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Jose Mourinho revealed why Wayne Rooney did not start against Arsenal

Wayne Rooney did not feature in the starting XI against Arsenal as boss Jose Mourinho preferred Juan Mata over the English captain.

Manchester, Nov 21: Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has revealed why he did not keep Wayne Rooney in the starting XI against Arsenal FC on Saturday, November 19.

EPL game week 12: Roundup and results;PHOTOS: Arsenal hold Man United for a 1-1 draw

Manchester United were unlucky enough not to secure full three points from Saturday's English Premier League tie as Arsenal pulled off a last minute equaliser thanks to Olivier Giroud header.

Jose Mourinho (left) and Wayne Rooney Image courtesy: Manchester United Twitter handle)

Manchester United, for a change, played brilliantly at Old Trafford and dominated the proceedings. Juan Mata's strike in the 65th minute gave the Red Devils the much needed.

United successfully held on to their lead until the 88th minute and just when everyone thought that it would be Manchester United's day, substitute Olivier Giroud converted a header to equalise and snatch away a point.

Wayne Rooney did not feature in the starting XI against the Gunners as boss Jose Mourinho preferred Juan Mata over the English captain.

Regarding the exclusion of Wayne Rooney, Mourinho said: "I thought we were going to have the ball. Arsenal are a team who let the opponents play. I thought we would have space and the ball would arrive quite easily to the attacking players.

"I believed ones like Mata, Martial and Rashford were faster than Wayne, better attacking opponents one-to-one in the last line. I thought it was the best option."

Wayne Rooney was involved in a huge controversy recently. After England's match against Scotland on November 12, the captain was pictured drunk and gatecrashing at a wedding.

The issue stirred up a huge controversy among the English media and Rooney was slammed for his behaviour.

OneIndia News

Story first published: Thursday, August 3, 2017, 8:05 [IST]
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