'Was De Gea going back to Madrid?!' Fans troll Man United goalkeeper after defeat to Arsenal

Manchester United stopper David De Gea has been mercilessly mocked on social media after his failure to stop Granit Xhaka's swerving 25-yard strike in his side's 2-0 Premier League defeat at Arsenal.

The defeat was United's first loss in the Premier League under interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, as a 69th-minute penalty from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang added to Xhaka's first-half finish to put the seal on a 2-0 victory.

De Gea's failure to stop Xhaka's swinging, long-range effort led to a mocking response from fans on social media.

Xhaka's 12th-minute strike was Arsenal's only shot on target of the first half, as the Swiss international's 30-yard effort swung from right to left before nestling in the bottom left-hand corner.

The effort completely wrong-footed United keeper De Gea, who was left going the wrong way as the ball flew past him and into the net.

The goal prompted a flurry of tweets as fans queued up on social media to mock United's usually reliable keeper over his big-game howler. One fan posed the question: "Where was De Gea going? Back to Madrid?"

While another tweeted a clip of UK attorney general Geoffrey Cox at the dispatch box, imploring: "What are you playing at?!"

The goal also inspired Sky Sports commentator Martin Tyler to deliver an 80's-inspired pun on the goalscorer's name, saying: "He does have a decent left foot on him. He doesn't use it that often, but when he does, there's no doubt that 'Xhaka can.'"

The punny line didn't escape the attention of British hockey star Samantha Quek, or Irish bookmakers Paddy Power, who both mocked the veteran commentator on Twitter.

United's 2-0 defeat saw Arsenal leapfrog them into fourth place in the Premier League, nudging the Red Devils out of the UEFA Champions League qualification places with eight games remaining in the 2018/19 season.