Manchester United battled to a hard-fought point against Arsenal in controversial circumstances at Old Trafford, as Bruno Fernandes scored a free-kick over a defensive wall that seemed to have been incorrectly placed by referee Anthony Taylor.
It was a decisive moment in the match, as Arsenal had dominated for most of the first half against a United team that were struggling to create any attacking opportunities of note.
The goal also led to serious questions of Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya, who was beaten by the free-kick after positioning himself unusually close to his right-hand post.
What happened?
Arsenal had been in control of the first half, without creating many scoring opportunities, when Alejandro Garnacho counter-attacked down the right wing shortly before the break. The United winger was cynically fouled by Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard, who was shown a yellow card.
Raya then set up his defensive wall, featuring some of Arsenal’s tallest and most imposing players: Declan Rice, Gabriel Magalhaes, Mikel Merino, Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori.
Even before the free-kick was taken by Fernandes, though, it seemed clear that the Arsenal wall was positioned an unusually long distance away from the ball. A Sky Sports graphic later showed that the distance between the wall and the ball was 11.2 yards, as opposed to the mandatory 10 yards.
Raya’s positioning was almost equally unusual. The Arsenal goalkeeper (who went on to produce a series of sensational saves in the second half) started a long way to his right, almost within touching distance of his right-hand post. This left Fernandes with a huge amount of space to aim at, to Raya’s left.
What did it mean?
These two factors — the incorrect wall, and Raya’s strange positioning — made the task considerably more straightforward for Fernandes.
The United captain produced an excellent strike, which dipped into the net with real venom, but he did not have to generate much height on the shot. Due to Raya’s positioning, he did not have to whip his shot into the corner, either. When it flew past the Arsenal keeper, the ball was actually rather central in the goal.
How did the set-up of the wall help Fernandes? As explained by United midfielder Christian Eriksen after the match, the distance between the ball and the wall effectively meant that the United midfielder did not have to aim as high as he usually would.
The act of generating that height, and then bringing the ball down, is widely regarded as the most challenging part of any direct free-kick attempt. Fernandes could simply aim lower than usual.
From Arsenal’s point of view, the problem was exacerbated by Raya’s positioning. The Spaniard seems to have been attempting to show Fernandes that side of the goal, almost offering him the bait, because he shifted towards his left a split-second before the shot was taken.
Raya seemed to know where Fernandes was aiming, but the issue with the wall made it an easier and more powerful strike for the United player. Raya also got his angles wrong: He evidently left himself with too much ground to cover. In the end, he did not even get close to the shot.
This was perhaps a rare example of Raya’s height (at six feet tall, he is relatively short for a goalkeeper) working against him. In normal circumstances, Raya compensates with his remarkable explosiveness and athleticism but, on this occasion, a goalkeeper with longer limbs might have been able to cover that ground more easily.
"It helps that the wall was about 15 metres back!"
Christian Eriksen on the distance of Arsenal's wall from Bruno Fernandes' free-kick ???? pic.twitter.com/86ykolHd5j
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 9, 2025
What was said?
Eriksen admitted the placement of the wall made a “very, very big difference”. Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Eriksen said: “[We were] happy that the wall was about 15 metres away, so it was perfect for him [Fernandes]. I saw it early, before the kick, how far back they were.
“It makes a big difference. A very, very big difference. You don’t need to hit the ball as high. It’s easier. It gives Bruno a bit more space to put it over the wall.”
Eriksen also added that Taylor, the referee, had tried to create a similarly large gap between the wall and the ball on a late Arsenal free-kick, taken by Martin Odegaard. “We were a bit angry with the ref for putting us so far back, because we saw when Bruno scored,” Eriksen said.
Arsenal midfielder Rice, who scored his team’s equaliser, said of the incident: “I have not seen the goal back. It felt like a couple of us jumped and some of us didn’t. It felt like the ball flew over us at quite a low height. From the wall’s perspective, we could have done better. It did feel far back — even on our free-kick, when Martin took it, they [the United wall] felt far back as well. More than usual. But Anthony is the ref and he makes that decision.”
Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal manager, praised Fernandes for his intelligence on the field. “He has been smart and he took advantage. That is football. He’s been smarter than the ref. That’s OK, they allowed him to do it.”
And United head coach Ruben Amorim added: “It was clear on both free-kicks [including Odegaard’s effort]. So when it’s your free-kick, you don’t say anything. When it’s the opponent, you try to push because it’s a big difference. It was fair: one for us, one for them. We had Bruno and he solved the problem.”
