FA Cup 2018/19: Arsenal vs Manchester United | Manchester United player ratings
Manchester United came into this match against Arsenal after winning seven consecutive games in all competitions. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer lined United up in a 4-4-2 diamond with Jesse Lingard at the tip of the midfield diamond while Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez played as right forward and left forward respectively.
The match started with brilliant intensity and United drew first blood with Alexis Sanchez. United won the ball and worked the ball into Lukaku, who found himself in a lot of space in the middle and found Sanchez with a beautiful ball and the Chilean took it past Petr Cech and fired Manchester United forward.
United made it two in a flash after Luke Shaw found Lukaku in a lot of space down the right and he picked out Lingard with a low cross and the Englishman calmly slotted it past Cech. Arsenal came back into the match late in the first half after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang put Arsenal on the board with a tap in.
In the second half, Arsenal had a lot of the ball but weren't threatening enough and United made them pay with another counter-attacking goal as Paul Pogba picked up the ball and ran through the middle before taking a shot which deflected off Cech and Anthony Martial, the substitute, tapped it in. Manchester United held on then for the last 10 minutes and Ole made it eight wins out of eight games.
Here are the player ratings from Manchester United's win against Arsenal at the Emirates:
Sergio Romero: 7 /10
In the first half, Romero had to make a couple of regulation saves and he couldn't have done much for the Arsenal goal. In the second half, Romero saved an early header from Ramsey, but from then on he had nothing to do.
Ashley Young: 6.5/10
Young had to do a lot of defending as Lukaku wasn't coming back to help him. Arsenal's first goal came due to the fact that Young let Ramsey through on the right. In the second half, Young looked better but was still looking a bit out of sorts. Nevertheless, the captain saw the game off for the Red Devils.
Victor Lindelof: 8 /10
Victor was the best of the Manchester United's defenders in the first half as he dealt with Alexandre Lacazette very well. He won most of the aerial duels and made some important interceptions. He was brilliant in the second half as well as he kept Lacazette quiet.
Eric Bailly: 7 /10
Eric supported Lindelof well in the first half but he couldn't block the ball that Ramsey played from the right which led to Arsenal's first goal. Bailly was helped by the presence of an in-form Lindelof and he looked much better in the second half, winning aerial duels and making some important clearances.
Luke Shaw: 7.5/10
Shaw's case was similar to Young's as Alexis didn't help him defensively. Attacking wise, Shaw played a brilliant ball to Lukaku which led to United's second goal. Luke was brilliant in the second half as he kept Aubameyang quiet and was always an option on the left. He ran tirelessly, up and down that left flank for the whole game.
Nemanja Matic: 7/10
Nemanja Matic had a good first half as he was very good defensively and didn't let Arsenal's midfield dictate the ball. Matic was good in the second half too as he kept Ramsey hopeless and whenever he got the ball, he distributed it very nicely. It was an all-around performance from the veteran midfielder.
Paul Pogba: 7/10
Paul didn't have a good first half as he gave away the ball very cheaply many times and his passes were also out of order. Pogba was much better in the second half as he was a threat in the counter-attacking situations that United developed and he had a huge involvement in the Devil's third goal.
Ander Herrera: 7.5/10
Ander, as always, provided energy and tenacity to the United midfield and his running off the ball in the first half was brilliant to see. In the second half, it was the same as Herrera provided cover for the attacking players of Manchester United. It was a selfless display from the Spanish midfielder.
Alexis Sanchez: 8/10
Sanchez came back to his old home ground and he scored with a brilliant finish past Cech. Sanchez stepped up and he delivered for the Red Devils and this might just kick start his career at the Theater of Dreams. He was taken off in the 70th minute for Martial.
Romelu Lukaku: 8.5/10
Lukaku was absolutely brilliant in the first half as he was the provider for the first two goals that United scored. He started the match from the right and he found himself in a lot of space in the counter-attacking situations. He made the most of the chances he got and he was then taken off for Marcus Rashford.
Jesse Lingard: 7.5/10
Jesse was fired up for this match and he scored United's second after he calmly slotted the ball past Cech. Just like against the Spurs, he played as a false nine and was man marking Lucas Torreira and he did a very good job at that. He was then taken off for Phil Jones as United looked to hold their lead.
Substitutes
Marcus Rashford: 6/10
Rashford came on for Lukaku and he found himself in a lot of space in counter-attacks but couldn't do much with it. He was booked for the tussle he had with Sead Kolasinac during the ending moments of the game.
Anthony Martial: 7/10
Martial came on for Sanchez and he scored United's third for the day after Pogba's shot deflected of Cech into his path and he tapped it in for a simple finish.
Phil Jones: N/A
Came in very late and didn't have much of an impact.