- Manchester United faced defeat in their first match of the US pre-season tour against Arsenal
- However, United emerged victorious in the designated penalty shootout, with Jadon Sancho successfully converting his kick
- Andre Onana attracted attention with his peculiar antics aimed at unsettling Arsenal’s penalty takers
Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana made waves on social media with his unusual methods aimed at distracting penalty takers during the recent pre-season friendly shootout against Arsenal, to the point that Gabriel Magalhaes had to shush him.
In their opening US pre-season tour match, United fell to a 2-1 defeat despite Rasmus Hojlund scoring first in Los Angeles, with goals from Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli sealing the win for Arsenal.
However, there was a silver lining for Erik ten Hag’s team as they won the designated shootout after the match, with Jadon Sancho calmly converting the final penalty to clinch a 4-3 victory at SoFi Stadium.
The headlines were captured by Onana, who engaged in elaborate antics to unsettle Arsenal’s penalty shooters.
Onana saved Kai Havertz’s shot to give United an early advantage, but was unable to replicate this success against centre-back Gabriel.
Onana’s antics aimed at Arsenal’s shooters
Gabriel shushing Onana after scoring
Gabriel scores past Onana
In a viral clip viewed by nearly 400,000 users on X (previously Twitter), Onana gestured toward a corner of the goal to influence where the defender should shoot, only to comically dive the wrong way.
Gabriel responded effectively by placing the ball directly where Onana indicated, then raised the ball with a retort, telling him to be quiet.
Following the goal, a close-up shot revealed a frustrated Onana on his knees, gesturing at nothing, clearly annoyed that his tactic had backfired.
As expected, fans seized the opportunity to harshly criticize Onana.
‘Andre Onana is not serious,’ remarked a United fan on X.
Onana visibly frustrated after failing to distract Gabriel
An Arsenal supporter quipped, ‘For someone who conceded over 60 goals last season, Andre Onana should learn to stay silent.’
Another added: ‘Coward Andre Onana didn’t want to face Gabriel.’
A fourth account shared an image of Onana’s gesture, simply captioned, ‘Andre Onana every match’.
Meanwhile, United’s Rasmus Hojlund and newly signed Leny Yoro both faced injury issues in the first half, leaving manager Ten Hag uncertain about their status.
‘We need to wait 24 hours to hopefully have more information,’ Ten Hag told MUTV. ‘We were particularly cautious with Leny.’
‘It’s frustrating that he had to leave the pitch, but let’s remain optimistic and see what develops.’
