Manchester United earned bragging rights with a win over Arsenal in a really physical pre-season friendly clash and Bruno Fernandes showcased his leadership skills in one moment with Erik ten Hag. Both teams are currently touring the country as part of preparations for the upcoming Premier League season.
Labelled as a ‘rivalry game’ despite it only being a warm-up friendly, it appears that the 82,000+ crowd motivated the players to consider it as a very competitive games. The Red Devils frustrated Mikel Arteta’s side by defending well against their star-studded attack and ousting them with some slick, fast-moving attacking football.
After a point of time, however, it appeared that some players forgot the memo that they were playing in a friendly game. Normally in these matches, the players tend to take things easy and not lay into crunching tackles because of the risk of injury.
Bruno Fernandes plays peacemaker role against Arsenal
But that mentality was thrown out the window, with some aggressive players really laying into their tackles. Martin Odegaard got in a heated row with Lisandro Martinez in the first half after the latter clattered Bukayo Saka with some rough challenges. Some of Arsenal’s players, including Jurrien Timber, also played rough with their aggressive tackles.
Ten Hag might’ve seen his team race to a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Fernandes and Jadon Sancho in the first half, but he was displeased with the officiating in the match. After the half-time whistle, the Dutchman confronted the fourth official to make his disdain felt.
The United manager was seen lashing out at the referee and almost ready to throw hands with him. Fernandes, who captained his side as the official club captain for the first time since being announced as Harry Maguire’s success, decided to play the role of a peacemaker.
After seeing Ten Hag having a row with the official, he approached his manager to calm him down. Fernandes took him away from the referee and said something to him, presumably asking him to calm down and let the incidents go before heading to the dressing room.
How Fernandes inspired United’s win over Arsenal
To his credit, Bruno was able to succeed as Ten Hag ultimately listened to reason and seemingly appreciated seeing his captain save him from potential punishment for getting too close to a referee.
Fernandes operated as an admirable leader in the game. He scored a fortunate goal that went through Aaron Ramsdale, but was always on guard in the attack – making clever movements and trying to send his teammates through into empty spaces.
Bruno has been given the armband permanently because of his vocal presence and never-say-die personality that matches with the club’s values.
His impressive antics against Arsenal, where he played the role of a peacekeeper than moaning at the officials, prove that he’s gained more maturity with the armband and is ready to lead from the front for the Red Devils.
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