SAME OLE STORY
SOLSKJAER BEMOANS LACK OF FIGHT AS RED DEVILS FLOP AT HOME AGAIN
OLE GUNNAR Solskjaer admitted Manchester United lacked spirit and Paul Pogba blamed himself for the defeat by Arsenal as his side continue their wait for a first home Premier League win.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s secondhalf penalty – awarded for Pogba’s foul on Hector Bellerin – secured a 1-0 victory for the Gunners and meant United have failed to win any of their opening four top-flight home matches for the first time since 1972-73.
Former United midfielder Roy Keane, working for Sky Sports, claimed he did not ‘see guys you want to be in the trenches with’ in the current side.
Put to Solskjaer, the
Old Trafford boss said: ‘Well, in the first half there were no tackles, no fighting, you have got to create atmosphere.
‘These games against Arsenal were always fierce, tackles flying. We didn’t have the tempo or intensity for that, absolutely, and I was disappointed with the first-half performance. In the second half we were better.’ Asked if there had been progress under his stewardship, Solskjaer (below) added: ‘That’s not my job to say, that’s probably for everyone else to say.’
Keane hit out at United’s display and singled out Marcus Rashford for ‘shocking’ body language.
‘You roll your sleeves up at Man United. Things aren’t going your way, that’s when you look at your leaders. I don’t see any leaders out there right through the whole team,’ he said. Pogba, meanwhile, held his hands up for the ‘stupid mistake’ which ultimately led to United losing. ‘I cannot give a foul away like this. I thought I would touch the ball but I didn’t. [I] cost us the goal today with the penalty,’ he said. ‘We have to do better.’