Manchester United defeated Arsenal by three goals to one in their FA Cup clash at the Emirates stadium on Friday evening, with Nigerian forward Alex Iwobi in action. While Iwobi earned his second appearance in the competition this term, Bukayo Saka was not considered for selection to execute the game.

Young United defender, Matthew Olosunde was also not in the traveling party for the visitors. For Iwobi, it was his second outing against the Red Devils this season, having also started the 2-2 draw at Old Trafford in the league in December 2018. Twice, the Nigerian opened up the United defence with his mazy skills in the first half an hour, once finding Lacazette in the box in the 28th minute but the Frenchman’s touch passed up the chance.

Four minutes after the restart, he was at it again as Arsenal sought to restore parity, drifting in from the right and attempting a right-footed shot from just outside the box which was blocked by Ashley Young from troubling Sergio Romero.

Goals from Alexis Sanchez and Jesse Lingard had earlier put Solskjær’s side in front and though Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang reduced the deficit before the break, Anthony Martial came off the bench to seal victory with a brilliant curled finish. The Gabon superstar entered into the history books by becoming the first Arsenal player to score on every day of the week in a single season.

Meanwhile, Iwobi’s fellow Super Eagles star Mikel Obi has stated that he wants to help Middlesbrough achieve something special this season. The Nigerian midfielder sealed a return to England with Championship side Middlesbrough who are in contention to get a promotion to the Premier League next season.

Mikel who is now 32 years old is hopeful that the impact of the younger players at Middlesbrough coupled with his wealth of experience will help the club to be promoted to Premier League. In an interview with the Middlesbrough official website, Mikel stated that several clubs were interested in him but a conversation with Tony Pulis convinced him.

He said, “For me, it’s looking at the project. I spoke to a few clubs and I also spoke to Tony (Pulis), had a good chat with him. He’s told me where he wants to go with it and it definitely fits with what I want to do. The club wants to get promoted so hopefully I’m here to help in any way I can. It’s a family club and this is what I want. I like stability and this is why I was at Chelsea for a very long time.”