The 2 standout Arsenal stars in Man Utd defeat

Arsenal left Old Trafford with only themselves to blame. A Manchester United team that was there for the taking were given every opportunity they could have hoped for to secure three points. Naturally, they accepted.

There were poor performances across the board. Individual mistakes littered the game on a night where Arsenal had one of their biggest invitations to win at a ground they so often leave empty handed from.

Mikel Arteta takes a lot of the blame for his bemusing setup, game management and substitutions, just as his players need to reassess their own displays or risk losing their places in the team, whatever their price tags may be.

Some came out with their heads held high. Not many, but some. Well, two, to be precise.

Gabriel Martinelli is the standout star for Arsenal in the defeat to Manchester United as Arteta’s side throw away three points

The obvious candidate is Gabriel Martinelli. If performances could talk, his would have screamed ‘pick me’.

Given the nod on the right wing in place of Bukayo Saka, who was either not deemed fit enough to start or who’d been given the evening off to account for rotation, Martinelli made a strong case for being the Gunners’ man of the match.

He was a one man pressing machine. Arsenal didn’t press high near enough on the night, especially with the personnel meaning they could do so, but even when they weren’t collectively he was still chasing players down by the touchline and trying to force turnovers.

Wanting someone who runs in behind repeatedly – a la Theo Walcott – Martinelli kept trying to bend runs between Alex Telles and Harry Maguire, one in particular that was well picked out by Benjamin White whose better contributions on the night came with the ball at his feet.

Offering that outlet, the unpredictability was there for Arsenal to expose the poor defensive awareness of the United central defenders. He just wasn’t picked out enough.

As Arsenal sat off after 15 minutes his involvement waned, but he kept being engaged and after the break, especially when he was moved out to the left as Emile Smith Rowe came off, he burst into life and kept Diogo Dalot double taking for his whereabouts.

If he wanted Arteta not to forget about him, the past 115 minutes of football he’s played have done just that. Add to that the superb assist he made to tee up Martin Odegaard and he’s got a threat that Arsenal need on the pitch.

Martinelli was not the only one to stand out at Old Trafford, on a night where there were few bright sparks.

Continued on next page…

Takehiro Tomiyasu Continues to Prove He Was a Smart Signing

Not often do defenders get credit when their team has conceded three goals, yet with the talents of Jadon Sancho kept at bay down the right hand side, a mention has to go to Takehiro Tomiyasu who put in a very solid performance.

What satisfied most was how the always managed to sniff out the danger when it was around him. He’s got a sense of smell to rival an African elephant.

Sancho, who is starting to find his feet in the Premier League, never beat him one on one and in a game where duels were key he stood firm to everything that came down that flank. A lot of the hosts play in the first half was centred down their left side, with one particular occasion when White had a calamity moment and went lunging in on Ronaldo, it was Tomiyasu back there to pick up the pieces.

There is a composure about him that we got to see the best of on Thursday. Since joining the club he’s only had a couple of poor halves – Brighton away and Liverpool away – with the rest consistently high level performances where his task is carried out diligently.

To put it simply: he’s a solid defender.

Arsenal aren’t going to get Hector Bellerin-esque overlaps to the byline. That’s not Tomiyasu’s remit. He is, however, contributing in the build up from deeper and has the ability to loft tidy passes into space down that flank for others to run onto.

A very tidy afternoon from a player who is quietly going about his business in the most efficient way possible. One of the smartest pick ups of the summer.