Manchester United’s Brazilian duo Antony and Fred were pictured all smiles alongside Arsenal pair Marquinhos and Gabriel Jesus after the Gunners’ 3-2 win over the Red Devils on Sunday.
In a move that is almost certainly going to anger a member of the United old guard like Roy Keane, Antony and Fred proudly posed for the photo despite having just been beaten by the opposition they stood arm in arm with before the Red Devils squad left the Emirates and made their way back to Manchester.
Keane has previously blasted United players for being too friendly with opponents. After a Manchester derby in 2020, the Irishman bemoaned: “At the end of the game the staff and players are hugging, smiling, chatting with each other.
“Just get down the tunnel, I don’t get it! Everyone wants to be pals with each other, and be popular! You’re playing for these clubs, particularly Man United, to win football matches! Not to be mates with everybody!”
While neither of the Arsenal players pictured in Marquinhos or Jesus actually featured in the victory, both Antony and Fred were involved as Erik ten Hag’s side had their hearts broken by a last-gasp Eddie Nketiah winner to snatch a point away from United in second-half stoppage time.
Not Antony nor Fred produced anything for the travelling United faithful to get too excited about, with the Red Devils goals coming from Marcus Rashford and Lisandro Martinez. In the case of Antony, pressure is already mounting on the £86million man just months after his arrival from Ajax.
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After the game, another United legend, Rio Ferdinand, had some choice words for the Brazil international as the ex-England ace admitted he harbours concerns over Antony’s dribbling ability and the fact he failed to get the better of Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Speaking on his FIVE YouTube show, Ferdinand said: “The concerning thing for me with somebody like Antony is that he can’t beat anyone – and for a Brazilian that’s surprising!
“He just doesn’t beat anyone and I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Was that always the way?’, I’ve seen clips of him when he was at Ajax and he was somebody who used to beat people.
“I saw [Thomas] Partey – who I wouldn’t put down as like a roaster, a sprinter – absolutely burst past him, and I’m thinking, ‘Woah, he [Antony] hasn’t got much power in them legs!’, so, yeah, he’s a tricky winger, but tricky wingers you want them to still be able to beat the defender.
“Even Zinchenko, he’s a great player, great footballer, but defensively you get him one-v-one and you’re a wide-man, you should feel, ‘I can get hold of this guy and I can deal with him’.”
Going into the game, United fans were hopeful a surprise win would kickstart an unlikely title charge. Instead, the Red Devils now find themselves a whopping 10 points behind the table-topping Gunners and five points adrift of local rivals Manchester City.
