ARSENAL 1, MANCHESTER UNITED 3 (FA CUP 4TH ROUND)
Goals by Alexis Sanchez, Jesse Lingard, and Anthony Martial saw an impressive Manchester United beat Arsenal with a trio of counter attacks in the FA Cup.
Embed from Getty ImagesInterim United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is now on his eighth straight win in 8 games and victory over Arsenal at the Emirates in the FA Cup only strengthens his case for taking over permanently in the summer after impressive away wins over Spurs and now Arsenal.
The Reds were devastating on the break against the Gunners with Romelu Lukaku turning provider for the first two goals for United while Anthony Martial’s late goal effectively ended the Arsenal resistance despite 10 minutes of injury time.
With Mesut Ozil from the start, Arsenal lacked creativity and lost both central defenders within an hour of this contest, with Sokratis limping off early with a twisted ankle while Laurent Koscielny had a gashed cheek in the second half after Lukaku stood on him accidentally.
They pulled a goal back just before half time through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang but chasing the game against Solskjaer’s United is a dangerous and the Reds mercilessly punished Arsenal’s mistakes.
Solskjaer made five changes from the side that beat Brighton in United’s last outing.
Sergio Romero came in for David De Gea who was given the night off while fit-again Eric Bailly and Luke Shaw came in for Phil Jones and Diogo Dalot in defence and Romelu Lukaku and ex-Arsenal talisman Alexis Sanchez came in for Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.
The game was prefaced with respects paid to Cardiff striker Emiliano Sala whose light aircraft from Nantes to Cardiff went missing near Alderney in the English Channel a few days ago.
Lukaku started wide on the right with Jesse Lingard playing through the middle while the Gunners tried to pick out Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on their own right flank as they attacked down their left side to put crosses over to the Gabon striker.
The Gunners lost Sokratis to a twisted ankle after he landed awkwardly as he tangled with Lingard in the 18th minute.
They had edged the contest up to that point but lost some of that momentum when the Greek defender couldn’t continue and was replaced by Shkodran Mustafi.
The Reds sensed a change in their fortunes and waited for the inevitable gaps to open up.
Arsenal needed to score when the chances came, with Alex Iwobi’s shot from the left at an acute angle collected by Romero while Aubameyang waited in the 6-yard box for a cut back after 24 minutes.
Lingard’s cross was too far in front of Lukaku as the Reds started to find the gaps they were looking for with Sead Kolasinac too inclined to stay upfield.
It was down to Alexis Sanchez, then, to open the scoring from wide on the right after Lukaku slipped the ball through for Sanchez instead of shooting from the edge of the box after 31 minutes.
The Chilean seized the chance, rounding Petr Cech, who went to ground, before slotting home from wide of the right of the 6 yard box after spending much of the game on the fringes of the action.
Less than three minutes later, Lukaku then squared from the right after Kolasinac had been marooned upfield – finding Lingard in space 12 yards out for a low shot that beat Cech for the second time on the break.
Lingard fired high when the opportunity to score again presented itself in the first half with Arsenal still reeling from the double salvo.
United were undone by some attacking brilliance by Arsenal just before half time, however, when Iwobi’s ball down the channel was quickly crossed into the six-yard box by Aaron Ramsay.
Several Arsenal players attacked it while United defenders were caught out by the cross and Alexandre Lacazette touched it into the path of Aubameyang who had a tap-in to pull one back from 2 yards out.
And the Gunners could have equalised in injury time but Lacazette’s shot was straight at Romero who put the United goal under intense pressure at the end of the first half with Mustafi’s effort going wide.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ cross found Ramsay whose close range header was palmed over by Romero in an action packed start to the second half.
The intensity remained high as the sides tried to catch each other on the break.
Laurent Koscielny was booked for pulling back Paul Pogba 25 yards out, but Lukaku blazed over.
Arsenal lose both central defenders to injury and fall victim to Manchester United counter attacks
Koscielny was in the wars after a stray boot from an unbalanced Lukaku caught the Arsenal defender who was grounded after challenging the big Belgian.
The Frenchman had to go off, though, and Unai Emery was forced into a double change to bring on Matteo Guendouzi and Mesut Ozil for Iwobi and Koscielny after 65 minutes.
United wasted a chance to put extra pressure on the Gunners when Pogba’s through ball caught Lukaku off his stride while Ramsay fired over and Lacazette failed to find an Arsenal player when he cut back Lucas Torreira’s free kick back into the United box.
With Arsenal committing even more players into attack, Solskjaer brought on Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial for Lukaku and Sanchez after 72 minutes with Lingard switching to the right flank.
Arsenal were beginning to get the upper hand, though, despite the added threat of more United pace on the break.
Lacazette had a rising shot saved by Romero after he was put through by Maitland-Niles while Granit Xhaka blazed well over the bar as Arsenal continued to press for the equaliser.
Cech saved from Rashford who was offside anyway after Pogba delayed the forward pass with time running out.
The game was finally up when the Gunners inevitably made the mistake that United were waiting for – Pogba stole the ball after a poor touch by Lacazette and charged all the way down the Arsenal half unchallenged.
His shot from the edge of the area was palmed away by Cech but Martial was on hand to rifle the ball home after 82 minutes with the Gunners quickly punished for their mistake.
The drama wasn’t over as Lingard escaped a possible red card after a melee converged on him late in the game after an incident involving coin throwing on the sidelines and aggression between Kolasinac and Rashford.
Solskjaer reacted immediately and replaced Lingard with Phil Jones as the game went into 10 minutes of added time due to the earlier injuries but United comfortably saw the time out to progress to the Fifth Round of the FA Cup.
GOALS – Arsenal 1, Manchester United 3
Arsenal 0, Man Utd 1: 31. Alexis Sanchez drills the ball in from 6 yards out wide on the right, after rounding Petr Cech, when Romelu Lukaku slipped the ball to him from the edge of the area instead of shooting.
Arsenal 0, Man Utd 2: 33. Jesse Lingard makes no mistake with a low drive from 12 yards out after United caught Sead Kolasinac upfield with a swift counter attack. Romelu Lukaku was the provider again after he crossed from the right edge of the area.
Arsenal 1, Man Utd 2: 43. Pierre-Emerick Aubeyameg with a tap in from 2 yards out after United were prised open by Aaron Ramsay’s cross from the left which left the Reds defence flummoxed after Alexandre Lacazette touched the ball into his path.
Arsenal 1, Man Utd 3: 82. Anthony Martial had a tap in from 12 yards out after Petr Cech could only palm away Paul Pogba’s shot after the Frenchman took control of the loose ball following a bad touch by Alexandre Lacazette and led the charge with the Gunners on the hop.
MATCH STATS – Arsenal 1, Manchester United 3
Arsenal: Cech, Maitland-Niles, Sokratis (Mustafi 21), Koscielny (Guendouzi 64), Kolasinac, Xhaka, Torreira, Ramsey, Iwobi (Ozil 64), Aubameyang, Lacazette
Arsenal subs not used: Leno, Elneny, Lichtsteiner, Monreal
Booked: Koscielny 54 (Pulling back Pogba), Kolasinac 86 (Melee), Guendouzi 90+1 (Foul on Pogba)
Goal: Aubameyang 43
Man Utd: Romero, Young, Bailly, Lindelof, Shaw, Herrera, Matic, Pogba, Lingard (Jones 88), Lukaku (Rashford 72), Sanchez (Martial 72)
Man Utd subs not used: Grant, Mata, Fred, Dalot
Booked: Young 68 (Handball), Lingard 76 (Foul on Torreira), Rashford 86 (Melee)
Goals: Sanchez 31, Lingard 33, Martial 82