Man Utd star was mocked by Arsenal fans at Emirates last season, he dominated their team this time

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Manchester United’s win against Arsenal was a script full of redemption stories, for the team as well as many players in the squad.

From Joshua Zirkzee impressing after being cheered off by Man Utd fans vs Newcastle, to Alejandro Garnacho forcing himself back into Ruben Amorim’s plans, there were stories all around.

Even the team as a whole showed a new side to it, not crumbling in the face of adversity, but instead relishing it to bring home a battling result.

However, perhaps the biggest redemption story has gone completely under the radar, and that concerns Man Utd’s latest untouchable.

Arsenal fans revel in Harry Maguire’s misery

The date is September 3, 2023. Manchester United are traveling to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal, having already had a rocky start to the season.

Erik ten Hag’s team were never impressive away to top-six teams and this time they were huge underdogs too as Arsenal were flying early in the season.

Marcus Rashford had given United a shock lead but in true collapsing fashion, United conceded immediately after.

In the 67th minute of the game, with both sides level, Erik ten Hag made a substitution that was loudly cheered by Arsenal fans, mocking the player as a liability for United.

That player was Harry Maguire, who came on for Lisandro Martinez after the Argentine’s latest injury. United conceded two goals in injury time after their hopeless rearguard action failed.

Maguire finished that game with zero defensive actions despite being under the cosh and playing nearly 30 minutes. The narrative was set.

On January 12, that narrative was flipped in a full circle moment for Maguire and United.

Maguire’s full-circle moment

Stationed as the central centre-back this time under a new manager who has given him plenty of confidence, Maguire arrived at the Emirates Stadium like a man on a mission.

He tackled, intercepted, and cleared everything in sight, playing for 104 minutes in a titanic performance that finished with him making a remarkable 20 defensive actions.

Maguire completely dominated the Arsenal forwards and even a dubious penalty he “conceded” was saved by Altay Bayindir in a moment of poetic justice for the player.

Ruben Amorim said after the game that football moves quickly and you can be a hero one day, a villain the next. Maguire had to wait more than a year for that turnaround but it was really sweet when it came.