Solskjaer blames empty stadium as reason for Man U loss to Arsenal

Manchester United were stunned at home for the second time this season by Mikel Arteta's side on Sunday. It was a clash that many didn't fancy the Gunners picking up a good result from Old Trafford stadium.

The Arsenal haven't recorded a victory at Old Trafford since 2006 and Arteta aimed at ending such record under his reign as Arsenal's boss.

The north London side had lost two back to back games against Manchester City and Leicester City, and couldn't afford another. For Manchester United, it was a cruise haven thrashed RB Leipzig and Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League in mid week games.

Although, Arsenal looked dominant in the game they were able to create chances but Manchester United defense were able to cope with paces from Buakyo Saka, Aubameyang and Lacazette.

The best opportunity for the Gunners was Willian left foot that hit the cross bar. Also, Buakyo Saka header went over the cross bar.

The game ended in a favour of Arsenal as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the only goal from the penalty spot. Paul Pogba has brought down Bellerin in the box and ref pointed to the spot.

The Gabonese international dispatched in grand style.

Speaking after the game, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admits his side were unfortunate due t lack of the presence of their home fans.

After the 1-0 defeat to Arsenal, Solskjaer said: 'From the first half we never turned up. They were better than us. A couple of half decent chances, second half it didn’t look like they would score other than penalty, we have to turn up with more intensity.

'That might be a reason, when you think you have played well you take foot off the pedal, but that’s now how it works. We weren’t at the races.

'Today we were too sloppy, too many passes went astray, too many things that can go wrong went wrong for us.'

He added that his side to show consistency if they want to break into the top four at the end of the season. Solskjaer admitted his side need to start picking up points starting from Everton next week.

Solskjaer said: 'There is a reason behind big squads in football, you want to perform time and again but that’s not possible. We need that consistency.  

'Home and away form is out the window really with no fans in the stadium. You cant really look at that, just look at the stats. It doesn’t mean too much, we need to get points on the board. We need to focus on Everton next week'