GONE WALL IN
Arsenal wall was 11.2 yards back for stunning Bruno Fernandes free-kick as furious fans slam referee Anthony Taylor
United star admitted he could tell the wall was in the wrong place before the shot was taken
ARSENAL fans have been left raging after finding out their wall was marched too far back for Bruno Fernandes' stunning free-kick.
Manchester United broke the deadlock in the 1-1 draw on the stroke of half-time via an incredible set-piece strike from their captain.
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The free-kick was won by Alejandro Garnacho after he was fouled on the edge of the box by Leandro Trossard.
Fernandes stood over the ball as referee Anthony Taylor walked Arsenal's rearguard backwards.
Despite man mountains in Riccardo Calafiori, Jurrien Timber, Mikel Merino, Gabriel and Declan Rice forming the line, United's talisman was still able to generate enough power and dip to beat the jumping wall and David Raya in goal.
But eagle-eyed fans noticed that Arsenal's five-man wall looked a long way from where the ball was placed.
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Gary Neville spotted it immediately, saying on commentary: "The wall looks a fair way back. Looks like it's giving him a chance. It looks a mile back.
"Usually, you see the wall, particularly a big wall like that, it always looks really difficult to get it up and over.
"There just seemed to be so much space, so much space that he didn't even have to go that high up into the net."
Sky Sports later confirmed that the wall was in fact 11.2 yards away - instead of the regulated ten.
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Neville added after the game that you could tell "something was wrong" as the ball went in only "half way up the net".
Arsenal fans were left fuming, with one saying: "If Arsenal were a yard closer to the Bruno free-kick, its hits the wall."
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Another added: "The extra 1.2 yards gave the ball enough space to get up and over the wall."
A third commented: "There's a lot that was our fault about going behind, but the wall being over a metre too far back is unbelievably poor refereeing."
But United fans hit back, saying: "Arsenal fans complaining about how far away the wall was lined up might be a new low."
More responded: "You find any excuse."
On the free-kick, Christian Eriksen revealed: ";Happy that the wall was about 15 metres away, so it was perfect for him to put it over.
"I think I saw it early before the kick. It was the same when they had it in the second-half, obviously we were a bit angry with the ref for putting us so far back."
Rather than take issue with the wall, Gunners hero and pundit Paul Merson instead slammed Raya's positioning, which led to him "getting nowhere near it".
Jamie Redknapp praised Joshua Zirkzee and Casemiro for pushing Thomas Partey into the keeper's eyeline as Fernandes ran up to the ball.
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The pundit also added that he was surprised Arsenal's wall stayed behind the magic spray line and did not edge forward.
If Raya was to blame, he later made amends with stunning saves to deny Noussair Mazraoui and a late Fernandes chance to win it.
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