Man Utd 1-1 Arsenal LIVE: Score, VAR awards Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang equaliser

MANCHESTER UNITED 1-1 ARSENAL | MCTOMINAY (44), AUBAMEYANG (58)

Manchester United XI: De Gea, Tuanzebe, Maguire, Lindelof, Young, McTominay, Pogba, Lingard, Pereira, James, Rashford

Arsenal XI: Leno, Chambers, Sokratis, Luiz, Kolasinac, Xhaka, Guendouzi, Torreira, Pepe, Aubameyang, Saka

• Scott McTominay opens the scoring with thunderous strike from outside the box

• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang levels, VAR checks and awards goal

MANCHESTER UNITED 1-1 ARSENAL

93: 60 seconds left. Is there one more chance?

92: End-to-end stuff now as Willock tees up Nelson, whose shot is poor and rolls into the arms of David de Gea. Mason Greenwood does the same at the other end.

90: Danger! Wow.. this is a serious chance. Manchester United fans think they’ve got a penalty but Luiz fouls McTominay JUST outside the box.

The United players are queuing up to take it, but Young, Fred and Rashford are the last three standing. This could be it folks.

Rashford steps up… SAVE! Leno makes a stunning one-handed stop to prevent a certain goal. Four minutes added time.

88: Willock runs the length of the field but he’s only got Ceballos in support. The Spaniard receive it, looks around and decides shooting is the only option. Wide.

87: Abysmal set-pieces from Arsenal. The Gunners send everyone forward for a corner but Nelson fails to get the ball off the ground TWICE in quick succession.

85: Well… no immediate sign of a goal. Plenty of huff and puff but very little in the way of genuine opportunities. It’s fizzling out.

83: Bernd Leno and Marcus Rashford clash when challenging for a cross with the Arsenal stopper left on the deck. Both are up and running again.

80: The final ten. I’ll forget about the 30 seconds a ghastly football that resulted in Paul Pogba ballooning the ball into orbit from 20-yards out. Willock on for Saka.

78: Death, taxes and a Granit Xhaka booking. The Arsenal captain grabs his customary yellow for a foul on Mason Greenwood.

75: Momentum has shifted in Manchester United’s favour now. They are relentless. Harry Maguire summons his inner Vincent Kompany with a thunderbolt from range that Bernd Leno tips wide.

Solskjaer sends on Fred and Mason Greenwood for Jesse Lingard and Andreas Pereira. Arsenal send on Reiss Nelson for the frankly abysmal Nicolas Pepe.

73: Free-kick to Manchester United. Ashley Young finds Harry Maguire at the far past and the centre-back prods it back into the mixer but no player in a red shirt is following up. Guendouzi hoofs it into orbit.

70: Scott McTominay HAS to score! The midfielder is absolutely free inside the box and somehow skies a header from less than five yards away.

67: Booked! Jesse Lingard goes to ground on a wet evening and looks out of control when tackling Matteo Guendouzi. Kevin Friend gets the yellow card out for the fifth time tonight.

65: Close! Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba curls one just wide of the far post from 20 yards out.

62: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the first Arsenal player to score as many as seven goals in the Gunners’ first seven Premier League games of a season since Dennis Bergkamp in 1997-98.

60: Should be 2-1 to Arsenal! My word that’s a bad miss. Aubameyang lays it on a plate for the advancing Saka, who smashes it against the crossbar. Oops, looks like there was a deflection.

MANCHESTER UNITED 1-1 ARSENAL – AUBAMEYANG

57: GOAL! Drama at Old Trafford as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang draws Arsenal level… but there’s controversy.

Bukayo Saka pounces on an error from Axel Tuanzebe before squaring it to Aubameyang to chip over David de Gea. However, the linesman raised his flag for offside but VAR clearly shows that Harry Maguire was playing him onside by a good few yards.

Strange that the linesman raised his flag before Auba had scored. Not sure that’s supposed to happen. In any case, we’re level in Manchester.

55: Good defending from Matteo Guendouzi. Sead Kolasinac is all too easily been down the right before Andreas Pereira floats a lovely cross into Marcus Rashford. Guendouzi manages to head it behind and the corner is cleared up.

54: Unai Emery swaps steel for flair as Dani Ceballos replaces Lucas Torreira.

52: Penalty appeal! Well… Sead Kolasinac looks to have handled the ball from a Manchester United corner. The referee didn’t award it and obviously VAR decides NOT to overturn his decision.

51: Corner to Arsenal… which is completely wasted. It’s played short and David de Gea strolls off his line to pluck it out of the sky. Lucas Torreira then decides to go it alone but shows too much of it to Paul Pogba. Cleared.

Chance! Aubameyang has space to drive into and crosses for Torreira, who can’t adjust his body and connect with a half-volley. Difficult chance for a midfielder – had it been the other way around – it could be 1-1 at Old Trafford.

49: The Red Devils are controlling the ball nicely since the resumption. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have had virtually all the ball with Arsenal defending patiently.

47: Arsenal haven’t won away against Manchester United in league competition when conceding a goal since November 1977. Still, records are made to be broken and all that…

MANCHESTER UNITED 1-0 ARSENAL

45: And we’re back underway folks. No changes for either side. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side really need a win here – but they’ll have to do something they haven’t done for a few months – score a second goal!

Twitter round-up

Jamu: No matter the result today Unai Emery needs to go. Negative team selection, no creativity in midfield. Ceballos & Ozil in place of Xhaka & Saka would have bossed that midfield & created chance after chance.

Com: Xhaka scared of the ball and duck it. What a shame!

Lamied: Bar the goal, it’d been a dreadful half. Arsenal let United keep the ball almost as if they knew we wouldn’t be able to hurt them if we don’t get a count attack,and truly,we did score via a counter attack eventually. Sad we can’t cut a defence open without a counter!

Shay: Emery has absolutely no clue what he is doing. Get him out ASAP, Freddie Ljungberg caretaker manager (heck even player) until end season.

MANCHESTER UNITED 1-0 ARSENAL

HT: And that’s the break. Pretty low quality affair brought to life in the final minutes of the half and the boot of Scott McTominay. It does actually appear that Granit Xhaka ducked out of the way to avoid a ball flush in the face. Not a very captain-y thing to do…

MANCHESTER UNITED 1-0 ARSENAL | MCTOMINAY

44: GOAL! Manchester United need a hero? Step forward, Scott McTominay!

Marcus Rashford does well to keep Daniel James’ wayward cross from crossing the byline and rolls it back for the advancing McTominay to leather past Bernd Leno with the help of a slight deflection.

That is Scott McTominay’s first goal at Old Trafford.

42: Waste! Marcus Rashford with a chance to give the hosts a valuable lead before the break. He sets off and strolls beyond Chambers but the striker stalls, dithers and eventually scuffs it at Sokratis.

Double save! Manchester United turn a corner into last-gasp defending in the blink of an eye. Pereira slips at the crucial moment and Saka is played in. His effort is parried wide by De Gea and Guendouzi can’t beat the Spaniard with the follow up.

39: Saka being taught a wee lesson in… gamesmanship shall we say. Young clearly tugs his shirt but the referee warns the teenager for complaining. Rashford on the left for now, with Lingard or James as the nine.

Young pushes his luck a bit too much when flying into Guendouzi. Booked!

37: Pepe and McTominay has a clash of knees in the middle. The referee awards the free-kick to Arsenal, and after a quick VAR review, changes his mind and gives it to the hosts. Pretty much the highlight of the action so far. Stay tuned for more incidents like this…

36: Pretty dreadful quality tonight. Aubameyang beats the United centre-backs to a lofted pass but having brought down the cross, Nicolas Pepe tamely strikes at David de Gea.

34: Andreas Pereira chops down Nicolas Pepe on the counter and the referee decides to book him. Pretty nasty looking challenge.

And it gives us the chance to see David Luiz in set-piece action… or not. Wow, that was horrendous. Grant Xhaka punts the ball up high… and it dribbles out. Ironic cheers from the home supporters.

32: A moment of quality! Finally! We’ve waited 32 minutes for that as Andreas Pereira ghosts past David Luiz before forcing a good diving stop from Bernd Leno. The former Chelsea defender was beaten all ends up there.

And from the sublime to the ridiculous as Saka lays it on a plate for Pepe, who balloons it over with a first-time strike.

30: Booked! Silly from Rashford, who chases for a lost cause and slides in on Sokratis. Looked like the studs were up there and Kevin Friend reaches for his pocket.

27: Eh? Arsenal have a free-kick on the left flank. They send all the lads up from the back but Nicolas Pepe inexplicably punts it straight out of play. Unai Emery is the picture of frustration watching that.

25: Daniel James should be going direct at the already booked Calum Chambers, but decides to pass it backwards to nobody. Luckily Scott McTominay is there to mop up the danger and get his side on the front foot again.

Chance! David Luiz brings down a set-piece near the byline and flashes a cross through the penalty area that Aubameyang is close to connecting with.

22: Yellow? Nope. Jesse Lingard follows the breaking Bukayo Saka before clipping his ankles but referee Kevin Friend lets him off with a warning. Bit unfair considering Calum Chambers was carded for exactly the same thing.

19: Bernd Leno is a bit hesitant when going to take a goal kick short. Marcus Rashford spots it and rushes him and the German is forced to send it long. OK, that’s not an electric update – but it does show that Solskjaer and Co are doing their homework.

16: The Red Devils are dominating possession tonight but that’s probably by design. Arsenal will know that United’s biggest threat is on the break and aren’t prepared to hand them that advantage.

13: Ashley Young with a chance to send in a great cross from the right… goes begging as he knocks it straight out of play. The Arsenal fans enjoyed that one. If you listen carefully, you can hear every Manchester United supporter writing a mean tweet about him..

11: Booked! Bit early for that, Calum! Chambers won’t let Daniel James pass him and is prepared to go in the referee’s book for it. Just the 79 minutes plus stoppage time to survive…

10: Gareth Southgate in the house tonight. He’s not wearing the waistcoat or a plastic rain coat. Rebel. Kasper and Peter Schmeichel too. Edu, Raul Sanllehi and Vinai Venkatesham among those representing Arsenal.

7: Nice bit of interplay from Daniel James and Lingard down the left channel, but a popped pass to Paul Pogba sees the Frenchman blast it straight at Granit Xhaka.

5: “We’ve got Saka and Xhaka, but no Wan-Bissaka,” says Martin Tyler, who sounds extremely pleased with himself. No early action to discuss with the ball opening most of its time skidding around the middle of the park.

3: The eagle-eyed Gary Neville has spotted that Axel Tuanzebe is actually playing at left-back this evening. Ashley Young starting on the right tonight against Bukayo Saka. bloodbath.

Corner to Arsenal as Tuanzebe heads a lofted pass aimed for Calum Chambers behind. The Gunner play it short and the delivery is eaten up by Harry Maguire.

MANCHESTER UNITED 0-0 ARSENAL

1: Y’all ready for this? Terrific, we’re underway at Old Trafford. Still hammering it down and both managers have sensibly got their big coats on.

Here they come!

19:55: No Roy Keane-esque style antics in the tunnel I’m sad to report. All quite civil between the two sets of players. The weather hasn’t done a thing to subdue supporters – everyone’s up for this battle.

Flithy…

19:50: Pretty grim up north this evening folks. It hasn’t stopped raining for a few hours and the surface is primed for a defensive mistake or two.

Just checked the forecast, and it’s not likely to stop anytime soon. Pleasant day on Wednesday though… if that’s any consolation.

He needs to dominate!

19:48: Roy Keane has told Paul Pogba what he needs to do tonight – dominate. Simple enough I suppose.

“To dominate the game, it’s as simple as that,” Keane said on Sky Sports.

“Show a bit of courage, get on the ball and make things happen. We’ve been very critical of Paul over the last few years, but when he’s out of the team, as we saw at West Ham last week, he’s probably still is their best player. His mentality has got to be right though.”

Twitter reaction

Frank: For United and Arsenal to challenge, they’ll have to sell ALL their midfielders and defenders! The Goalkeeper-ship and Striker-ship positions are well covered up! With both clubs benefiting by appointing a Director of Football each

Mehrad: Ole shouldn’t be playing Pogba and Rashford if they are not fully fit he will make the situation worse like he did last year.

Grant: Baffles me how Ashley Young who has been a complete liability is starting ahead of Rojo who (this season) has been pretty decent.

Think you’re being generous to Rojo there, Grant. He’s not had the chance to prove himself as a liability yet is more likely.

Glory days

19:40: If you could have the Bruce Springsteen song playing in your mind while reading this – that would be helpful…

Roy Keane believes Manchester United are better equipped to return to the top of English football than Arsenal.

“I would probably have to say United,” he said on Sky Sports. “I just think United are always capable of going out and spending more money than Arsenal basically.

“Obviously if things aren’t going well over the next few months, I think Ole’s mentioned already they’re on the look out for a striker, they’re obviously short of one. I think United have got more money I suppose to try and go out and get better players.”

Where’s Ozil?

19:35: Yes, the least popular feature of our Arsenal live blogs returns with the German not involved for the umpteenth time. I think we’re at the stage when Ozil starting is bigger news to be honest with you.

Asked where the playmaker was this evening, Unai Emery did his best to avoid the question.

“Today I decide the team and the squad,” the Arsenal manager said. Thanks for that, Unai.

The captaincy debate

19:30: Not that we haven’t spoken about this to death already…

Unai Emery backed Granit Xhaka to win the fans over after the Swiss midfielder was named the club’s new captain following a dressing-room vote.

Xhaka, who has captained Arsenal six times this season, finished ahead of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Hector Bellerin, Alexandre Lacazette and Mesut Ozil in the voting process.

And absolutely nobody is pleased with the decision. Nobody I tell ya!

“He (Xhaka) is mature, he has experience. We are living under pressure and criticism, as a coach, as a player, as a club,” Emery said.

“I spoke with him, we want to change that outside opinion (of him). The respect he has inside is very important. I trust and believe in him. He is a good man, a good professional, a good player.”

Battle of the youth!

19:25: Should be a very interesting night with all these youngsters looking to prove themselves against each other.

Matteo Guendouzi goes up against Scott McTominay in the middle of the park. Good chance of blood and thunder with those two.

Makeshift (kind of) right-back Axel Tuanzebe is tasked with stopping Bukayo Saka down that left channel. Easier said than done.

Ole’s the man?

19:20: He certainly thinks so.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is confident he is the right man to take the club forward despite a shaky start to the Premier League season.

United are 11th in the standings with eight points after six games but the Norwegian said he can get the 20-times champions to once again compete with holders Manchester City and leaders Liverpool.

“I’m not doubting myself. If I doubted myself, then I think the rest of the world would as well,” Solskjaer said.

On a completely unrelated note, I’m just having a look at the odds for the next Manchester United manager. Poch is favourite, Massimiliano Allegri and Laurent Blanc in behind.

Twitter reaction

Anukram: Arsenal and Manchester United need to rethink and restructure their current wage structures I think. Their glorious histories are not enough for players to come and play at these clubs anymore. Money and wages are important too.

Richard: Leicester proved it’s not just about money. Belief in your system patience and luck all play a part. And of course you need the manager to have good players and play to the teams strength. Hopeful Arsenal fan.

Rezaa: Looking at the Line Ups, there’s nothing between the 2 teams. Good attacks, poor defence. 3-3

I really do hope you’re right, Rezaa.

Team News – Manchester United

19:10: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer makes three changes from the West ham defeat.

Axel Tuanzebe, Jesse Lingard and Paul Pogba come into the starting XI with Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Nemanja Matic and Juan Mata missing out. AWB is out of the squad altogether through injury.

Marcus Rashford is passed fit despite those injury concerns, which means 17-year-old striker Mason Greenwood has been left on the bench.

Team News – Arsenal

19:05: Youngest player klaxon! Bukayo Saka becomes the youngest player to start for Arsenal against Manchester United in the Premier League, aged 18 years and 25 days. Bit of pub ammunition for you guys there…

Unai Emery makes two changes to the starting XI from the team who beat Aston Villa 3-2 in their last Premier League game.

Lucas Torreira and Calum Chambers start, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Dani Ceballos are on the bench.

The sides

19:00: Interesting, very interesting. Here are the line-ups for today’s games and there’s quite a few surprises.

Manchester United XI: De Gea, Tuanzebe, Maguire, Lindelof, Young, McTominay, Pogba, Lingard, Pereira, James, Rashford.

Subs: Romero, Rojo, Williams, Fred, Mata, Matic, Greenwood.

Arsenal XI: Leno, Chambers, Sokratis, Luiz, Kolasinac, Xhaka, Guendouzi, Torreira, Pepe, Aubameyang, Saka.

Subs: Martinez, Maitland-Niles, Holding, Willock, Ceballos, Nelson, Martinelli.

The standings…

18:55: I think you know full well the standings and how the sides have performed in the opening six fixtures – but I’m contractually obliged to force-feed you this information…

Manchester United are 11th in the standings with eight points after six games – level on points with Sheffield United.

But three points tonight would see them leap into sixth – above Chelsea on goal difference.

As for Arsenal? Well… 11 points in six games and one victory away from knocking West Ham out of the top four.

The Gunners are actually in very good goal scoring form – averaging over two goals a game. But the unconvincing win over Aston Villa and the dismal 2-2 draw with Watford show the same old vulnerabilities are there at the back.

Evening…

18:50: Hello everyone and welcome to our LIVE coverage of the Premier League.

In days gone by, I would have started this blog by asking unstoppable force meets an immovable object.

Now, I’ll ask what happens when team incapable of keeping a clean sheet meets a side who simply can’t score more than one goal in 90 minutes?

Not as catchy, is it?

Not since Emmanuel Adebayor scored the only goal of the game in September 2006 have Arsenal left United with three points.

Since then, United have had the better of their battles but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are out of form and have a lengthy injury list heading into tonight’s meeting.

Should be a very interesting night indeed. Team news and line-ups arriving any moment now.

MANCHESTER UNITED vs ARSENAL – TEAM NEWS

Paul Pogba is a doubt for Manchester United’s Premier League clash against Arsenal because of a swollen ankle.

The Frenchman returned to action for the first time since suffering the injury at Southampton last month but the issue has flared up again, leaving the midfielder touch and go to face the Gunners.

Forward pair Anthony Martial (thigh) and Marcus Rashford (groin) are unlikely to feature while Phil Jones is definitely out but fellow defender Luke Shaw returned to training on Friday after a month on the sidelines with a hamstring complaint.

Arsenal could hand a Premier League debut to Kieran Tierney at Old Trafford.

The full-back was injured when he joined from Celtic but made his bow in the Carabao Cup win over Nottingham Forest, with Hector Bellerin and Rob Holding also making long-awaited returns in midweek.

Alexandre Lacazette (ankle) is missing and Emile Smith Rowe (concussion) is also out.