Manchester United travelled to North London to take on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on the back of a miraculous win versus Paris Saint-Germain in midweek. The Red Devils made a sloppy start to the game as Granit Xhaka gave the Gunners the lead in the 12th minute when David De Gea failed to save his goal-bound attempt. However, Man United grew into the game and created some excellent opportunities of their own, but they lacked the finishing touch in the final third.
It was the North London outfit that came out strong in the second half and managed to grab their second goal of the match in the 69th minute through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s successful penalty. Ole Gunnar Solkjaer’s men couldn’t come up with any response as the contest ended 2-0 in favour of the Gunners.
Let’s take a look at how each Man United player performed during the match against the Gunners.
GK: David De Gea – 3/10
The Spanish goalkeeper was at fault for not saving Granit Xhaka’s shot in the lead up to the Arsenal goal in the first half. He also didn’t manage to save Aubameyang’s penalty which will disappoint him as the shot was straight down the middle.
RB: Ashley Young – 6/10
The English full-back tried his best to link up play in the Arsenal half. He worked hard for his team but looked a bit tired late in the game.
CB: Chris Smalling – 6/10
He kept his composure to make some essential clearances for his team. He also managed to cope with the threat of Alexandre Lacazette and Aubameyang relatively well despite the latter scoring from the spot in the 69th minute.
CB: Victor Lindelöf – 4/10
There is no doubt that the Gunners forwards targetted him as an area of weakness and were able to cause a lot of problems for the Swedish defender. It was a forgetful performance from the Man United centre-back.
LB: Luke Shaw – 6/10
The English full-back was always willing to provide some added width down the left flank and was one of Solkjaer’s most reliable weapons going forward.
RM: Diogo Dalot – 5/10
Not as effective as he was in Paris in midweek. However, his mediocre display wasn’t for the lack of trying.
CM: Fred – 5/10
The Brazilian conceded the penalty which ultimately put daylight between the two teams heading into the final quarter of the match. He was also guilty of losing possession of the ball on quite a few occasions.
CM: Nemanja Matic – 3.5/10
The Serbian international looked slow and tired in the middle of the park. He had a difficult encounter today as the Gunners midfielders gave him a lot of problems facing his own goal.
CM: Paul Pogba – 5/10
The Frenchman struggled to get into the game and was largely a frustrated figure in midfield.
LM: Marcus Rashford – 5/10
The English striker was a bit selfish at times in the final third. However, he did create some decent chances for Lukaku to score.
ST: Romelu Lukaku – 5/10
The Belgian centre-forward did well to hold up play and bring his teammates into the game in the opposition half. However, he was woeful with his finishing which ultimately decided the fate of this contest.
Substitutes:
LM: Anthony Martial – 5/10
The French striker made some direct runs after coming off the bench but couldn’t orchestrate any meaningful chances in the Arsenal half.
CM: Mason Greenwood – 5/10
The youngster made his debut for the Red Devils today.
