Pain in the Arsenal
Fansided

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) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 25: Jesse Lingard of Manchester United (C) scores scores his team’s second goal past Petr Cech of Arsenal 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 Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 25: Jesse Lingard of Manchester United (C) scores scores his team’s second goal past Petr Cech of Arsenal 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 Mike Hewitt/Getty Images) /

2. Counter-attacking problems surface again

It was a major issue during the Arsene Wenger era. It was a major problem early in the season under Unai Emery also. It had, at least to an extent, been fixed slightly in recent months. But here, Arsenal’s counter-attacking problems again surfaced, and at times, it was rather ugly.

The plan from Manchester United was simple: exploit the space down the right flank vacated by Sead Kolasinac who bombs forward with reckless abandon. Their two first-half goals both came from this avenue of attack. The issue, I don’t believe, is Kolasinac. or even the midfield, to an extent. The problem stems from the lack of pressure on the ball deep in the United territory.

Manchester City also play with the same attacking focus as Arsenal. But as soon as they lose the ball, they incessantly press and do not allow the opposition an accurate pass to start a counter-attack. Moreover, they are also very clever in the deliberate fouls they commit to stop attacks before they even get going. This, for me, is where Arsenal failed, not necessarily in the positions of their defenders.