Lisandro Martinez enrages Martin Odegaard as tempers flare in Arsenal vs Man Utd

22 July 2023 , 22:08

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Tempers flared between Arsenal and Man Utd stars in their pre-season friendly in New Jersey (Image: MUTV)

Arsenal and Manchester United might have only been playing a friendly in New Jersey - but that didn't stop things from boiling over in the scorching American sunshine.

The two Premier League rivals continued their preparations for the new season by facing off at MetLife Stadium. And there was a significant flash point just a few moments before half-time after a hard challenge from Lisandro Martinez in Eddie Nketiah.

The tough-tackling Argentinian went flying in as Nketiah competed for a loose ball and clattered into the Arsenal man, leaving him in a heap although he appeared to get some of the ball.

Bukayo Saka was also on the receiving end of some hard challenges. Martin Odegaard was far from impressed and decided he'd had enough.

The Arsenal captain quickly confronted Martinez and gave him a shove to voice his displeasure. Some handbags then followed as players from both sides including Mason Mount got involved and Martinez stood his ground.

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Lisandro Martinez stood his ground as Odegaard voiced his displeasure (MUTV)

On the touchline, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag was also seen voicing his displeasure to the officials. Bruno Fernandes then made his way over and diffused the situation before the half-time whistle soon cooled things down.

There were some full-blooded challenges in the first-half, which saw two glaring Arsenal errors cost them. New United captain Fernandes opened the scoring from the edge of the box after a poor moment from Aaron Ramsdale in the Arsenal goal.

Gabriel Magalhaes then misjudged a long ball to allow Jadon Sancho to race free and he fired a well-taken finish beyond Ramsdale and into the roof of the net. There were positives for United, however, including young midfielder Kobbie Mainoo putting in an eye-catching display.

There was no chance for United fans to get a first glimpse of new signing Andre Onana, however. The goalkeeper jetted to America to join his teammates on Thursday but did not feature in the squad against the Gunners.

He was seen warming up before the game with other goalkeepers, but Tom Heaton started between the sticks with Nathan Bishop on the bench. Onana could now make his debut when United fly to the west coast and take on Wrexham in San Diego on Tuesday night (July 25).

Rich Jones