Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku will be available to face Arsenal on Saturday after avoiding any further action following his clash with Brighton & Hove Albion’s Gaetan Bong on Saturday.
Pictures seemed to show that the Belguim international appearing to kick out at the Seagulls defender not once, but on two occasions during the lead up to the Red Devils’ only goal in their 1-0 win at the weekend.
The incident was missed by referee Neil Swarbrick on the day, meaning the 24-year-old was left sweating that he could face retrospective action from the three-man panel of former officials in the fall out.
However, according to Sky Sports, a unanimous decision could not be reached by the trio of experts, resulting in Lukaku avoiding what most likely would have been a three-match ban.
Had the attacker been adjudged to have committed the offence he could well have missed out on his side’s trip to Arsenal on Saturday evening, but, avoiding any further disciplinary action or injury, the Belgian should be involved in Jose Mourinho’s set up.
Whether that is too much of a cause for concern is something else, however, with the frontman not in his finest form at this present moment, nor holding an outstanding record against the Gunners throughout his career.
After a blistering start which saw Lukaku net 10 goals in his opening nine competitive games across all competitions for Manchester United, his subsequent 10 outings have only produced one – that coming in the north west side’s 4-1 hammering against defensively-shocking Newcastle United.
In addition, the former Chelsea academy graduate has only beaten the north Londoners’ defence on two occasions during his time in the Premier League, with one coming in Everton’s 3-0 win in the 2013/14 season and the other in Arsenal’s 3-1 victory over the Toffees last term.
Despite his impressive start for the Red Devils, Arsene Wenger will be confident his Arsenal defence has what it takes to contain the 24-year-old at the weekend, something they have done on several occasions in the past.
