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Arsenal vs Manchester United: Romelu Lukaku defies recent form to frustrate on big stage once again

The Belgian had scored six goals in three games before facing the Gunners, but now has only one goal in 17 games for United against ‘the big six’ 

Miguel Delaney
Monday 11 March 2019 08:05 GMT
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It was one of those days when you can understand why some at the top level of Manchester United have mooted a change to the forward line in the summer, at the expense of Romelu Lukaku.

That it came after the hugely impressive run he’s been on, and after that wondrous performance against Paris Saint-Germain, makes it all the more frustrating.

That’s just Lukaku, though.

That he could follow those two tie-changing goals in Paris with two bad misses that effectively cost United at Arsenal feels a wider reflection of his game. Lukaku so often follows velvet first touches with misplaced passes, superb link-up play with some sloppiness, or a miss from mere yards with a much more difficult blockbuster.

It just makes him so confusing as a player.

The greatest frustration of all is that there is clearly such a good player there. With Lukaku turning 26 in May, and effectively entering a striker’s prime, he still just isn’t close to the kind of guarantee you would expect from a top-club striker.

He is not in the class of Sergio Aguero, Harry Kane or Mohamed Salah. At least not yet.

That is despite so often putting in individual performances that can match any of them – like in Paris.

It is easy to see why Ole Gunnar Solskjaer initially didn’t pick him for his preferred line-up, and Lukaku has only really got back in due to injuries

Lukaku missed several big chances for United (AFP/Getty)

It is similarly easy to see why – if more difficult to watch – he only has one goal in 17 matches against the top six for United. There has always been some grain of truth to the flat-track bully claim, even if Paris did show it’s overstated.

Lukaku isn’t the only Jose Mourinho summer 2017 signing who should be focused on, of course. There is growing evidence that Nemanja Matic is representing something of a problem, because of the way opposition sides target him. He has looked so much slower over the last year, and doesn’t screen the defence in the way he did at his Chelsea 2014-15 best.

It could even be argued he was the true source of Arsenal’s first goal, given that Matic was the player closest to Granit Xhaka, but another who strangely backed off.

Solskjaer even mentioned this after the game, while excusing David De Gea from the idea it was an error.

It’s just that – as the debate on Sky Sports between Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville proved – while there can be all manner of discussion about a moment like that, a striker missing a big chance is so much starker.

Lukaku really should have scored the second of his big opportunities, in the second half, only to tamely hit it at Leno.

That was really where the game was lost.

Lukaku is denied by Bernd Leno (Getty)

There is expectation that United will go for one of Paulo Dybala or Mauro Icardi in the summer, and some have mooted maybe trying to move Lukaku in the opposite direction.

It’s just a pity his recent form didn’t stay in the same direction. This was so jarring, after such brilliant recent displays.

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