London: Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez returned to haunt his old club with the opening goal in Manchester United’s 3-1 victory at Arsenal in a heavyweight FA Cup fourth-round clash here Friday.
In his first appearance back at the Emirates Stadium in more than an year, Sanchez silenced the inevitable boos to help continue Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s remarkable start as United’s interim manager.
Sanchez and Jesse Lingard scored within two minutes of each other in the first half but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang replied just before half time to set up an engrossing second half.
Arsenal suffered injury blows, with defenders Sokratis and Laurent Koscielny being forced off, although they pushed hard for an equaliser in the second session.
But United, absorbed the pressure and sealed an eighth successive win for Solskjaer in the 82nd minute when substitute Anthony Martial tapped home after a counter-attack.
A feisty tie threatened to boil over late on with United substitute Marcus Rashford and Arsenal’s Sead Kolasinac squaring up near the touchline to spark a melee in which a coin was thrown from the crowd towards Lingard. Rashford and Kolasinac were both booked with six yellow cards handed out in total by referee Craig Pawson.
“It’s fantastic to go through in the Cup. It’s one of the hardest games you can get,” Solskjaer, whose start has eclipsed that of the great Matt Busby, said. “Today we looked more like a proper team. We looked more structured. Today was a big step forward. We need to just keep working and think about the next game.”
Man U arrived brimming with confidence, especially after their Premier League win at Tottenham Hotspur a fortnight ago.
Solskjaer said Friday’s display was a step up on that display at Wembley and his decision to start with two players who have struggled for form, proved inspirational.
Sanchez, who scored 60 league goals for Arsenal in a little over four years, revelled in a rare start in front of the fans who used to sing his name, while Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku produced one of his best performances in a United shirt.
Reuters