixture. The 32-year-old became the first Brazilian player to reach 250 appearances in the Premier League.
Nevertheless, the course of the match took an unexpected turn as Arsenal improved miles from their previous efforts. After Willian missed an incredible opportunity to score his first goal at the club, it was Lacazette’s turn to give to try and open the lead at the Emirates. However, the striker was unlucky as he saw his brilliant free-kick hit the crossbar.
Fans cried out for a VAR check on Bruno Fernandes.
It was a somewhat heated game with a few rough challenges. In fact, Pogba and Lacazette could’ve gotten seriously injured after some dangerous aerial challenges. However, it was one of Bruno Fernandes’ fouls that got the Gunners’ attention. The Portuguese magnifico went in with his studs and hit Xhaka on the back of his leg, but received no card for the challenge.
Manchester United now sit three points behind current league leaders Manchester City with one more game played than their rivals. Arsenal, on the other hand, have surpassed Chelsea in the table and now occupy 8th place in the league.
Player ratings
Arsenal: Leno (7), Soares (6), Luiz (7), Holding (6), Bellerin (6), Partey (6), Xhaka (6), Pepe (6), Smith Rowe (6), Martinelli (7), Lacazette (7).
Bench: Willian (5), Odegaard (5), Nketiah (N/A).
Manchester United: de Gea (6), Wan-Bissaka (7), Lindelof (5), Maguire (6), Shaw (6), Fred (6), McTominay (5), Rashford (6), Pogba (7), Fernandes (6), Cavani (5).
Bench: Martial (5), Greenwood (5).
Feel free to make your pick on the player’s ratings and performances using the widget below.
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