Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia, Turki Alalshikh, has sent Manchester United supporters into meltdown with his post following the side’s 3-2 win over Arsenal at the Emirates.
Michael Carrick’s side went fourth in the Premier League with an unlikely victory in north London on Sunday (January 25) as Arsenal saw the seven-point deficit between themselves, Manchester City, and Aston Villa reduced to just four by the end of play on game week 23.
Arsenal took the lead via a Lisandro Martinez own goal on 29 minutes, but United took just eight minutes to level things when Bryan Mbeumo took full advantage of Martin Zubimendi’s misplaced pass.
The Red Devils then went ahead through Patrick Dorgu’s long-range effort on 50 minutes, but the league leaders equalised on 84 minutes when Mikel Merino scrambled home.
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But it was United who came away with the points rather than the home side, who were unbeaten at the Emirates since May 2025 before Sunday’s fixture.
Second-half substitute Matheus Cunha unleashed a powerful curling effort past Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya with just three minutes remaining to hand Carrick his second win in as many games since replacing Ruben Amorim as United boss earlier in January.
Pundits and United supporters were complimentary of United’s performance, with ex-Red Devils captain Gary Neville voicing his delight at the performance when speaking after the match.
"I'm absolutely blown away by what I've seen in eight days, because you can't believe how low and how bad it was a few weeks ago in terms of some of the performances that we've seen,” Neville said on The Gary Neville podcast.
"There are a number of things that have changed, the intensity, the compactness, the aggression of the defending, their willingness to get behind the ball together and be difficult to beat and dig in when you're in difficult moments of the game.”
Meanwhile, even Alalshikh, who is heavily involved in promoting entertainment and sports initiatives such as boxing and football in Saudi Arabia, also reacted on social media by simply posting an image of United’s logo with three fire emojis accompanied by a heart and peace emoji.
The Saudi Arabian was previously linked with buying an English football club in 2025, as reports of interest in Championship club Bristol City emerged before he swiftly denied them.
Also, back in October, he claimed that United were “in an advanced stage of completing a deal to sell to a new investor”, although the details of what he meant remain unclear several months on.
Still, United supporters were quick to react to his post on social media.
One asked: “Any chances of buying @ManUtd Turki?????”
Another added: “Buy us.. sponsor us.. buy into the new stadium... anything.”
A third claimed: “Brother, I’m glad that we won, but the ownership is still United’s biggest problem. I know that you are a really busy man, but could you try to make the investors that you mentioned some time ago speak out about their plans, or if they are still planning to buy United?”
Despite United fans’ wishes, the club is currently owned by the Glazer family and Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Topics: Manchester United, Arsenal, Premier League, Football, Gary Neville, Michael Carrick
Luke Davies