This archive report was first published on 2 January 2020.
On New Year's Day, 2020, Arsenal secured their first win under Mikel Arteta with a convincing 2-0 victory over Manchester United at the Emirates.
Former Arsenal star Robin van Persie, now a pundit, appeared on BT Sport alongside ex-United defender Rio Ferdinand to analyze the match.
Van Persie was critical of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's post-match interview, stating that he sounded 'like a really nice guy' but needed to be 'a bit more mean at times, just be angry.'
He suggested that the blame for United's defeat lay at the manager's door, saying, 'They need a gameplan and a bit of fear for the coach.' Van Persie also implied that United players lacked fear, stating, 'Probably. By the looks of things, I think so.'
United were completely outplayed by an Arsenal side who started the clash 13th in the table. The hosts took the lead as early as the eighth minute when Mesut Ozil's cross was diverted into Nicolas Pepe's path to fire into the bottom corner.
Sokratis then pounced on a rebound of David de Gea to thump a volley into the roof of the net just before half-time, which was no less than the hosts deserved.
Ex-United defender Rio Ferdinand also criticized United's performance, stating, 'Manchester United got bullied. We used to come here and bully Arsenal, that was our intention before the game and they reversed that.'
