Ashley Young has said that an armed pitch invaders could pose a serious threat to him, his teammates, and other footballers around the world if something is not done to curb the invasion of football fields. He is saying this after a pitch invader shoved Chris Smalling during Manchester United’s defeat at The Emirates. The male ran on to the pitch to celebrate with the Arsenal players after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored from the penalty spot to double Arsenal’s lead in the second half. As he was running to the Arsenal players he appeared to shove United defender Smalling on his way across the pitch.
Police spoke to Smalling after the game as a matter of protocol and it has been reported that a male has been arrested. The incident was the second to spark concern on Sunday after a fan hit Aston Villa player Jack Grealish in their win against Birmingham. And Young told BeIN Sport that security needs to be stepped up: “I think it’s the third time a fan has got on the pitch and what if they are carrying something? The players will be at danger.
“I think, whether it’s the FA, the Premier League, FIFA, something needs to be done whether its extra stewarding with the one earlier today (Grealish in Aston Villa’s game vs Birmingham) and Chrissy today, but something has definitely got to be done.”
Solskjaer also condemned the actions of the pitch invader in his post match press conference.
“I didn’t get to see exactly what happened but of course there shouldn’t be a place when someone runs onto a pitch, it’s not nice to see,” Solskjaer said. “We just have to make sure we’ll play football and they can watch it’s just one of them things you don’t want to see.”
Alexis Sanchez is set to dig his heels in and resist a transfer away from Manchester United this summer, according to reports in the British media. The Daily Express is reporting that the Chile international will resist and attempts for Manchester United to sell him this summer. Sanchez has struggled to find any consistent form since his move to Old Trafford from Arsenal in the January transfer window last year.
The 30-year-old is currently sidelined with an injury and he is facing a battle to get back into the first team at Old Trafford following his ineffective performances. The same article says that Manchester United could try and get Sanchez’s huge wages off their books this summer by allowing him to leave.
However, the same story says that a source close to Sanchez says that he has no intention of quitting Old Trafford.
The former FC Barcelona and Udinese man has scored one goal and made three assists in 17 Premier League games this season. However, he has only started a total of eight games in the English top flight and has struggled to find consistent form since his move from Arsenal just over a year ago. Sanchez is currently sidelined with a knee problem that he sustained in a 3-2 win over Southampton last weekend