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Referee Michael Oliver's performance was polarising last night.
The 30-year-old was either 'perfect' and the 'real man of the match' as Arsenal beat Manchester United 2-1 to reach the semi-final of the FA Cup, or a 'joke' who cost Louis van Gaal's team their last chance at a trophy this season.
Pundits and neutrals (and Arsenal fans, obviously) roundly applauded the way he refereed at Old Trafford, a game that saw him send off Angel Di Maria after the British record signing dived and then tugged his shirt.
Show all 24 1 /24Manchester United 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Manchester United 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings David De Gea Without him United could have been humiliated. A save from Cazorla seemed frankly impossible but the Spaniard made it look merely ordinary. 8
Manchester United 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Antonio Valencia A horror show from the Ecuadorian. Woeful defending allowed Monreal through to score and his back pass then allowed Welbeck through for the second. 3
Manchester United 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Chris Smalling He never seems to look comfortable in the United defence. His loose pass early on to Sanchez summed up yet another careless performance. 5
Manchester United 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Marcos Rojo The least poor of a dreadful performance by the United defence, he seemed to be nervy around Welbeck, particularly when playing at centre-back. 5
Manchester United 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Luke Shaw Struggled to deal with the direct running of Oxlade-Chamberlain whilst also offering little of his usual attacking skill. Unsurprisingly he lasted just 45 minutes. 4
Manchester United 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Daley Blind Often found himself overrun as he looked to protect a leaky defence on his own, his role in the game diminished after Carrick’s arrival. 5
Manchester United 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Ander Herrera Made good runs early on, Fellaini couldn’t find him. Unfortunately he was hauled off at half-time as his colleagues gave him few opportunities. 5
Manchester United 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Angel Di Maria His best game for some time, with his left-foot deliveries causing chaos for Mertesacker. Then he ruined it all by grabbing the referee’s shirt. 5
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Manchester United 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Marouane Fellaini Another big-money signing who shone, his physicality caused Arsenal’s defence all sorts of panic. But as a forward he lacks any real confidence in front of goal. 6
Manchester United 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Ashley Young United’s star outfield player’s contest with Bellerin was thrilling in which the Englishman often got the better, though his final pass was lacking. 7
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Manchester United 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Wayne Rooney Oozed confidence throughout, scoring a wonderful header and running powerfully at the Arsenal defence with menace. 7
Manchester United 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Best off the bench: Michael Carrick His passing radar kept United ticking and allowed them to dominate possession, even if that wasn’t enough to carry his side through. 6
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Manchester United 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Wojciech Szczesny A dropped cross in the first half could have been calamitous as throughout the match he seemed to be lacking the confidence usually associated with him. 5
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Manchester United 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Hector Bellerin An early yellow card put a target on his back but he continued in his usual fashion, a pacey presence in attack and defence. 6
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Manchester United 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Per Mertesacker Implausibly gave away a corner early on as nerves looked to be getting the better of him, he struggled aerially against Fellaini and Rooney. 5
Manchester United 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Laurent Koscielny The Frenchman brought invaluable composure to the Arsenal defence, the rarity with which he ever had to step in a testament to his organisational skills. 7
Manchester United 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Nacho Monreal Exceptionally threatening going forward, he picked up a well-deserved goal. But the Spaniard was too timid around Di Maria, giving him space to cross. 6
Manchester United 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Francis Coquelin A quiet game from the powerful Frenchman but that is just what Wenger would have wanted. His tackling continues to be ferocious. 6
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Manchester United 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Santi Cazorla His range of passing was vital to Arsenal’s counters and he even displayed his recently discovered tackling ability when the visitors needed to defend. 7
Manchester United 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Enjoyed his duel with Shaw and his powerful running created Arsenal’s first. The visitors missed his explosiveness after he went off injured. 7
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Manchester United 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Mesut Ozil Peppered the contest with moments of pure class, his understanding of space and his colleagues’ movements brightened Arsenal’s play and found their first goal. 8
Manchester United 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Alexis Sanchez As ever the Chilean was full of energy and menace, his passes always seeming to put Arsenal in a more dangerous attacking position. 8
Manchester United 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Danny Welbeck He even managed to make an open goal look difficult but nevertheless he got his goal and his energy caused problems for Rojo. 7
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Manchester United 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Best off the bench: Aaron Ramsey His driving runs from deep gave United’s defence another problem to deal with. His presence on defence was invaluable when United chased an equaliser. 7
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Oliver also made correct decisions when he decided not to give Arsenal a penalty for a tug on Danny Welbeck, to not send Marcos Rojo off for a bad foul on Santi Cazorla and for booking Adnan Januzaj for diving.
However, despite his all-round excellence, that has not stopped some supporters (mostly Manchester United fans, obviously) from criticising him.
One even went as far as changing his Wikipedia page...
What do you think of his performance? Let us know in the comments below.
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