The South Korea international has been a key performer for Spurs but could well make the move to Italy in the future, according to his representative.

Photo by Getty Images

Tottenham star Heung-min Son would be open to a future move to Serie A side Napoli, according to his agent Thies Bliemeister.

Son has established himself as one of the best forwards in the Premier League and Europe since joining Tottenham from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015.

The South Korea international has scored 70 goals for Spurs, while he played a key role in the club’s memorable run to last season’s Champions League final.

However, a new adventure in Italy could interest the 27-year-old, who has netted three goals in all competitions this term.

“I’ve never brought a player to Napoli, but I’d like to because [Diego] Maradona, my favourite player, played for them,” Bliemeister told Radio Marte’s ‘Si gonfia la rete’.

“I’ve talked to Napoli in the past, with executives who are no longer at the club. I’ll take advantage of this double-header with Salzburg to talk to them.

“As for Son at Napoli, why not? You can never say never in football. Son likes Italy, the food and Italian people.

“It’s not easy to take him from Tottenham because he costs a lot but, one day, who knows?”

Son scored the opening goal in Tottenham’s humiliating 7-2 Champions League loss to Bayern Munich on Tuesday.

The forward also netted a brace against Crystal Palace in the league last month, while contributing a single assist in three other matches against Arsenal, Leicester City and Southampton.

He has hit double figures in goals in his previous three Premier League seasons, scoring 38 times since the start of the 2016-17 campaign.

Despite his form making him one of Europe’s best attacking players, Son revealed he was happy to not get the public attention like some of football’s other superstars.

“No, not at all. I’m not like Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo,” Son told DAZN and Goal.

“I can only do my best and try to help the team with it. If I can do that, I will be happy.”

Son will be keen to find the back of the net on Saturday, as Spurs travel to face Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium.

Source – Goal.com

Barcelona could include their 28-year-old France forward Antoine Griezmann in a deal to re-sign Brazil forward Neymar, 27, from Paris St-Germain next summer. (Le10Sport – in French)

Tottenham have made Leicester City and England playmaker James Maddison, 22, their number one target to replace 27-year-old Denmark international Christian Eriksen, whose contract with Spurs expires at the end of the season. (Mirror)

Chelsea are hopeful defender Fikayo Tomori, 21, and striker Tammy Abraham, 22, will sign new contracts in the next few weeks. The pair have both been included in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for Euro 2020 qualifiers later this month. (Standard)

Chelsea are also about to open contract talks with 31-year-old Brazil forward Willian, whose current deal expires at the end of the season. (Express)

Manchester City have no interest in signing 20-year-old Norway midfielder Martin Odegaard, who is on loan at Real Sociedad from Real Madrid. (Manchester Evening News)

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says 29-year-old right-back Kyle Walker, who has again been left out of the England squad for Euro 2020 qualifiers later this month, could find his place in his side under threat from Joao Cancelo if the 25-year-old Portugal international continues to impress.

Liverpool keeper Loris Karius, who is on loan at Besiktas, says he could play for the Reds again when his spell in Turkey finishes at the end of the season. The 26-year-old German also suggested he could move to another Premier League team or return to his homeland. (Guardian)

Ajax have removed the £26m release clause in Morocco winger Hakim Ziyech’s deal as part of the 26-year-old’s contract renewal with the club. Ziyech has been linked with Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and Real Madrid. (AS, via Telegraaf)

Everton boss Marco Silva says England Under-19 forward Anthony Gordon, 18, is close to being handed a chance in the first team. (Liverpool Echo)

Manchester United are monitoring the progress of Club Leon’s 20-year-old Mexico striker Jose Juan Macias, who has been labelled ‘the next Javier Hernandez’. (Marca via Express)

West Ham are interested in 20-year-old Bolivian midfielder Daniel Camacho, who plays for local side Club Aurora. (Diez via Sport Witness)

Real Madrid considered appointing former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte as their manager following the sacking of Julen Lopetegui last year, but decided against it on the advice of captain Sergio Ramos. (Fichajes.net via Mail)

Manchester United have scouted 22-year-old Russian forward Aleksandr Sobolev, who plays in his home country for Premier League side PFC Krylia Sovetov Samara. (Mirror)

Mexican consortium Orlegi Sports, led by multi-millionaire Alejandro Irarragorri, came close to buying Newcastle this summer before pulling out of the deal and investing in Mexican side Atlas instead. (Chronicle)

Meanwhile, a consortium led by former Manchester United and Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon is stepping-up its £300m bid to buy Newcastle. (Sun)

Anderlecht boss Vincent Kompany is eyeing a move for Wales defender Ashley Williams when the 35-year-old’s Bristol City contract expires in January. (Sun)

Former Tottenham and Arsenal defender Sol Campbell and ex-Celtic and Barcelona striker Henrik Larsson have been interviewed for the vacant Southend manager’s job. (Sky Sports)

Croatia striker Mario Mandzukic, 33, a Manchester United target, is among three players Juventus will look to sell this January. (Calciomercato – in Italian)

A leaked document has revealed how much Real Madrid fine their players for breaking rules such as being late for training or using their mobile phone while in the team bus or dressing room (Marca)

Former England and Chelsea left-back Graeme Le Saux has linked up with British tennis star Andy Murray, who is looking to expand his sports management agency into football.

Source – BBC News

Lionel Messi completed his first 90 minutes of the season for Barcelona in midweek when he helped them battle back to beat Inter Milan in the Champions League but former Barca striker Rivaldo says the Argentine must not be rushed.

Photo by Getty Images

The 32-year-old has endured a frustrating campaign with a foot injury restricting him to only two starts — a major factor in the club’s slow start which has left them fourth in La Liga.

Manager Ernesto Valverde knows how vital Messi is to Barca’s prospects and it would be a tough call to leave him on the bench, but Rivaldo says he must not be rushed back.

“Lionel Messi is still recovering from injury and finding his rhythm,” Rivaldo, speaking in his role as an ambassador for bookmakers Betfair, said on Friday.

“But I was happy to see him playing for 90 minutes and sacrificing himself for the team, even if it was obvious that he’s not 100% fit.”

Barcelona face sixth-placed Sevilla on Sunday with both teams level on 13 points from seven games and while Messi is more than likely to feature in only his third La Liga game of the season, Rivaldo urges caution.

Rivaldo with Barcelona/Imago

“Messi’s importance in this win against Inter only reinforces my view that he has to be more protected in this phase of his career,” former Barca favourite and FIFA World Player of the Year Rivaldo said.

“He must be allowed to fully recover so that he can stop feeling any pain and lose any fear of fighting for each ball. He must be allowed to recover his joy on the pitch, as he is very important for Barcelona, especially when on his best form.”

Rivaldo says the clash with Sevilla could be too early.

“Of course Messi wants to play. But it could be time to reflect with the medical staff and check if playing too much time after coming back from an injury could be risky for his recovery,” he said.

“It’s an important match against Sevilla but there is a lot of the league season to play yet, so perhaps protecting the player could reap rewards later, as it would allow Messi to have some more days to recover from his midweek efforts.”

Source – Eurosport.com

The Spaniard was told he would be lucky to walk again after being hit with an infection that ate into his Achilles tendon but is now back to his best.

Photo by Getty Images

Santi Cazorla went 636 days without playing a football match.

After complications arising from an Achilles injury that reached an excruciating crescendo in October 2016, the then Arsenal midfielder was given a grim prognosis by doctors.

“They told me, ‘If you get to walk again with your son in the garden, be satisfied,” Cazorla told MARCA last year.

“[They] saw that I had a tremendous infection, that I had damaged part of the calcaneus bone and it had eaten the Achilles tendon. There was eight centimetres of it missing!”

After requiring 10 operations and a skin graft that used tissue on the forearm that bore his daughter’s name, Cazorla would have been forgiven for hanging up his boots.

But a man that rarely plays the beautiful game without a smile on his face was never going to let his career end in such depressing fashion.

Instead, Cazorla fought tooth and nail for nearly two years – saying goodbye to the Emirates in the process – in order to return to the pitch.

“I always felt the support of everyone from Arsenal: if there’s something I’ve taken away from there above all else, it’s the fans’ affection,” Cazorla said in 2019.

“The thorn in my side, the regret, is not having been able to say goodbye on the field, the way I’d have liked.”

Cazorla instead returned to Spain after being released by Arsenal when his contract expired in the summer of 2018 and began training with Alaves‘ youth team in order to boost his fitness.

He then spent pre-season with former club Villarreal and when he played his first game in 636 days, coming on as a replacement in a friendly against Heracles, he received a standing ovation from everyone present.

Villarreal promptly signed Cazorla for a third time and while his second return to El Madrigal may have been laced with sentiment, this was no act of charity.

Both the club and the player believed he was ready to return to top-flight football. They weren’t wrong.

Still boasting a sublime touch and impressive vision, Cazorla rolled back the years with a string of midfield masterclasses last season and ended the 2018-19 campaign with four goals and 10 assists to his name.

Impressive displays during Villarreal’s run to the quarter-finals of the Europa League, combined with his consistent Liga form, saw Cazorla named the club’s player of the season.

Even more remarkably, he earned a Spain recall in May and made his first international appearance for 1302 days when he started in a 4-1 win over Faroe Islands the following month.

“Playing a single game at a top level was a very long way off, so imagine the national team… Unthinkable,” Cazorla enthused.

“This was difficult for me to take in, so unexpected after everything I’d been through.

“Now I take it as a new challenge, a new hope. I’m here for purely sporting reasons. They said that to me, ‘It’s what you bring.’

“Maybe it’s more special in my case, because of the injury, but that’s not the reason I’m here, although it could be an example for players my age – don’t give up.

“There have been all sorts of moments, times you consider throwing in the towel, but I knew it was a long run and if I didn’t make it, I didn’t want to blame myself or think I could have done more.”

From the sidelines to the headlines, the Spaniard, who turned 34 last December, has turned tragedy into triumph and he’s showing no signs of slowing down.

This season, he’s picked up where he left off term, racking up four goals and three assists in just seven Liga outings.

Indeed, having found the back of the net in his past three games, Cazorla is arguably in even better form in 2019-20, with his stunning long-range strike against Barcelona in late September reminding the world he’s still capable of shining on the game’s grandest stages.

For a man that was close to never walking again, this a revival that should inspire any footballer that ever finds himself in the treatment room wondering if he has the strength to fight on.

Cazorla’s comeback is one of the game’s great fairy tales.

Source – Goal.com

Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham says he “has not decided” on his international future after scoring in Wednesday’s Champions League victory over Lille.

Tammy Abraham has played 74 minutes in friendly matches for England’s senior team

The 22-year-old is yet to play in a competitive fixture for England but appeared in friendly draws with Germany and Brazil in 2017.

He is eligible to play for Nigeria despite featuring at three youth team levels for England.

“I haven’t made a decision yet. I am focusing on the club,” said Abraham.

“It is always a privilege to be wanted by both nations,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live. “I love both nations and for me I am clearly doing something right for Chelsea. My time will come.”

Abraham was part of the England under-21s European Championships squad this summer.

England manager Gareth Southgate will name his senior squad for upcoming Euro qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Bulgaria on Thursday.

Abraham, who has netted eight goals in 10 games in all competitions for Chelsea so far this season, is currently joint-second in the Premier League’s top scorers charts.

“I am from an area where I have grown up with different culture backgrounds. I am fully aware Nigeria is a massive country,” Abraham added.

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard, speaking to Radio 5 Live, added: “Tammy is handling the situation as he does with everything in life. He takes it with enthusiasm, happiness, desire to work.

“He wants to be the best and with that comes international recognition. I say it every day, it is his decision and the next decision on that front is for Gareth [Southgate]. I never want to tell him what to do.”

Abraham spent the 2018-19 season on loan at Aston Villa in the Championship and scored his first goal in the Champions League for Chelsea on Wednesday.

Lampard said he hoped to see “many more” goals from Abraham, who linked up with compatriot Fikayo Tomori to score – the first time since March 2012 that two Englishmen were involved in the same goal in the Champions League for Chelsea.

“Tammy’s performance was more of the same of what we have been seeing,” said Lampard. “He’s hungry for goals, he’s physical, he gives everything for the team, he has quality with the ball at his feet.

“It’s his first Champions League goal and we’ll see many more, I hope, and many more performances like [Wednesday].”

Source – BBC News

Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva has been charged with misconduct by the Football Association over a tweet he sent to team-mate Benjamin Mendy.

Manchester City’s Benjamin Mendy and Bernardo Silva also played together at Monaco

Silva compared Mendy to the character on a packet of Conguitos – a sweet brand available in Spain and Portugal.

The Portugal player, 25, is alleged to have committed an “aggravated breach” of FA rules as it included reference “expressed or implied, to race and/or colour and/or ethnic origin”.

Silva has until 9 October to respond.

The post was published at 12:44 BST on 22 September but was deleted at 13:30, although Silva later tweeted: “Can’t even joke with a friend these days.”

The FA subsequently contacted City for their observations, while Silva has written to the governing body to say he regrets the fact his social media post may have unintentionally caused offence.

Anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out criticised the post and urged the FA to act, adding that “racist stereotypes are never acceptable as ‘banter'”.

In a statement on Wednesday, the FA said Silva’s activity is alleged to have been “insulting and/or improper and/or brought the game into disrepute”.

Silva has been repeatedly defended by Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who said it would be a “mistake” to punish his playmaker for the tweet.

England forward Raheem Sterling supported Silva against accusations of racism, saying it was “a situation between two friends”.

Mendy has also written in support of Silva, saying he did not take offence at the tweet.

France defender Mendy and Silva are close friends and played together at Monaco before both joined City in 2017.

A previous video of Silva joking with Mendy has also been passed on to the FA.

Source – BBC News

The Egyptian scored twice on another epic European night at Anfield but the Reds manager will be deeply concerned by his side’s defensive display.

Photo by Getty Images

Jurgen Klopp hoped these kind of nights were in the past.

Anfield’s 100th European Cup game had the Liverpool boss tearing his hair out. No wonder they say management is bad for your health.

The Reds got the job done in the end, but only after the biggest of Champions League frights.

Klopp’s side led 3-0 after just 36 minutes against Salzburg, but his “mentality giants” turned to mush for a half an hour afterwards. What it is it with Liverpool, Europe and three-goal leads?

Fifteen minutes into the second half, the Austrian champions had levelled at 3-3.

At that point, Anfield was stunned, Liverpool unable to cope with Salzburg’s effervescence and self-belief, while their own confidence had deserted them in alarming fashion.

For a spell, fans were reminded of the team they’d forgotten; you know, the one with the soft centre and the glass jaw, the one that couldn’t be trusted to hold on to any kind of advantage?

Were they tired? Complacent, maybe? Had they taken their foot off the gas, or underestimated a Salzburg side that has been scoring goals for fun this season?

Whatever it was, it wasn’t pretty.

Thankfully for Kopites, even the bad days seem to end happily nowadays, and thanks to Mohamed Salah, a potential crisis was averted here.

The Egyptian had put Liverpool into cruise control at 3-0, and he stepped up when they needed him at 3-3, smashing home Roberto Firmino’s flicked header in front of the Kop to get his side out of jail. His sixth goal of the campaign was met with relief as much as anything else.

That’s 12 goals in 13 Champions League appearances at Anfield for Salah. Since he arrived in 2017, only Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski have scored more in all competitions across Europe’s top five leagues. Salah keeps special company these days.

Certainly, Klopp needed him on a night when Liverpool’s defensive solidity went AWOL.

Salzburg deserve credit – Jesse March’s side are young and fearless, and few sides will commit as many men to attack on this ground this season – but it will worry Klopp how easily his side collapsed from 3-0.

Even Virgil van Dijk, the Lord of the Manor, looked flustered. The Dutchman was turned inside out for Salzburg’s first goal, finished expertly by Hee-Chan Hwang, and admitted afterwards that he and his team-mates could perform “a lot better.”

Beside Van Dijk, Joe Gomez looked as rusty as an old garden gate at times. The England international was Van Dijk’s preferred partner this time last year, but he will not be usurping Joel Matip any time soon on this showing.

Leicester, who visit on Saturday, will have been encouraged. “I am sure Brendan Rodgers thinks if we protect like tonight then Jamie Vardy will be run through five times with the goalkeeper,” admitted Klopp. Vardy already has a good record against the Reds.

Gomez and Van Dijk would argue that they were left exposed by their midfield, with neither Gini Wijnaldum nor Jordan Henderson covering themselves in glory on the night, either. Fabinho, at times, was left fighting the tide alone. The Brazilian was good, but he can’t do everything.

It was a shame, because for most of the first half Liverpool were outstanding. They played with verve and a healthy arrogance, scored three wonderful goals and looked every inch the champions of Europe. Anfield purred at their excellence.

Sadio Mane set them on their way in the ninth minute, playing a gorgeous one-two with Firmino to slide home against his former club.

Then Andy Robertson got in on the act, netting only his second goal for the club. Trent Alexander-Arnold provided the assist, one full-back to another. Assistant manager Pep Lijnders says that is “the dream” for Liverpool; it was realised here.

Salah made it three soon after, gobbling up a rebound after Firmino had been denied at the end of another flowing move. “We did everything they don’t like at high speed,” said Klopp.

At that point, you’d have got long odds on it being a nervy last half-hour.

But Hwang got Salzburg back into it before half-time, making it 3-1 in style. For a second, the Anfield scoreboard errneously showed 3-3 – maybe it knew something we didn’t?

After the break, with Liverpool missing in action, Takumi Minamino volleyed home for 3-2. Shell-shocked, the Reds shipped another within four minutes, substitute Erling Braut Haaland tapping in at the far post for his 18th goal of the season. Liverpool may be grateful the prolific Norwegian wasn’t fit enough to start the game.

“We opened the door and they were running through,” said Klopp. “It was a very important lesson for us to learn.”

Then came Salah’s moment, a clinical finish and Liverpool were off the hook. With Napoli drawing in Genk earlier in the day, they move into a strong position in Group E.

They’ll need to defend a lot better than this, though, if they are to capitalise on it.

“A typical Liverpool game,’ Klopp called this. He was wrong. This is what a typical Liverpool game used to be.

The Red Bulls gave the Red Machine a hell of a scare.

Source – Goal.com

Inter should have been more than one goal ahead when the Catalans’ star duo once again combined to engineer a thrilling victory at Camp Nou.

Photoby Getty/Goal

Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi bailed Barcelona out of jail at the end of a thrilling clash with Inter but, on the evidence of what we saw at Camp Nou, it won’t be long before the Catalans get themselves into trouble again.

The Uruguayan hitman’s volley – brutal and balletic in equal measure – ripped past Samir Handanovic to level the scores after Lautaro Martinez’s opener.

Then, Messi’s sublime dribble created Suarez’s second as Barcelona took three points from a game they could easily have lost.

However, two of the game’s giants combining to turn defeat into victory only papers over the cracks in this Barca side.

At times, Barca’s deficiencies were brutally exposed by Antonio Conte’s Inter machine – which is well oiled already, despite the coach only arriving a short while ago.

By contrast, Blaugrana boss Ernesto Valverde – who is into his third season in the job – don’t seem to have much of a plan beyond ‘Give the ball to Messi’.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner, back after his second injury of the season, completed 90 minutes but looked understandably uncalibrated for much of the game.

And yet, the plan, such as it is, ultimately worked. Though only just.

It was an Argentine No. 10 who opened the scoring but not the one 86,000 Barcelona fans in attendance would have expected.

Instead it was Martinez, a forward occasionally linked with the Catalans in the gossip columns, who broke the deadlock after 121 seconds.

Alexis Sanchez won the ball in midfield as he charged down Gerard Pique before Martinez burst through the Barca backline to finish coolly after holding off Clement Lenglet.

The Catalans have netted the opening goal in just three of their nine games across La Liga and the Champions League so far this season, and their slow starts are clearly something they must work on.

Inter also hit them on the break repeatedly, with Martinez twice coming close to netting a second, while Nicolo Barella had a goal-bound shot blocked and Stefano Sensi fired over when well placed.

As Inter’s counters became increasingly dangerous, it seemed likely they would become the first visiting team to win a group game at the Camp Nou since Rubin Kazan back in 2009.

Barcelona’s spine looked weak, with Gerard Pique picking up his sixth yellow card of the season already.

Ahead of the veteran defender, Sergio Busquets struggled up against Inter’s young and energetic midfielders and it was only after he was taken off, with Arthur dropping back alongside Frenkie de Jong, that Barcelona hit their stride.

The equaliser came out of nowhere, though, with Suarez’s remarkable volley giving Barcelona belief where previously there was none.

It was a badly needed moment of individual quality, a goal which came by chance, rather than design, which only reflected even more poorly on Valverde and his tactics are concerned.

Suarez’s overall performance was worryingly poor but he still stepped up to the mark when his side needed him most. The great players always do.

However, it must be said that the introduction of Arturo Vidal and Ousmane Dembele for the overwhelmed Busquets and ineffective Griezmann also changed the game, so credit where it’s due for Valverde.

Vidal and Dembele are, of course, are extremely unpredictable but they helped dislodge Conte’s stubborn defence.

But without Messi’s dribble – which spanned half the length of the pitch – the second goal wouldn’t have been possible.

It was a simply undefendable piece of skill from the man recently crowned the best player in the world by FIFA.

He and Suarez can’t keep doing this, though. They can’t keep getting Barca out of jail.

Eventually, Valverde is going to have to address the reasons why they keep finding themselves in these tight spots.

Source – Goal.com

Argentine rivals River Plate and Boca Juniors will meet in Wednesday’s Copa Libertadores semi-final, nine months after their controversial 2018 final.

River Plate players celebrate on the pitch after winning last year’s final

That match was the first time in 58 years the two sides had met in the final and it was full of drama.

The fixture was originally postponed after Boca’s team bus was attacked by River fans, causing injury to players.

It was then moved 6,000 miles from Buenos Aires to Madrid before River won 5-3 on aggregate at the Bernabeu.

The Copa Libertadores is the showpiece club competition in South America, equivalent to the Champions League in Europe, and there were several household names in attendance last year, including Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Juventus’ Pablo Dybala.

The ferociousness of the rivalry was evident in the build-up to the final – a number of players, including Boca’s Carlos Tevez, reportedly suffered from dizziness and vomiting after the attack by River fans.

Boca argued River should have been disqualified from the competition and a late attempt to postpone the second leg was rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).

When the fixture eventually took place it didn’t disappoint – Juan Quintero scored a stunning extra-time strike in a 3-1 second-leg victory for River, who came from a goal down against 10-man Boca following a 2-2 draw in the first leg.

The two rivals played out a 0-0 draw on their most recent meeting, in the Superliga Argentina on 1 September, a match featuring 10 yellow cards.

Source – BBC News

Both teams continued their patchy form on a miserable, wet night at Old Trafford as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang cancelled out Scott McTominay’s opener.

Photo by Getty 

Manchester United and Arsenal are a pair of average teams, pockmarked by errors, who will do well to trouble the top four come the end of the season.

But then we knew that already.

There was a time when this fixture was must-see TV, and where not a seat would be up for grabs inside Old Trafford.

On Monday night there was probably better entertainment available on other channels, while conversations with perennial season ticket holders revealed a surplus of spares they were struggling to get shot of on a miserably wet Manchester night.

Throw in the fact that Manchester United are playing Arsenal when most of Europe’s better teams are preparing for Champions League duty on Tuesday and Wednesday and you have the overall impression of two teams in the doldrums.

That’s the reality of things, with United barely capable of beating Rochdale these days and Arsenal – like United – having trouble putting away the Premier League’s lesser lights.

Each squad is saddled with the kind of also-rans that would not have starred under Sir Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger. Each manager is having trouble on conjuring anything approaching a coherent identity on the field.

At least Ole Gunnar Solskjaer knows his team performs better on the break, even if the rest of the league has taken that as a cue to settle in and see if United can break them down. Generally, they can’t.

But Arsenal were generous enough at least to cough up one opportunity for United to gallop on the counter, which was eventually finished off by Scott McTominay.

Even that goal had a touch of the shambolic about it. Dan James is quick and probably United’s best player so far this season but has on occasion failed to match his speed with an end ball. His cross was predictably too long for Marcus Rashford, whose own pull-back for Paul Pogba at the edge of the box overran.

It was dispatched by McTominay via a fortuitous deflection. That was the only highlight of an otherwise forgettable first half in which neither team distinguished itself.

Arsenal’s equaliser was just as messy. Harry Maguire was caught too far back when Axel Tuanzebe had his pocket picked and Bukayo Saka found Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with the through ball.

There will be recriminations due to referee Kevin Friend and assistant Scott Ledger initially ruling the goal out for offside and then going back and awarding the goal after a consultation with VAR.

Solskjaer could be seen approaching fourth official Chris Kavanagh miming a whistle action, suggesting he at least thought Friend had brought play to a halt.

However, players have been instructed to follow play until its conclusion, which David De Gea did not do when faced with Aubameyang’s finish.

There are green shoots for both clubs though. The performance of Saka for Arsenal and, late on, Mason Greenwood for United show that there is quality filtering through the ranks. Saka almost had a goal but his shot was steered over the top via Victor Lindelof.

And while Saka takes his chances in the first team, record signing Nicolas Pepe is still looking for his Lille form. At least he was here, unlike Mesut Ozil, who was simply not selected for this fixture by Unai Emery.

He had one good attempt saved by De Gea in the first half but was wasteful at times. His inattentiveness, also, almost presented Maguire with the chance to make amends for his offside fumble. Bernd Leno was equal to it.

Rashford, the assist aside, remains a frustrated figure. He got his legs in a tangle on one Paul Pogba through ball in the first half and just missed a connection to a header in the second.

He might have papered over the cracks in injury time with a well-directed free-kick but Leno again came out on top.

All in all, it was a game and 1-1 result that did nothing to suggest that either of these sides are going to have successful seasons. Another washout.

Source – Goal.com