Manchester United winger Amad Diallo has poked fun at Arsenal after helping his team to victory against the Gunners on Sunday, suggesting their ‘only hope’ [of scoring] is from corners.
The Red Devils made it two wins from two under Michael Carrick at the Emirates on Sunday, winning 3-2 against the Premier League leaders, with Amad playing 88 minutes of the game on the right wing.
Arsenal’s attacking problems have been laid bare in recent times. Though they have scored 42 goals in the league this season – the second-highest behind Manchester City – individually, attacking players are struggling.
Courtesy of Sky Sports, Bukayo Saka has no goals in his last 13 games in all competitions, Viktor Gyokeres hasn’t scored a goal that wasn’t a penalty in his last 11 league games, and Gabriel Martinelli hasn’t scored in his last 13 league matches either.
Elsewhere, Noni Madueke has no goals in his last 25 Premier League games, and Leandro Trossard has one goal in his last 11 appearances in all competitions.
The Gunners have become synonymous with set-piece routines, scoring 26 goals via that method so far this term – the most in Europe’s top five leagues. And Amad took the chance to mock that on social media following Sunday’s game.
Manchester United’s Amad Diallo has poked fun at Arsenal, suggesting their ‘only hope [of scoring]’ is from corners
The winger dug out a social media post that suggested the Gunners’ were beating United 4-0 after the Red Devils in fact won the game 3-2
Amad (left) has been a key player under Michael Carrick (right) since he took over the club
The winger posted on X, responding to a Manchester United fan: ‘Your only hope is corner,’ accompanied by a laughing emoji.
He added : ‘Be humble KID,’ followed by a ‘be quiet’ emoji.
Amad had sourced out a previous post from the fan, who had posted prior to the match: ‘Arsenal are winning 4-0 they just sent me the script.’ The winger quoted the post with a graphic of the full-time score and the caption: ‘Enjoy KID,’ with a wink face emoji.
The fan replied: ‘Buck me in ends g, don’t tweet me every again.’ That post appeared to trigger the reaction from the Manchester United man.
The back and forth ended with the fan writing: ‘I been there for you since day 1 g and this is how you do me,’ with a broken heart emoji. The fan in question had seemingly posted in October: ‘Amad Diallo man, first time I’ve seen Salah not be the best African winger on a pitch.’
Diallo has been a key part of Carrick’s set-up so far, with having also started the derby win over Manchester City last weekend, playing 90 minutes.
Many thought he would struggle for minutes under Carrick given Bryan Mbeumo’s best position is on the right, but the former Brentford has been playing as a No9 ahead of Benjamin Sesko, making way for the Ivory Coast star, who has just returned from international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations, to play.
He had regularly been playing as a wing back under former manager Ruben Amorim, who was keen to stick to his back-three philosophy.
Patrick Vieira has questioned Arsenal’s ‘mental strength’ following their defeat by the club
Diallo’s words came after former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira had called out a number of his former side’s attackers, questioning the players’ ‘mental strength’ in the title race.
Speaking on Sky Sports, the ex-midfielder said: ‘They’re still four points clear, but there’s still questions about the mental strength of the team,’ the Frenchman said. ‘It’s not just that they lost the game, it’s the way they lost the game. Saka and Trossard didn’t produce enough to worry United.
‘They need a leader to lift the spirit of the team. They need to understand when they are on the pitch they have to play with more energy and more risks. They have the quality.
‘They need a leader to lift the spirit of the team. They need to understand when they are on the pitch they have to play with more energy and more risks. They have the quality. They didn’t play with the freedom to express themselves.’
After picking out Saka and Trossard in terms of potential weakness of Arsenal’s attack on the day, Vieira later picked out the duo again, criticising Saka for being ‘too quiet’.
‘The strength of the team is to create chances and score goals,’ Vieira added. ‘Especially when they are at home, they are really aggressive with the ball.
‘Some of the players need to perform at their best. There were too many players who didn’t perform today. It was a must-win game for them today, because it was important for them to send a message.’
When pressed on who didn’t perform, he said: ‘I think Saka was too quiet. IU think he is on of the best offensive players, in bog games like that you expect him to perform. Trossard is an important player as well.
‘He didn’t perform. Up front, Jesus ran a lot, spent a lot of energy, but you want him to be more inside the box. In midfield, the only one was Declan Rice, winning balls and 1v1, but there were too many players who played below their level.’
