Arsenal have just taken the lead at Manchester United under the most bizarre of circumstances. The Gunners started the Premier League clash on Thursday night in by far the better shape, displaying the sort of pressing that United might want to channel when Ralf Rangnick takes over.And while that might only have translated into half-chances for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the opening few minutes, Arsenal did eventually get the ball over the line through Emile Smith Rowe.
Man Utd vs Arsenal
However, it was a goal of the likes we've never seen before in the Premier League with David de Gea having been on the ground injured when the Englishman fired the ball towards goal.
Replays showed that De Gea had actually hit the deck under contact from his own player, Fred, leading to a bizarre period of confusion where nobody seemed to know if it was a goal or not.
Referee Martin Atkinson could be seen talking with De Gea once he'd returned to his feet as the Arsenal players waited with bated breath to see what the rule book said about the matter.
Smith Rowe's one-in-a-million goal
There was a general feeling amongst both fans and pundits that the goal had to be given, but the question more concerned whether it was sporting or not for Arsenal to have taken advantage.
And alas, the decision was eventually given for Arsenal to take the lead at the 'Theatre of Dreams' in what will surely go down as one of the wildest Premier League goals in history. Check it out below:
Have you ever seen anything like this before in your life?
A truly unique Premier League goal
There's just something about the sight of Smith Rowe firing a shot towards goal when De Gea is curled up in a ball that makes the whole incident feel like some sort of FIFA 22 glitch.
Peter Drury and Ally McCoist even went as far as saying that they'd never seen anything of the likes despite commentating on hundreds of games and scoring hundreds of goals respectively.
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However, it's the nature of sport that these remarkable circumstances rear their head from time to time and United were forced to simply crack on with Arsenal not gifting them a goal in return.
But no matter what either side did in the remaining 75 minutes at Old Trafford, you could rest assured that Smith Rowe's collector's item will be talked about for years and decades to come.
