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Football

01st Nov 2020

Man United fans hammer Paul Pogba after he concedes sloppy penalty

Paul Pogba was once again the subject of scrutiny after a sloppy tackle on Hector Bellerin gave away a penalty and all three points to Arsenal

Reuben Pinder

“What is he still doing on the field?”

It always comes back to Paul Pogba, doesn’t it? No matter what happens, any discussion about Manchester United must involve Pogba and some debate about whether he is absolutely useless or world class and completely misunderstood, rather than the more likely truth of somewhere in the middle.

Today there was reason for it, though. United started poorly and barely improved in the second half against an Arsenal side who pressed them brilliantly, preventing the hosts from creating too many chances and causing a lot of panic at the back.

As the game dragged on and the deadlock remained broken, more focus was suddenly shone on Pogba, as United looked for someone to come up with a moment of magic. That is that they signed him for, right?

And he did make all the difference, just at the wrong end. The Frenchman clumsily tripped Hector Bellerín in the box, giving away a penalty.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang slotted the penalty cooly past David De Gea for his second league goal of the season and all three points for Arsenal on the day – their first win at Old Trafford in the league since 2006.

Pogba was then heavily criticised on Twitter.

“There is absolutely zero reasons why Paul Pogba should start over Donny van de Beek moving forward until there is evidence to prove otherwise,” one Twitter user remarked.

https://twitter.com/utdrobbo/status/1322961799621300225

https://twitter.com/CFCMod_/status/1322961867631927301

One fan even compared him to the infamous Eric Djemba-Djemba, the benchmark for a transfer flop at United.

https://twitter.com/UtdJL/status/1322963887067697152

Many fans drew attention to Pogba’s recklessness in the tackle this season.

And then Liverpool fans came in with some bonkers hyperbole, obviously.