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Aubameyang Cancels Out McTominay Cracker In Drab Old Trafford Affair

by Oisin McQueirns

Scott McTominay’s brilliant strike was cancelled out by a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang goal in the second half as Manchester United and Arsenal played out a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.

Roy Keane was in the Sky Sports studio prior to the game and talk in the lead up surrounded the classic encounters between two of the Premier League’s finest clubs, however the majority of the game was a clear indication of how far the pair have fallen.

Both struggled to get a foothold in the first-half especially with chance creation at a minimum and sloppy passing at a premium as the pair battled at a wet and windy Old Trafford.

The game began to improve as the half wore on, with David De Gea being forced into an excellent double save to deny Bukayo Sako and then Matteo Guendouzi.

A spark was still required however and when it arrived it arguably came from the most unlikely of sources as the ball fell to McTominay just outside the Arsenal area and the Scottish international beautifully struck it past Bernd Leno to give the home side a half-time lead.

After the break, Arsenal looked much livelier and despite United’s incredible recent record when leading at Old Trafford at half-time – 71 wins, eight draw, no defeats since September 2014 – the Gunners always looked capable of finding a reply given their fire-power up front.

It was their main man, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who eventually came up trumps with the equaliser but it came in rather controversial fashion.

Aubameyang was played through by the impressive youngster Saka and just as he beautifully clipped the ball over De Gea and into the United net, the linesman raised the flag for offside.

Replays showed that Maguire was playing the striker well onside and the goal was given after a VAR review, although United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer protested that the referee had blew the whistle causing his players to halt.

Moments later Saka should have given Arsenal the lead but he skied his effort over the bar from a strong angle, while up the other end McTominay had a brilliant chance to grab his second of the game but his header failed to find the target.

Both sides pushed but neither could find a winner in what was a largely poor display from both sides, as Arsenal move into fourth and United creep into 10th.

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Author: Oisin McQueirns

Oisin McQueirns is a digital journalist at Pundit Arena. Massive fan of Leeds United, Ric Flair and Trusting The Process. Contact him here oisin@punditarena.com

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