Paul Pogba applauded his way off the pitch of the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, but not for the reasons he would have wanted to.
The Frenchman was shown a red card in Manchester United’s thrilling 3-1 victory over Arsenal, which will see him miss next weekend’s crucial derby against Manchester City.
His stamp on Hector Bellerin saw him dismissed with little more than 15 minutes left to play as Jose Mourinho’s side led 3-1 in North London.
Paul Pogba (left) will miss next Sunday’s Manchester derby after being sent off against Arsenal
Goals from Antonio Valencia and Jesse Lingard, two of which were assisted by Pogba, set United on their way, with the latter looking to have put the result beyond all doubt after his second cancelled out Alexandre Lacazette’s strike early in the second half.
‘I don’t know,’ Mourinho said in response to the decision. But while the United boss offered little opinion, Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand claimed it was an unnecessary move by the midfielder.
‘I think he got emotional, he lost his head,’ Lampard said on BT Sport. ‘There was no need to make that tackle at that point in the game.’
Pogba’s stamp on Hector Bellerin saw him dismissed with little over 15 minutes to play
Pogba’s lapse in judgement left his United team-mates with their backs against the wall ahead of the incoming Arsenal assault.
But to his relief, his team-mates held off the bombardment from Arsene Wenger’s side – which saw them register a staggering 33 shots to United’s eight – as they closed the gap on City.
Ferdinand added: ‘He was clapping his hands – almost in disbelief – afterwards but after watches that, he will realise he forced the referee into that decision.’
Pogba assisted two of United’s three goals before being shown the red card late on
And as he left the pitch sarcastically applauding the referee’s decision, the consequences of his actions could be only too critical to United’s title ambitions.
United welcome their bitter rivals to Old Trafford five points adrift, having played a game more, and will now be without their record signing for that clash, and the following two against Bournemouth and West Brom at a minimum.
Pogba, who assisted twice in United’s hard-earned victory over the Gunners, appeared to be the cog making everything tick in the midfield bu
Defeat against Pep Guardiola’s rampant, should they take three points away from Southampton at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, would see Mourinho’s side fall 11 points behind their city rivals.
The Frenchman applauded his way of the pitch as prepares for the incoming suspension