"What were they doing on that pitch for 90 mins?", "Were a disgrace today" - Fans slam Arsenal duo after Manchester United draw

Fans lambasted Arsenal stars Mikel Merino and Leandro Trossard for their sub-par outing in the Gunners' 1-1 draw with Manchester United in the Premier League (March 9).

A sublime freekick from Bruno Fernandes (45+2') gave United the lead on the stroke of half-time. However, Declan Rice swept Jurrien Timber's low cross into the bottom left corner (74') to salvage a point for Mikel Arteta's side.

Merino won just four out of his 18 duels (22%), losing the most of any player on the pitch. Playing as a centre-forward, he had no shots on target, made no successful dribbles, had just three touches in the opposition's box and was dispossessed four times.

Trossard fared slightly better, creating two chances and completing 29 of his 35 passes (83%). However, he had only one attempt on target from six shots (17%), won four out of eight duels (50%) and committed the foul that led to Fernandes' goal (stats via FotMob).

After the game, fans took to social media to lash out at the Arsenal duo. One of them wrote:

"What was Merino and Trossard doing on that pitch for 90 minutes?"

Another wrote:

"Trossard and Merino were a disgrace today."

Here are the other fan reactions:

"Merino and Trossard first players to be sold in the summer pls," a fan pleaded.

"One of the worst performances I've seen from Arsenal this season. United are terrible and we couldn't lay a finger. Hate to pick on players but Merino, Trossard," another claimed.

"Merino is USELESS! Trossard is FINISHED. Odegaard is not captain MATERIAL!" a fan opined.

"Honestly, I don't want to see Merino and Trossard starting games for Arsenal next season," a fan claimed.

"Rubbish game from us. Especially second half, really uncontrolled in periods. Merino, (Thomas) Partey and Trossard were on banter," another wrote.

"I dont how Trossard and Merino is still on the field," a fan wrote.

"I hate Merino and Trossard with everything in my body," another asserted.

"Trossard and Merino have aggravated me so much, SELL THEM IN THE SUMMER IVE HAD ENOUGH," a fan wrote.

The result drops Arsenal further behind Liverpool in the EPL title race. As it stands, the Reds (70 points) are 15 points clear of the Gunners, who have a game in hand.

---

"We opened the gate to lose" - Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on 1-1 draw vs Manchester United

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta claimed that his side 'opened the gate' for Manchester United in a 1-1 draw on Sunday (March 9).

Speaking after the game, the Spaniard said (via Arseblog.news):

"We were so good in the first half, we did so many good things and then are one-nil down. Mentally, it's painful. We tried, we went for it, we scored the goal, we were really trying but as well, we opened the gate to lose the game and the gate was completely closed. There was no chance we could lose the game. We opened it ourselves."

Up next, Arsenal will take on PSV in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie at the Emirates on March 12. The match is likely to be a mere formality as Arteta's side holds a whopping 7-1 lead from the first leg away in Eindhoven.