Page 3 - FA Cup 2018/19 | Arsenal 1-3 Manchester United: 6 Men who were brilliant for Solskjaer

FA Cup 2018/19 | Arsenal 1-3 Manchester United: 6 Men who were brilliant for Solskjaer

Modified Jul 05, 2019 14:45 GMT

Arsenal v Manchester United - FA Cup Fourth Round

#4 Romelu Lukaku

When Romelu Lukaku started on the right, many United fans would have shaken their heads in disbelief. The striker normally had one of the poorest first touches on the ball in the team and his effectiveness on the right were questionable. Yet, as the game progressed, it turned out to be Solskjaer's master plan and the Belgian played the role to near perfection.

As Arsenal broke away to find the opening goal and Kolasinac bombed forward, the Arsenal left-back left a lot of spaces open behind him, where Lukaku lurked, waiting for the through ball. True to United's tactics, that ball arrived, again and again, and the United Striker then used his robust frame and scintillating speed to good effect.

The Belgian broke free on quite a few occasions, yet it was his decisive passing in a space of three minutes that had United 2-0. First, he showed Iniesta-esque passing to release Sanchez with a gorgeous through ball. Then he had the composure and awareness to find Lingard with acres of spaces in the box.

Lukaku's performance in the first half ensured that United took an early lead that Arsenal could not recover from.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written over 8500 articles for the website, and has garnered over 19.5Million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

Know More

Edited by Debjyoti Samanta