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Both sides’ fans were saying the same thing during a thriller at the Emirates

Published 19:35 2 Dec 2017 GMT

Darragh Murphy
Both sides’ fans were saying the same thing during a thriller at the Emirates

Homesport

An instant classic.

Manchester United's stirring victory over Arsenal on Saturday evening was a back-and-forth game which had supporters of both sides on the edge of their seats throughout. The visitors got off to a dream start when captain Antonio Valencia opened the scoring in the fourth minute before Jesse Lingard doubled United's advantage in the 11th minute. From that point, the Red Devils sat back and invited pressure against a side to whom you don't want to afford any space whatsoever. Jose Mourinho would undoubtedly have been the happier manager at the break but whatever his opposite number, Arsene Wenger, said to his charges in the dressing room clearly worked as Alexandre Lacazette found the net from close range just four minutes after half-time. It was akin to two boxers agreeing to meet in the centre of the ring to slug it out. When one team's players would take a break to catch their breath, the opposition would swarm. Lingard netted his second of his game with what might well have been the easiest finish of his career and the action-packed nature of the match was a welcome reminder that not all meetings of the so-called big sides have to be cagey encounters nowadays. Pundits had suggested that Mourinho would have set his side up to frustrate the free-flowing football of the Gunners at the Emirates but he did anything but. It was an incredibly enthralling 90 minutes of football and fans couldn't help but be reminded of the famous battles of years gone by, when Arsenal vs. United was the fixture that everybody looked forward to. Pogba's sending off with 15 minutes remaining provided the kind of bite that was once an annual guarantee from Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira. The whole game was like the footballing equivalent to Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots and delivered plenty of entertainment value to the neutrals watching from home. https://twitter.com/H_Gill71/status/937032306136580096 https://twitter.com/edumachah/status/937031840904474624 https://twitter.com/leeperkins87/status/937020551239032832 https://twitter.com/SoS_Insane/status/937020984313331712 https://twitter.com/bethphill_/status/937022914490183680 https://twitter.com/overcomingodds1/status/937023255071817728 https://twitter.com/larko_no1/status/937023649646809088 https://twitter.com/MattTheMUFCFan/status/937024189629841408 https://twitter.com/MonicaBLee/status/937026446186434561 https://twitter.com/Jpaul_82/status/937028921677242368 https://twitter.com/ChrisMckernan/status/937029035296804865 https://twitter.com/_niitro/status/937029394840850434 https://twitter.com/Mally_DB/status/937029292462047233 https://twitter.com/MightyGooner81/status/937035275984875520

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