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Football

10th Mar 2019

Mesut Özil takes dig at Jesse Lingard after win against Manchester United

Arsenal ended United's unbeaten run in the Premier League under Solskjaer this afternoon and Mesut Ozil couldn't resist a cheeky dig

Reuben Pinder

‘Dancefloor huh?’

Manchester United’s 12-game unbeaten run in the Premier League came to an end on Sunday at the hands of Arsenal, who secured a much needed 2-0 win after their midweek misery.

Granit Xhaka opened the scoring with a swerving shot that left David De Gea stranded, having been wrong footed by the movement on the shot. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang then doubled the Gunners’ lead from the penalty spot after a light nudge from Fred sent Alexandre Lacazette to the ground.

Fans were pleasantly surprised to see all four of Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Özil, Aubameyang and Lacazette starting together, given Unai Emery’s reluctance to play even three of them together during most of this season, favouring more energetic players such as Lucas Torreira and Mateo Guendouzi.

It was a gamble from Emery that paid off, and showed that Özil can still have a future at the club if he puts in the shift that his manager demands.

Özil appeared to thoroughly enjoy a rare start too, as he took a cheeky dig at United, Jesse Lingard in particular, after his celebration the last time these teams met at the Emirates.

Back in late January, United cruised to a 3-1 victory at the Emirates, knocking Arsenal out of the FA Cup. Lingard celebrated his goal with a moonwalk, and tagged the stadium as a ‘dance floor’ in an Instagram post after the game. Savage, I know.

Özil got his revenge on Sunday afternoon though, tweeting: ‘Dancefloor huh!? Superb performance!  Brilliant result! Thank you Emirates Stadium! Proud to be a Gunner!’

In a world where social media banter reigns supreme, you have to take these chances when they come. Fair play, Mesut. In the words of Alan Partridge: this is great banter, it really is.