Hello! And welcome to our minute-by-minute coverage of tonight’s mouthwatering clash between Man United and Arsenal. There have been some unforgettable thrillers in this fixture down through the years and, at the height of the Ferguson-Wenger eras, there was absolutely no love lost between these two bitter rivals.
Rivals in no way geographically, but rivals none the less. These are historically two Premier League giants and with zero league titles between them over the last five years, the two sides are a lot closer pound-for-pound than in any time in recent memory.
Under Unai Emery, the Gunners have looked a new side entirely — fresher, bolder, more invigorated. They have nine wins from 14 league games this season and are an impressive eight points and four places above their advisories before kick-off tonight.
If Arsenal are a side seemingly on the rise, then Jose Mourinho’s United are anything but. One bad result can constitute a crisis these days in football and more often than not the flames around the Portuguese manager are overblown and over-dramatised.
But it cannot be denied or avoided that his side are deeply struggling at the moment. United are currently 19 points behind league leaders Manchester City and without a positive result at Old Trafford tonight that fact will not change an inch.
With rumours of discontent within the United camp, a side struggling to live up to their pre-season billing as title contenders and a revamped Arsenal side in their sights tonight, it is a crucial and pivotal game for the hosts.
Kick-off is coming up at 8.00pm. Strap yourselves in!
🔢 Our starting XI once more: Leno, Bellerin, Sokratis, Mustafi, Holding, Kolasinac, Torreira, Guendouzi, Ramsey, Iwobi, Aubameyang#MUNARS pic.twitter.com/qiTqF4yqbt
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) December 5, 2018
Here's how #MUFC line up for #MUNARS...
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 5, 2018
Head to our official app for minute-by-minute updates: https://t.co/5Ab1IkVQX3 pic.twitter.com/ba9vFNN61H
So, tonight’s teams will line out as:
Man United: De Gea; Bailly, Smalling, Rojo; Dalot, Herrera, Matic,
Lingard, Darmian; Martial, Rashford.Substitutes: Pogba, Mata, Lukaku, Romero, Valencia, Fellaini, McTominay.
Arsenal: Leno; Papastathopoulos, Mustafi, Holding; Bellerin, Torreira, Guendouzi, Ramsey, Kolasinac; Iwobi, Aubameyang.
Substitutes: Cech, Elneny, Mkhitaryan, Lacazette, Lichtsteiner, Maitland-Niles, Nketiah.
Eric Bailly making his return to Man United’s starting XI might be the second most interesting aspect to the side’s starting XI tonight as both Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku have been dropped.
Jose Mourinho has made a grand total of seven changes to the side which clawed to a 2-2 draw with struggling Southampton at the weekend, a game which saw Ireland striker Michael Obafemi register his first ever Premier League assist.
Marcos Rojo also makes his return at the back tonight. It’s his first appearance of the season and his first taste of any sort of senior football since Argentina exited the World Cup at the hands of France at the end of June.
For Arsenal, Unai Emery has made two changes to the side which handed Tottenham a 4-2 London derby defeat on Sunday – Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Granit Xhaka making way. The Gunners are seeking their first win at Old Trafford in 12 years here tonight.
📍 Old Trafford
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) December 5, 2018
Let's get back to work 👊 pic.twitter.com/j0tHhSOh19
On the omission of Pogba and Lukaku, Mourinho has said: “You know, technical and tactical decisions. We’re going to play with Lingard, Rashford and Martial. We did that before against Young Boys. We were not successful with the goals we wanted to score but we were happy with the situations we were able to create. We believe the combination of these three young, fast, creative players … we believe in their dynamic and appetite.”
It was a sublime London derby win for Arsenal on Sunday. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is in the form of his life and currently leads the Premier League top scorers charts with 10 goals in 14 games. He will take some stopping tonight.
Right, with half an hour to go before we get underway, how do we see tonight’s clash unfolding? Let us know below!
Poll Results:
Ah, Roy and Patrick used to love these nights. Statisticians say there’s been a 76% reduction in “meaty challenges” in games between Man United and Arsenals since 2005. A shocking decline.
Man United v Arsenalpic.twitter.com/3riIGZupBe
— Classic Football Shirts (@classicshirts) December 5, 2018
KICK-OFF: We’re underway at Old Trafford!
A good opening attack by Man United here as a long, hoofed ball over the top causes immediate issues for that 3-man Arsenal backline. Anthony Martial makes a smart, darting run behind enemy lines but Marcus Rashford’s pass is intercepted. A promising start for the hosts.
Rashford is getting plenty of early touches in this game. He beats his marker with a smart drop of the shoulder before letting fly with a stinging shot. The England striker makes a really good connection with his effort, it’s a good 25 yards out from goal, but it’s right at Bernd Leno and the German goalkeeper catches with ease.
It’s all Man United here, but Emery’s men are managing to hold their own in a calm and cool demeanour. Holding, Mustafi and Sokratis have their work cut out for them inside these opening few minutes, but despite United’s possession there is no major threat at the moment.
A decent chance for a snappy counter-attack for United, but instead of trying to pick out a pass Anthony Martial decides to have a go at goal from distance which is caught by Leno. The French forward is United’s top goalscorer this season with 6 goals in 14 games, so I think it’s fair to say he’s earned the right to have a pop.
Arsenal fans singing "Jose Mourinho, we want you to stay"
— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) December 5, 2018
Sead Kolasinac with a lovely weighted pass for Alex Iwobi. The Nigerian attacker fights for the ball right at the end line and succeeds in earning a corner as Eric Bailly blocks his cross out of play. The corner comes to nothing, but it’s a lot more promising from Arsenal after a solid 10 minute period of being under sustained pressure at the back.
Oh no, the atmosphere has gotten to that quiet stage where you can hear the players shouting across the pitch to one another. It’s grand for a Sunday league game, but not in front of 75,000 fans. This game needs a goal or something to kick us into gear — whatever happened to those airplanes they used to fly over Premier League grands with manager’s names on them? Very 2013, those.
A really good move from Arsenal here now. Ramsey, captaining the side tonight, threads an excellent ball through for Kolasinac to chase. He crosses with the intention of hitting Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but Chris Smalling reads the danger and intercepts.
GOAL! MAN UNITED 0-1 ARSENAL (MUSTAFI 26)
Oh goodness, what has happened there. A completely mad goal has Arsenal ahead with less than half an hour on the clock. A corner into the box sees Shkodran Mustafi produce a powerful header which is, eh, too powerful for David De Gea. The Spanish goalkeeper gets a good two hands behind it in what looks like a routine save, but the ball crawls over the line. There was a slight delay before it was given, but there is no doubt that Arsenal are ahead. Bizarre.
GOAL! MAN UNITED 1-1 ARSENAL (MARTIAL 30)
Oh wow, we’re all square! It’s the perfect response from Manchester United and all a sudden we’ve a bloody game on our hands here. Bernd Leno actually makes a really good initial save to push away a Rojo free-kick into the box, but Anthony Martial is on hand to convert from Ander Herrera’s cross back into the danger zone. It’s 1-1!
What a four minute period. From an intriguing but slightly lax opening spell, this game has rocked into action. Amid all the madness of the two goals, Rob Holding has gone off injured after clashing with Marcus Rashford. He’s receiving treatment from the Arsenal medics but he could go off — it looks serious.
Yep, sadly Rob Holding’s night is over before it ever really got going. He is stretchered off and replaced by Stephan Lichtsteiner off the bench for Arsenal.
A few tasty challenges flying in left and right now, as the game really begins to heat up. Mustafi receives a yellow card for a sliding challenge on Rashford, before Marcos Rojo then slides in on Matteo Guendouzi. Old Trafford is like a war zone out there at the moment.
Nemanja Matic is flagged for a foul and he is the fifth, yes fifth, player to receive a yellow card in this first half. He joins Shkodran Mustafi, Hector Bellerin, Jesse Lingard and Marcos Rojo in the referee’s book. Madly enough, there’s been an average of a yellow card every eight minutes in this game.
There will be three minutes of stoppage time to come at the end of the first half.
HALF-TIME: MAN UNITED 1-1 ARSENAL
An entertaining start but there's much more to come#TOTSOU #MUNARS pic.twitter.com/opQ0V9a5ar
— Premier League (@premierleague) December 5, 2018
There we are, half-time already. After a slow start, this game burst into life with two goals in less than four minutes. Shkodran Mustafi’s header was poorly dealt with by David De Gea, but Anthony Martial responded perfectly with his 8th goal in all competitions this season. The perfect way for the French forward to celebrate his 23rd birthday. It’s been very even with more than a handful of yellow cards and heated challenges to make it a gripping affair. All to play for with another 45 minutes to come very shortly!
There’s just one switch at half-time from either side and it’s another enforced change for Unai Emery as Aaron Ramsey comes off and is replaced by former Man United man Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The Armenian spent a frustrated 18 months at Old Trafford after arriving from Borussia Dortmund, but did pick up a Europa League and Community Shield for his efforts.
It’s a much improved start to the second half from Arsenal here. They are applying a lot of pressure in the final third with Mkhitaryan aiding the efforts of Aubameyang and Iwobi. A high press which seems to be working against that back three of Rojo, Smalling and Bailly.
There’s panic inside the Arsenal box as Lingard finds Martial with a clever pass. The combined efforts of Lucas Torreira and Shkodran Mustafi manage to hack the ball clear. A frantic game out there at the moment, end-to-end.
A great hit from Rojo as the defender let’s fly from distance. For his first game since the end of the World Cup in June, he is flying it out there tonight. Venturing forward, he lines up an effort from an unholy distance of more than 30 yards but succeeds in testing Leno, who has to tip over the bar.
Another break for Arsenal, but it’s passed up poorly by Sead Kolasinac. The Bosnian international leaps forward down the left wing brilliantly before cutting into the box, however his cross is to no-one in particular and is deflected wide for a corner.
GOAL! MAN UNITED 1-2 ARSENAL (LACAZETTE 68)
GOOOOOAL! Arsenal are back ahead and it’s another crazy goal. The Gunners break through free on goal, Alexandre Lacazette exchanges a one-two before he is brought down in the box, but only for Marcos Rojo to tackle the French forward and deflect the ball into the back of the net past De Gea. It could be an own goal, it could be Lacazette — but either way Arsenal are 2-1 up!
GOAL! MAN UNITED 2-2 ARSENAL (LINGARD 69)
GOOOOOALL! THIS. GAME. WON’T. STOP. Man United have levelled right from the kick-off — a calamitous error inside the Arsenal penalty area from Sead Kolasinac following a long ball into the box sees Jesse Lingard first to respond. He leaps ahead of everyone as a pile of bodies stacks up inside the box and succeeds in poking the ball past Leno. It’s 2-2!
Goodness gracious, what a game. Every time Arsenal take the lead, United respond in kind with a goal right way. It’s just utterly end-to-end right now with the dreadful level of defending at both ends only making for a bombastic affair with shots aplenty. Amid all the madness Marouane Fellaini has come on off the bench for Marcos Rojo. He’s going to nab a last minute winner, isn’t he? Mark my words.
Aubameyang genuinely doing more defensive work than Kolasinac now.
— gunnerblog (@gunnerblog) December 5, 2018
Fellaini takes possession an inch inside the box and lines up a volley. The Belgian makes a good connection on it, but a brave block from Sokratis momentarily ends the danger. Man United are pressing for a winner here — with a top four place already looking like a potentially tricky task this season, a win here tonight is crucial. Mourinho knows he needs all three points as they currently occupy eighth spot.
It’s getting very tense now with 10 minutes to go. Both Unai Emery and Jose Mourinho are up and down and stamping around, urging their sides on. On the pitch, Chris Smalling takes possession and issues passes left and right. United aren’t under a huge amount of pressure now, but they are struggling to make anything in the final third. Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba looking a little isolated.
Matteo Guendouz is brought down for a foul as Marouane Fellaini pulls on his jersey. No wait, he pulled his hair. He actually pulled his hair. Goodness gracious. Three minutes remaining.
Alexandre Lacazette has the ball in the back of David de Gea’s goal… but it won’t count. He cheekily nipped the ball out of the United’s goalkeeper’s hands while he was distracted before kicking the ball curling goal-bound. It’s still all square with injury time to go.
The drama is unending at Old Trafford. This time Henrikh Mkhitaryan has the ball in the back of the net, but he’s flagged for offside. United were on the ropes for a few moments at the back with their backs against the wall and an emphatic volley from the Armenian slammed the back of the net. There are no complaints, however, as in all fairness he was well offside.
There will be four minutes of stoppage time to come at the end of the second half.
FULL-TIME: MAN UNITED 2-2 ARSENAL
FULL-TIME Man Utd 2-2 Arsenal
— Premier League (@premierleague) December 5, 2018
A thrilling end-to-end encounter ends level after Man Utd fight back to claim a point#MUNARS pic.twitter.com/VfE1l7ymSC
Well, there we have it. A thoroughly enjoyable and exciting encounter which was made possible thanks to some truly awful defending at both ends. Man United needed a win tonight to try and make ground on the race for the top four, but they will have to settle for a point. Mustafi, Martial, Lacazette and Lingard all on the scoresheet on a night when Unai Emery’s men extended Arsenal’s unbeaten streak to an impressive 20 games. Thanks a million for joining us for the ride, you can read our full match report here. Cya!
The points are shared after an enthralling encounter at Old Trafford.
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 5, 2018
Reaction: https://t.co/5Ab1IkVQX3 #MUNARS #MUFC pic.twitter.com/DbOfvIQFH2
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Boom boom boom boom everybody say Mayo!
@Eamonn McColgan II: Mayo make history like Galway 2 weeks ago. There is all to play for remember there was a replay last year.
Must be serious pressure on the Dubs today. Imagine loosing to a team of amateurs.
@mickmc: jeez mayo are by no means amateurs
@Alison Maguire: No it’s no surprised the two best funded county got to the final.
@mickmc: why how much did each of those county’s spend on players ??
@Nucky: your alive,any chance you can come back and put neenee/alan back in his box
@j lad: think I just did
@Nucky: well enough “expense” or handy numbers to ensure they can train professionally without the hindrance of a job.
@mickmc: Learn to spell imbecile
@mickmc: aww boohoo things are only a hindrance if you let them be
@mickmc: I respect the Dubs and their fans but not tits like you who troll online! May the best team win today!
O’Gara lucky to be on pitch! Knackery thing to do
@Adrian Costigan: gouging. Low act
@Cathal: knowing the GAA will prob get an 8 week ban, be back for first round of o’byrne cup in January!
Ref is giving everything to Dublin
@Gerry Murphy: what game are you watchin
Dublin foul themselves and get a free in lol
@Simon: This Game is Archive Available Here ————> http://nfl.onair.host/
If ever there was a game that the best team lost this was it
Not a hope
A draw today and Mayo to win the replay at home in Castlebar
@TravellingTheWorld: Good News All Soccer Fan,
Today Game Watch Live stream Fllow This…….. http://soccer.onair.host/
Come on Mayo, stuff the jackeens
@Declan Moran: yjuykiuytok7u6ou
@Declan Moran: Great News All Soccer Fan,
Today Game Watch Live stream Fllow This…….. http://soccer.onair.host/
@Anika Swift: this isn’t soccer
@Declan Moran: Thanks Anika. I need this after that fcuking sh!te today
Classy bit of eye gouging caught on camera by O’Gara.
@Bríd Uí Mhaoluala: nice elbow by keegan into back of coopers head
Referee is shocking in my opinion. Neutral supporter here
Mayo by 2
How many men have to hang out of Aidan O’Shea for him to get a free?
People really are underestimating this Dublin team and don’t realize how good they are. This is a team that you’ll only see once every generation, kinda like the Kerry team of the 70′s/80′s. They will beat Mayo today, and I believe they’ll do it quite handily. The firepower that Dublin have on the bench is the crucial aspect of this game. Once the benches come into play around the 45min mark you’ll see the Dubs pull away. I take Dublin by 5-7 points.
@Stephen Duggan: Not really…………….at half time!
@Stephen Duggan: Best Team ever my arse.
@Ewan Scott: I agree, poor first half. But no All Ireland is ever won at half time.
@Ewan Scott: Where did I say ‘best team ever?’
@Ewan Scott: champions
@Ewan Scott: Now you agree up The Dubs
@Michael McCormack: sorry to say o don’t Michael
@Paul Furey: were at full time
Go néirí an tádh leis an bhfoireann is fearr. COYBIB
@architects: Is feidir leat labhairt i nGaeilge ach tá tú fós ar “shoneen” -
@Old Gabby Johnson: ___Is buaiteoir é mar atá gach I mBaile Átha Cliath ar lá atá againn inniu ann! COYBIB
@George Hogan: Let the good times roll! COYBIB
Before the first ad break at half time RTE did their usual montage of highlights. One was a Dublin player eye gouging a Mayo player. No mention of it anywhere, unless I missed commentary on it.
@Thomas O’ Donnell: don’t worry Thomas. The Sunday game crew will lobby to get him a long suspension later on. Mark my words
Referee seems to have forgotten his cards for mayo
Mayo 1-16 Dublin 1-14
Ref doing his best to make a bo**ix of it as usual.
What was Vaughan thinking about. What an absolute eejit
COYBIB!!!
@Billy Connelly: The whole country is rooting for the Jacks to lose…
@TravellingTheWorld: Typical spiteful culchies;)
@Billy Connelly: the journal send notifications for the Chelsea match but not the all ireland final.???? What’s more important.
@Joe Travers: neither is more important than the other they are just two sporting contests. I’m getting Journal notifications for both so I’d check your phone.
@Joe Travers: Hi Joe. You can get notifications if you scroll up to the top of the page and click into ‘live blog’ and turn on ‘important events’. Enjoy the game.
Mayo for ham
Cluxton kick outs amazing…..when he’s kicking 10 yrds to free man! Other than that he’s bottled them
If Mayo had another forward other than Andy Moran they would be further ahead, Cillian O Connor very over rated
He’s having a very poor game so far
Come On Ye Boys In Blue
You’re some West of Ireland man Paul Scanlon …. tosser!
@SYM-Metal: says a roscommon dik head
Dublin Joe at it again.No way Donal Vaughan should have sent off.Joe couldn’t have Dublin a man down.Could he and he has given them the space on pitch they need.Well done.
@Mary Ryan: go back to washin the dishes 2 reds cards deserved, if Vaughan had of stayed out of it dubs were down to 14 and mayo were in the driving seat idiot of a player
@Mary Ryan: intentional striking or attempting to strike an opponent is a straight red! You will vary rarely see a clearer example
As a donegal man well played by both sides. Best final ive seen in a long time..
Vaughan has just handed the all Ireland to Dublin, Muppet
Fair play to the Dubs. Deserved 3 in a row.
So, we see how good the dubs are when they’re tested, NOT so great
@Declan Moran: champions 3 in a row
Some dirty tactics by Dublin and poor refereeing decisions all going Dublin’ s way..
Mayo were the better team..
@Patrick j Brady: hahahahahaha. And what about Mayos dragging and taking players out. Even the last free he swung his boot towards Rock as he was taking it.
@Patrick j Brady: Most of the off the ball dirty play came from Mayo
It’s the ref that badly needs a boot!! Too many incidents not picked up on
Mayo must take their points. Way too many wides.
Only 2 scores for Dublin in the 1st 20 mins. Dean Rock has started the game poorly and McCaffrey will be a big loss.
Also has to be said that Cilllan O Connor has been very poor for Mayo – just as well Moran and Doherty are doing great so far
Agree John
Donal Vaughan.
Dublin – much more experienced at this level, awesome firepower available to replace anyone misfiring on the day and side full of confidence, united and determined. Pressure is on Mayo to take it off the Dubs.
I’m trying to watch on rte player it’s bad anyone any ideas what’s wrong or any stream to watch
@Donal O Cofaigh: mobdro? Not great quality by any means but it works. Both on rte and sky.
@Malvolio32: found one on you tube gaa hd live , excellent quality, thanks for reply
@Donal O Cofaigh: watching RTE on Mobdro and have a much better stream than the RTE player app
Gutted for mayo : (
Go on Mayo
Vaughan , full qualified velvet ears !!!!
How many steps did Rock run for that point ? Mayo hard done by
Another home win for Dublin
@TravellingTheWorld: yes and delighted. No better feeling than the capital winning in the capital.
Mayo hahahaha ,
Weren’t u hoping mayo would win 2 weeks ago! Hypocrite
Poor Mayo, if Vaughan had kept his head things could very different. Hard luck… once again. COYBIB!!!!!!!!
mayo ony themselves to blame.in the last 10 minutes too many mayo players went missin.Dublin didn’t even play well
@Michael cunnane: or weren’t let play well??
HT. Dublin are very poor so far.Jack Mac huge loss .Eoin o Gara has to go if Dublin are to win but this will be close and could be a another draw.
Unlucky mayo. Was an enjoyable game of football to watch. Heart in the mouth stuff at the end. Thought a draw was a fair result to be honest and a replay but hope to see use back at the final stage next year for another battle. Up the dubs
MAYO CHEATED BY THUGS
@Pat Butler: always with the excuses. Annual bottlers.
That last COC free kick which came off the post…..no Mayo player at the ready to pounce on rebound!
The Vaughan incident, very costly…when cool heads and calmness required in the heat of that moment…a red mist descends on Donie.
Thrilling game. End to end stuff! Hard luck Mayo. Congrats to Dubs.
All in all 2017 a great year’s GAA matches.
Dublin didn’t deserve to win today Mayo did. O am sickened by how poor the ref was at that game…..
@Robert McMahon: Agreed
@Robert McMahon: of course Dublin deserved to win. They battled on and scored more points when playing poorly. That’s the definition of a winning team.
Gooooaaaaallllllll Mayo
Keep it up Nayo
@Paul: that’s what the dubs call a donkey!
Loss of McCaffrey was massive for Dublin. Dublins best players always seem to get injured against mayo. Every time they play. It’s amazing.
Mayo should be further ahead.
Connolly to score the winner :)
O Connor has to get into the game if mayo want to win.
C’mon Sinéad! Have Dublin shown up? Often late for GAA.
Mayo struggling to break dubs blanket defence.
That curse stands. If I was those two remaining players from 55 I’d be in wit pro.
Really not impressed by this at all. The skill level is very low. Both these teams would get monstered by 100 points if they took on the Ireland rugby team in a rugby match.
Bunch of amateurs.
@beni gabor: poor attempt at Trolling
@beni gabor: g8 b8 m8
Great game of football. Fair play to Dublin, dispite not playing well im the first half, They managed to keep their composer, and take their scores. A close finish but the best team won on the day.
What would have happened if we won desperate dan? Would u have gone into hiding? Joke of a gaa “fan”
Donal Vaughan cost Mayo that match. Devastating for everyone concerned to have to put up with such stupidity.
Is it me or are they playing for a replay? Not playing more like..
@Mike Foley: maybe not.. dublin just scored
@Mike Foley: well no one can say the ref didn’t do his bit.
I thought the dubs were on the GAA payroll if they went on for a replay
So close ,gutted but they gave yas a run for your money
What a clown you are Vaughan , had the advantage & pissed away coz you’re a hot head fool
Can’t blame a so called curse for that. A stupid red card cost them in the end. Absolutely brainless.
Dirty smackheads
Cmon Mayo cursed jaysus beat the dubs
Whens the blame the ref and dirty dublin gonna start well done dublin great game, Respect to mayo great team