Arsenal hosted Manchester United on Friday night in a titanic FA Cup clash between two giants of the English game.
Before the game, a poignant tribute was paid to missing footballer, Emiliano Sala, while the players sported black armbands in solidarity for the Argentine.
Following kick-off, Arsenal dominated the opening half-an-hour with some slick play but were punished for their poor final ball when former hero, Alexis Sanchez, made a perfectly timed run which was found by Romelu Lukaku before the Chilean rounded Petr Cech to score.
And just two minutes later, it was 2-0 to the Red Devils; another Arsenal attack broke down before Man Utd counter-attacked with savage speed. The end result? Lukaku squaring the ball for his second assist of the night, with Jesse Lingard slotting past Cech with consummate ease.
Arsenal did manage to get themselves back into the game just before half-time, though, when some good play from Aaron Ramsey and Alex Iwobi was rewarded with a goal from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at the far post.
The second half saw Arsenal huff and puff but ultimately fail to test the Man Utd backline enough, with their attacks consistently breaking down at the final pass, before another break from Solskjaer’s side saw a Paul Pogba effort saved by Cech, but the Arsenal stopper parried the ball straight onto the boot of Anthony Martial to make it 3-1 to Man Utd.
Here are the full player ratings from a very entertaining encounter at the Emirates.
Arsenal
Petr Cech – 5 – Was powerless to stop the first two Man Utd goals as the Arsenal defence was carved open. Was forced into a good stop from a Paul Pogba effort in the 82nd minute, but planted the rebound straight onto the boot of Anthony Martial.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles – 6 – Can be less-than-convincing at full-back but had a good first-half here, making himself a useful outlet for Arsenal. Went missing a little as the second-half wore on and was nowhere to be seen as Man Utd broke away once again for a third goal late on.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos – 5 – Has been Arsenal’s ever-present in a defence that has been torn apart by injuries in recent months but fell victim himself here after landing heavily on his leg in a challenge with Jesse Lingard. Replaced by Shkodran Mustafi after 21 minutes.
Laurent Koscielny – 6 – Had a solid enough night before becoming the second Arsenal centre-back of the night to be forced off with a nasty head injury after an accidental clash with Lukaku. Will Unai Emery’s luck ever change?
Sead Kolasinac – 7 – Gets forward and creates overloads fantastically at left-back for Arsenal. To do that, though, he must be covered by tactically aware midfielders, which he wasn’t on Friday.
Granit Xhaka – 5 – Offered poor protection for Arsenal’s centre-backs before being moved into that position himself as Arsenal succumb to yet more defensive injuries. A real hot and cold player for Unai Emery.
Lucas Torreira – 6 – Torreira is robust and dynamic with and without the ball but he pressed way to high on Friday and allowed Man Utd acres of space in which to counter-attack, which they did with ferocious speed.
Aaron Ramsey – 8 – Arsenal’s best player on the night and a constant thorn in Man Utd’s side in the first hour. The Welshman popped up all over the place, making him impossible to mark, and had a huge hand in Arsenal’s goal.
Alexandre Lacazette – 7 – Flicked the ball on for Aubameyang’s goal and had quite a few threatening moments throughout the night, but to no avail.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 7 – Did very well to elude the Man Utd defence and find space at the back post to put Arsenal back in the game just before half time. Unfortunately for Arsenal, that was where his night peaked as he was rarely involved in the second half.
Alex Iwobi – 8 – Had a very good night indeed against Ashley Young, drawing the Man Utd full-back into one-on-ones and dragging him out of position to create space. Was unfortunate to be substituted just past the hour mark.
Subs:
Shkodran Mustafi (for Sokratis, 21 minutes) – 5 – Was part of a ramshackle Arsenal defence due to yet more injuries. Had a testing time from the bench and was left exposed by his midfield.
Mesut Ozil (for Iwobi, 65 minutes) – 4 – The campaign against Ozil can often be very unfair: he’s slated when he doesn’t track back, then told to stay forward when he does. The German was very poor from the bench tonight, though, and his usually laser-precise passing was somewhat off.
Matteo Guendouzi (for Koscielny, 65 minutes) – 5 – Replaced the injured Laurent Koscielny midway through the second half but didn’t have much effect on the game.
Manchester United
Sergio Romero – 8 – Was left totally exposed by his defence for the Arsenal goal. Made sure that Man Utd kept the tie safe with some very smart saves, especially in the second half. Best back-up ‘keeper in the Premier League?
Ashley Young – 4 – Totally sucked out of position by Alex Iwobi in the build-up to Arsenal’s first goal, leaving Man United’s right-hand side totally exposed. Can spend an hour looking decent then will come up with a moment that shows he is anything but a natural full-back.
Eric Bailly – 7 – Did very well in the second half as every Arsenal attack seemed to fall like rain on a mountain. Bailly was a part of that mountain at the back for the Red Devils.
Victor Lindelof – 8 – Was having a solid night until he totally lost track of Lacazette and allowed him to assist Arsenal’s goal just before half-time. The Sweden international, however, recovered extremely well and really looked the part in the second half – on and off the ball.
Luke Shaw – 7 – His charge forward instigated the Man United counter-attack that put the Red Devils 2-0 up, making up for totally missing Aubameyang lurking at the back post for the Arsenal reply.
Ander Herrera – 7 – Was involved in the build-up for Man United’s first goal and generally recycled possession very well for Man Utd in midfield. A very underrated player who proved his value once again on Friday.
Nemanja Matic – 5 – Was nowhere near the standard of his midfield partners on Friday. Slow and lethargic on the ball, the Red Devils looked far more incisive when they skipped Matic out.
Paul Pogba – 9 – A very quiet first half, by his standards. The second half, however, saw the Frenchman grow into the game and become a great threat for Man Utd on the break. It was his drive forward and shot at goal that allowed Anthony Martial to slot home and put the game beyond Arsenal.
Jesse Lingard – 8 – Was very lively and hard to mark as the England international popped up right across the forward line. Lost his head in a melee late on when he was already on a yellow card and was smartly substituted by Solskjaer shortly afterwards.
Romelu Lukau – 8 – Romelu Lukaku can frustrate the hell out of you at times, but not on Friday. His two assists were midfield quality, especially for the Sanchez opener where his reverse through-ball carved the Arsenal defence to pieces. If he can keep being this effective for Solskjaer, the goals will start flowing eventually, too.
Alexis Sanchez – 7 – His backwards/forwards feint to allow him space to run into for his goal was absolutely fantastic and a throwback to prime Sanchez. More performances like this, and moments like that, will finally see the Chilean become a prominent figure at Man Utd. Really seemed to enjoy the abuse from the Arsenal crowd, as promised.
Subs:
Anthony Martial (for Sanchez, 72 minutes) – 7 – Came on for the lively Alexis Sanchez and kept it going for Man Utd down the left. Was alert and well positioned to get onto the rebound from Paul Pogba’s shot to make it 3-1.
Marcus Rashford (for Lukaku, 72 minutes) – 6 – Looked lively with the ball and in the scrap when he came on, although he really shouldn’t have got himself involved in the handbags for his booking.
Phil Jones (for Lingard, 88 minutes) – n/a – Brought on late to protect the already-booked Jesse Lingard.
The post Every player rated as Man Utd blitz Arsenal on the break in the FA Cup appeared first on Squawka News.
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