Many fans voiced their displeasure at having to see a penalty shootout held after the Red Devils bested the Gunners by a 2-0 scoreline courtesy of a pair of first-half goals at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Newly appointed Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes opened the scoring at the half-hour mark, with highly-rated youngster Kobbie Mainoo proving influential, and Jadon Sancho doubled their advantage seven minutes later.
Mikel Arteta’s side tried to make their way back into the fixture but were held at arm’s length successfully by Erik ten Hag’s men.
The Spaniard made just one change at half-time, with Kieran Tierney replacing Takehiro Tomiyasu at left-back, while his Dutch counterpart opted to replace ten of the starting eleven at the break.
Arsenal began the match with a new-look midfield comprising of skipper Martin Odegaard, new arrivals Kai Havertz and Declan Rice, while Manchester United countered with Fernandes as a No. 10, Mainoo and new signing Mason Mount forming the double pivot.
The penalty shootout at the end of the fixture saw the Red Devils emerge victorious once more, by a 5-3 scoreline after Gunners’ substitute Fabio Vieira failed to convert his spot-kick and Christian Eriksen hammered home his side’s fifth penalty.
Many fans were left scratching their heads as to the logic behind having a shootout when the score at full-time was not tied.
The Athletic reporter Adam Crafton responded on Twitter to the confirmation of a spot-kick showdown regardless of the result with just one word: “Why”?
Reactions to both tweets bemoaned the decision to add a needless spectacle at the end of the game after 90 minutes.
Speculation abounded as to the reasoning behind the much-maligned penalty shootout ignoring the result of the game.
The resulting theories ranged from providing value for money to the spectators present at the stadium to adding a dash of Hollywood-style drama to the end of the game.
The penalty shootout after the final whistle will not influence the game's official final score. The spectacle of penalty kicks serves as an additional source of entertainment for the spectators.
In the end, it was a friendly that had little to do with that word, both teams contesting a physically exhausting fixture that opened the doors to the possibility that both teams could walk away with bragging rights irrespective of the score.
Sadly, it was not to be as Manchester United claimed two victories for the price of one and it is hoped that the fans got their money’s worth.
