Pain in the Arsenal
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Arsenal Vs Manchester United: 5 things we learned – Positives despite defeat

By Andrew Dowdeswell

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 25: Paul Pogba of Manchester United celebrates victory with Eric Bailly after the FA Cup Fourth Round match between Arsenal and Manchester United at Emirates Stadium on January 25, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 25: Paul Pogba of Manchester United celebrates victory with Eric Bailly after the FA Cup Fourth Round match between Arsenal and Manchester United at Emirates Stadium on January 25, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 25: Paul Pogba of Manchester United celebrates victory with Eric Bailly after the FA Cup Fourth Round match between Arsenal and Manchester United at Emirates Stadium on January 25, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 25: Paul Pogba of Manchester United celebrates victory with Eric Bailly after the FA Cup Fourth Round match between Arsenal and Manchester United at Emirates Stadium on January 25, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /

Arsenal host Manchester United on Friday night in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Friday night. Here are five things we learned from the 3-1 loss.

Arsenal fell to Manchester United in frustrating fashion on Friday night, conceding three times on the counter-attack, eventually losing 3-1 in the fourth round of the FA Cup. The defeat now leaves the Gunners with one serious trophy to chase, the Europa League, but also came with an encouraging performance that should not be completely overlooked.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — Chelsea Cleanses All

Here are five things we learned.

LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 25: Mesut Ozil of Arsenal replaces Alex Iwobi as substitute during the FA Cup Fourth Round match between Arsenal and Manchester United at Emirates Stadium on January 25, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 25: Mesut Ozil of Arsenal replaces Alex Iwobi as substitute during the FA Cup Fourth Round match between Arsenal and Manchester United at Emirates Stadium on January 25, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /

5. Direct Alex Iwobi a dangerous Alex Iwobi

There was a clear plan of action for the Arsenal attack, especially in the first half: focus on the left flank. With Romelu Lukaku not tracking back into defensive spaces, — I will get to this later — there was a numerical overload down the left flank. And the man who was the instigator of this was Alex Iwobi.

Every time the young Nigerian received the ball, he was immediately looking to push forwards. He was wonderfully direct in his dribbling, willing to take on Ashley Young, even when he failed to beat the English international, and delivered dangerous crosses into the box time and time again.

He also played a key a part in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s goal, sliding Aaron Ramsey on the overlap to the byline with a nicely weighted pass. Iwobi was very good primarily because he was direct and demanding of the Manchester United defence, and when he is those things, he is very dangerous indeed.