Arsenal vs Manchester United was supposed to be full of drama.

Two sides who have started to find form in recent weeks and have overcome difficult periods of the campaign.

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal came into the match knowing a win would take them level with north London rivals Tottenham in sixth. They would really be in the fight for a Champions League spot with three points.

United travelled to the Emirates after their shock home loss against Sheffield United causing them to fall from the top of the Premier League table. They needed to win to keep pace with Manchester City, who beat Sheffield United earlier in the day.

The Red Devils had most of the first half but failed to open the scoring. But they looked dangerous. One of those who looked a real threat was Marcus Rashford.

Rashford was appearing on the right for United and found himself up against Cedric Soares, who was filling in for Kieran Tierney at left-back.

After just 13 minutes, Cedric received a booking. He was on thin ice now playing against Rashford.

And it was clear United were targeting the right-hand side - and Solskjaer could well have been talking about Martinelli.

So much so, in fact, that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer desperately tried to get Rashford to run with the ball as much as possible. In fact, the United boss could be heard shouting: "Marcus, he cannot defend. He CANNOT defend. Take him on whenever you want.”

Numerous journalists who were in attendance heard it.

Wow. That’s one way to knock the confidence of an opponent whether it was Cedric or Martinelli.

Watch this space.