(Manchester United-Arsenal 3-1) All was well for Manchester United as they beat Arsenal to claim their fourth win in a row, but after the match, Martin Odegaard was stunned by what he believed was an incorrect VAR interference against him which led to Not allowed target.
Early in the match, Arsenal’s video assistant referee Gabriel Martinelli disallowed a goal, because referees in the video room believed Odegaard had illegally stopped Christian Eriksen United in front of goal.
Several minutes after the match referee agreed to the goal, the VAR awarded a free kick to Manchester United instead.
Ødegaard clearly showed his opinion on this decision, but to no avail.
After the match, he was still frustrated when Viaplay gave him an interview.
You never take a free kick in my eyes, says Odegaard, who also doesn’t understand why VAR interferes in these kinds of situations.
– He was very, very thin and the referee stands up and says ‘Play on’. Too cheap in my eyes, and oddly enough, VAR would interfere. It has to be “clear and clear” before they do it.
Watch the situation in the video above!
– If they were to go like this, there would be many situations to deal with. It’s frustrating, and I don’t quite understand what they’re doing, he adds.
Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta did not understand why the VAR intervened in the situation before the goal and awarded a free kick.
– The judge said it was a “very weak decision.” We only ask for predictability. Today we lost the goal again, he said for today’s match.
In recent days, the controversy over VAR has erupted again as a result of two other situations that may resemble today, when both Newcastle and West Ham canceled goals in the previous round of the Premier League.
Former England champion Michael Owen is one of those backing Odegaard and Arteta, and shares their concern over whether the VAR is about to interfere too much.
– That’s not what VAR is. He wrote on Twitter that there was no referee for the match.
The VAR decision was upheld anyway, and Arsenal lost their first point.
– Dig deep
Odegaard and the rest of the squad have been strong so far in the Premier League, racking up five straight wins ahead of Sunday’s encounter. But now Manchester United is one of the real teams, which you would not have thought of after the team’s terrible start to the season.
– We had a test today, and we passed it. it was hard. They are a good team and we had to dig deep, says Marcus Rashford in an interview shown on Viaplay.
Anthony Matthews dos Santos entered directly into the starting line-up in the Brazilian’s first match with United.
The new signing was the most expensive buyout of the summer in European football, with a transfer fee said to be around €100m.
Erik ten Hag also coached Anthony at Ajax, and the 22-year-old quickly showed why he wanted the new United manager so much in England.
ice cold log
Anthony made his debut with full fire from the start, and after just 35 minutes in a United shirt, his first goal came. Marcus Rashford did the job when Anthony was played and left the ball cold behind the Arsenal goalkeeper, until United entered the first half with a 1-0 lead.
1 / 6
Anthony was substituted after the break, and fifteen-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo came in.
But what did the Viaplay commentator say when Ronaldo came?
Rashford Show
After the break, it was Marcus Rashford who steals the show.
He settled the match with two goals, both of which came after a good preparation from Christian Eriksen, who seems to have discovered his interaction with Rashford.
On the other hand, Rashford has often tolerated criticism that he contributed goals very rarely, but this season he has scored three goals and assisted two goals in six games.
Although Manchester United clearly won, Arsenal dominated the match for extended periods at Old Trafford.
Ødegaard was one of those who played a good game, and the Norwegian had good passes in Arsenal’s midfield. He was also involved in building the away team’s only goal of the match, which was scored by Bukayo Saka behind the unchanged David de Gea. Ødegaard was replaced with 20 minutes left, 2-1.
– We are giving up simple goals today. We don’t do a good enough job in those situations, and we make small mistakes, Ødegaard tells Viaplay.
The victory over Arsenal only confirms that Manchester United have made a real turnaround.
Eric ten Hag had the worst possible start to his career as United manager with a 2-1 loss to Brighton and a 4-0 loss to Brentford. But the Dutchman managed to turn the tide, among other things by changing United’s defense, with captain Harry Maguire being put on the bench in favor of Raphael Varane.
The three consecutive matches ended with victories over Liverpool, Southampton and Leicester, and today’s victory over Arsenal is the team’s fourth in a row.
United face Real Sociedad led by Alexander Sorloth in the Europa League on Thursday. On the same day, Arsenal plays away to Zurich in the same tournament.
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