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Arsenal-Manchester United spectator arrested after invading pitch following Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang penalty

The spectator entered the Emirates pitch after Arsenal's second goal
Image: The spectator entered the Emirates pitch after Arsenal's second goal

A man has been arrested on suspicion of common assault and pitch invasion after he ran onto the Emirates Stadium pitch following Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's penalty during Arsenal's win over Manchester United on Sunday.

The incident happened shortly after Aubameyang scored a spot-kick in the 69th minute to give Arsenal a 2-0 lead.

The man appeared to confront Chris Smalling before running with his arms aloft towards the celebrating Arsenal players. He was later removed from the pitch by stewards.

A Met Police statement read: "A man has been arrested on suspicion of common assault and pitch invasion following an incident during the Arsenal v Man Utd game at the Emirates Stadium today.

"He is currently in custody at a north London police station."

An Arsenal spokesman said: "We utterly condemn the behaviour of the individual who ran onto the pitch and approached Chris Smalling during today's match.

"We would like to apologise to Chris and Manchester United, and are pleased that the individual was apprehended and arrested.

"We will be working closely with the Metropolitan Police in their investigation. The individual will also be banned from Arsenal matches home and away. Our matchday staff receive ongoing training on managing incidents such as this."

Arsenal went on to win the match 2-0 as Unai Emery's side inflicted the first league defeat of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's United tenure.

Solskjaer was later asked about the incident and said: "I didn't get to see exactly what happened but, of course, this shouldn't be a place that someone runs onto the pitch. It's not nice to see.

"We just have to make sure we play football and they watch us play football. It's one of those things that we don't want to see."

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A man invaded the pitch and attacked Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish during their match with Birmingham City.

Earlier on Sunday, Aston Villa's Jack Grealish was the victim of an unprovoked attack by a pitch invader during the Second City derby at Birmingham's St Andrew's, with a 27-year-old man later arrested by West Midlands Police.

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