Pain in the Arsenal Podcast: A difficult analysis

Arsenal drew with Manchester United 1-1 on Monday night. Here are the Pain in the Arsenal podcast show notes from our discussion of the draw.

Watching Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United was an intense experience. It almost always seems to be the case under head coach Unai Emery. However, as soon as the final whistle blew, I found myself struggling to analyse what I had just seen.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — Welcome to the big time, Bukayo Saka

I am leaning towards the narrative that the Gunners were feckless, timid, and passive. Bukayo Saka and Lucas Torreira started — which I liked — but the midfield three was bland and I thought that Calum Chambers would struggle against Dan James’ quickness.

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In a game devoid of real quality, Arsenal were happy to absorb pressure in the early phases before slowly growing into the game. Scott McTominay then opened the scoring with a thunderbolt just before half-time. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang came to the rescue once more after the break with a delightful finish over the onrushing David de Gea. His effort was initially — and laughably — ruled out for offside, but the decision was overturned by VAR.

Arsenal had other good chances in the game. Saka and Matteo Guendouzi, two of the best performers on the night, went close before McTominay’s rocket and Saka had a goalbound effort deflected over the crossbar moments after Aubameyang had levelled the scores.

Nonetheless, what was infuriating, particularly about the second half, is that Emery’s side took their foot off the pedal after Saka’s deflected effort. There was no desire to win the game. Old Trafford is undoubtedly a difficult place to go, but Monday night was a fantastic opportunity to make a statement.

Both teams would have fancied themselves. Both teams were there for the taking. I would argue United even more so. I firmly believe that Emery had the better squad, particularly offensively, even with the defensive frailties.

Arsenal have not won a league game at Old Trafford since September 2006. They have not beaten a top-six team away from home since January 2015 when a Santi Cazorla masterclass helped to overcome Manchester City.

Bernd Leno made a fine save to deny Marcus Rashford’s free-kick in added time. With Emiliano Martínez impressing and voicing his desire for more opportunities, it was important for Leno to avoid mistakes. He did just that.

Calum Chambers managed and read the game well. Everyone had Jefferson Montero running through their mind when he was booked inside the first ten minutes, but then United weirdly went away from Dan James for the most part.

Although it may not have been Guendouzi’s best performance, I think it is a foregone conclusion that he will soon be a part of the leadership group. He was the driving force in the second half, and while he certainly has blemishes (goes to ground a little easily, marking from set-pieces, positional naivety) he must continue to feature.

Saka, meanwhile, can be immensely proud of his performance. I love the fact that Emery put his faith in him once more, especially on this big occasion. He provided the assist, was bright throughout, was trusted to be the main outlet. He also made one club-record signing look ordinary. The less said about Nicolas Pépé’s performance the better. Oddly enough, I thought that he was the only Arsenal player to play poorly. I do not think that the tactics helped him, but he was casual when defending and wasteful in possession. It was certainly one to forget.

Next. Arsenal Vs Manchester United: 5 things we learned. dark

A victory against Bournemouth next weekend is now paramount, but my biggest takeaway from the United game is this: Arsenal have not improved under Unai Emery. They currently lie fourth in the Premier League table but are really difficult to watch, lack ambition, and, most crucially, have lost their identity. The vultures are circling. It’s crunch time.

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