Amad Diallo is clearly not looking to make any friends at Arsenal, mocking the Premier League leaders in an interaction with a Gunners fan on social media.
The 23-year-old started Manchester United’s dramatic 3-2 win at the Emirates on Sunday, which saw the Red Devils climb to fourth in the table under interim manager Michael Carrick.
It was a see-saw contest, which saw the home team take the lead through a Lisandro Martinez own goal and Bryan Mbeumo equalise before half-time.
A brilliant Patrick Dorgu goal put United ahead just after the break, but Mikel Merino prodded home an equaliser for Arsenal late on, only for Matheus Cunha to produce another stunner to win it on 87 minutes.
Arsenal remain top of the table, but their lead has been cut to four points over the weekend, with Manchester City and Aston Villa both winning.
Clearly still in a very good position, Arsenal have been hit with criticism over their mindset during the defeat to Manchester United, with Patrick Vieira questioning their mental strength and Roy Keane suggesting they are already feeling the pressure of the title race.
Amad has also taken the opportunity to stick the boot in, having a pop at an Arsenal fan who was very confident ahead of Sunday’s game.
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A Gunners fan posted on X before the match: ‘Arsenal are winning 4-0, they just sent me the script.’
The Ivorian replied after the victory: ‘Your only hope is corner🤣. Be humble KID 🤫.’
It was a bold message from Amad, with his team still 12 points adrift of Arsenal in the Premier League and not in any European competition while the Gunners sit top of the Champions League group stage table.
Mikel Arteta’s side did look blunt on Sunday, though, with their first goal coming off the boot of a Manchester United defender and the second a scrappy effort, poked over the line from a corner.
In contrast, the Red Devils look like a team transformed under Carrick, with back-to-back victories over Manchester City and now Arsenal.
Speaking ahead of the match, Amad had talked up the impact the interim manager has had on the team since the dismissal of Ruben Amorim earlier this month.
‘He knows the quality I have,’ the winger told Sky Sports of Carrick. ‘It gave us a lot of confidence, it was a tough game but we had good mentality and Carrick has the DNA of this club so he gave us energy. It’s a big step for us today and we have to keep going like this.
‘He has made a good impact since he arrived and some of the players knew him. He was my first manager since I arrived here. He’s trying to do his best and he’s giving advice to everyone.
‘I have to give my best, I know him and I played against him when I was at Sunderland and he was managing Middlesbrough. He knows the quality I have and the player I am so he’s trying to tell me I have to give my best every game.’
Metro at the Match: Arsenal 2-3 Manchester United
Metro’s Tom Olver breaks down the winners and losers from Arsenal’s 3-2 defeat to Manchester United at the Emirates.
Gabriel Jesus stutters in centre-forward audition
Given the nod over Viktor Gyokeres after an impressive brace against Inter Milan in midweek, Gabriel Jesus will no doubt have been itching to nail down his spot as Mikel Arteta’s first-choice centre-forward.
But with the Gunners utterly dominant in the early exchanges, Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard combined to provide the main threat from out wide – with the Brazilian a largely peripheral figure through the middle, in stark contrast with Bryan Mbeumo at the other end of the pitch.
It was more of the same from Jesus as the second half wore on and Mikel Arteta had seen enough by the 58th minute, with his side stumbling in search of an equaliser after a spirited fightback from the visitors.
A huge opportunity missed for the former Manchester City attacker as United threw a cat amongst the pigeons in this year’s title race. It leaves Arteta with a tough call to make up front ahead of Arsenal’s return to top-flight action at Leeds next weekend.
A rare moment to forget for Martin Zubimendi
Martin Zubimendi helped gift United a route back into the game with a horrible lapse in concentration at a crucial stage in the contest before half-time.
Arsenal’s usually metronomic summer signing has hardly put a foot wrong since joining from Real Sociedad and the Spaniard could scarcely believe what he had done as Mbeumo latched onto his misplaced pass before calmly rounding David Raya and stroking the ball home.
An unwanted collector’s item for Zubimendi and a moment he will not want to repeat any time soon.
Even ignoring his blunder, there was a distinct lack of creativity and urgency from Zubimendi when the hosts badly needed someone to stand up and take the game by the scruff of the neck.
Arsenal match ratings: Raya 7, Timber 7, Saliba 5, Gabriel 5, Hincapie 6, Zubimendi 4, Rice 7, Odegaard 6, Saka 6, Trossard 6, Jesus 4. Subs: White 4, Merino 7, Eze 5, Madueke 5, Gyokeres 4.
A mixed day for Martinez
Martinez has endured surely his toughest period yet as a United player and things went bad to worse for the diminutive centre-back on the half-hour mark at the Emirates.
After being on the end of some scathing criticism from Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt, the Argentine will have been desperate to build on his encouraging display against Manchester City.
But another of United’s Class of ’92 was left less than impressed as Martinez – put under pressure from Jurrien Timber – directed the ball into his own net to open the scoring for Arsenal. ‘He should deal with it,’ said Gary Neville on Sky Sports.
Martinez did, though, show great resilience to keep his chin up to help keep the likes of Saka, Trossard and Jesus quiet alongside a near-faultless Harry Maguire at the heart of Michael Carrick’s defence.
Bryan Mbeumo the big-game competitor
Bryan Mbeumo further showed himself to be perhaps United’s most shrewd piece of summer transfer business with just the latest in a long line of eye-catching performances for the club.
He more than deserved his first-half goal, helping force a rare misplaced pass from Zubimendi with some relentless pressing through the middle. The subsequent finish had all the coolness and confidence of a player well and truly at the peak of his powers.
It’s no coincidence that United’s resurgence under Michael Carrick has coincided with Mbeumo’s welcome return from the Africa Cup of Nations.
The £71million spent on Mbeumo will prove to be a steal if the Cameroon international continues in the same vein over the coming weeks and months, adding to his already impressive scoring tally.
Carrick won’t mind Mbeumo’s animated reaction to being substituted for Matheus Cunha in the 68th minute. It’s exactly that kind of character and personality that the club have badly lacked for so long in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.
Patrick Dorgu comes of age
Michael Carrick was full of praise for Patrick Dorgu’s ‘immense’ performance after a dream derby day for United – and the Dane picked up where he left off this weekend.
It’s fair to say Dorgu has had an up-down start to his United career since becoming the first signing of Ruben Amorim’s turbulent reign. But his talent has always been undoubted – the difference is he’s is now beginning to showcase that ability on a far more consistent basis.
His 50th-minute wonder strike – which Neville branded ‘the goal of a lifetime’ – was the standout moment of quality… that’s until Cunha provided some serious competition with his stunning effort to win it in the closing stages.
Such a shame that a suspected hamstring injury cut short Dorgu’s showing with ten minutes remaining in the capital. Carrick will be praying it’s not as bad as it first appeared so the youngster is able to make a speedy return to the fold.
Man Utd player ratings: Lammens 7, Dalot 6, Maguire 8, Martinez 6, Shaw 6, Casemiro 6, Mainoo 6, Amad 5, Fernandes 7, Dorgu 8, Mbeumo 8. Subs: Cunha 8, Sesko 5, Mazraoui 5.
Arsenal boss Arteta responded to the the criticism of his team’s mentality, specifically the comments from former Gunners captain Vieira, who said: ‘They are still four points clear but there is still some questions about the mental strength of the team and I think that performance will be very disappointing.’
Arteta told a press conference: ‘That’s fine. We accept every opinion when it comes and where it’s coming from, and they will have the right reasons to say.
‘At the end we have to show the mental strength that we have on the pitch when it comes to matchday and we were absolutely brilliant in Milan [3-1 win at Inter] and today we weren’t that good – I don’t know if it was mental because of how much they play, but because we were poor, especially technically in certain aspects of the game against a team that when you make those mistakes, they can punish you big time and that was the difference.’
