Shocking footage showed Manchester United’s game plan against Arsenal falling apart because nobody was willing to pass to controversial winger Antony.
United lost 3-1 away to the Gunners on Sunday, having raced into a 1-0 lead through Marcus Rashford.
But they ended up conceding less than a minute later before shipping two late goals at the Emirates.
The Red Devils spent most of the game playing second fiddle, with Arsenal enjoying the lion’s share of possession and chances.
And footage has now emerged revealing how United struggled to get the ball out of their own half after appearing to ignore Antony on the right wing.
As shown on Match of the Day 2, there were several times United’s defenders simply knocked the ball around the backline despite Antony being completely free on the flank.
The Brazilian could be seen giving exasperated signals as the likes of Victor Lindelof and Lisandro Martinez kept hold of possession.
Eventually, Arsenal opted into a half-press, forcing the ball back to United goalie Andre Onana.
And the away side’s reluctance to make use of the free space on the right eventually saw Arsenal go on to record a big win.
Speaking on Match of the Day 2, pundit Jermaine Jenas analysed: “You saw Lindelof had an opportunity to get the ball out from his feet and fire it to a wide man and let him have a one-vs-one.
“But he passes on the opportunity to give Antony the ball. They get Wan-Bissaka into a midfield area to isolate Zinchenko.
“Lindelof has the ball. Antony’s screaming at him, ‘give me the ball, you’ve spent god knows how much money on me to go and attack’.
“It’s the perfect time to give him the ball one-vs-one, but they ignore him and Arsenal go and half-press.
“They end up back at Onana because they didn’t have that intensity or know-how to give the wide men the ball.”
Antony’s United future looks unclear amid allegations he attacked an ex-girlfriend.
He has been dropped from Brazil’s national team after the woman went to the police.
But United have so far remained silent on the issue.
The face Brighton next at Old Trafford after the international break.
