Arsenal 3-1 Manchester United: 3 talking points as Gunners eye top four

2. Ramsdale and Defense Were Far Too Shaky

The Gunners keeper has not been his usual self over the last couple of games. He nearly cost his side a few times on Saturday afternoon.

Trying to play out from the back and thread a tight pass, Ramsdale gifted Bruno Fernandes a guilt-edged chance early in the first half. Thankfully, Gabriel managed to get a toe on the shot and diverted it wide.

Often assured with the ball at his feet, he has been shaky. Misplaced passes, putting teammates under pressure, flapping at wide deliveries and generally putting his defence under strain, it was an uneven performance from the Arsenal gloveman. He did produce a couple of great saves – vital ones, at that –  but his distribution has put a lot of heat on his defense that they were just able to overcome today.

That said, the back four, especially the full-backs who both had dreadful afternoons, don’t leave unmentioned. The amount of unforced errors was alarming. Filling up with self-doubt in the first half, they lost any grip on proceedings shortly after the restart. Despite opening the scoring, Nuno showed his youthfulness as he constantly misplaced passes and gave away a silly penalty for handball.

He looked nervous and unsure of himself today, and even when in attacking positions, he either hit his shot well over, or it was taken off his foot to kickstart a United counter-attack. It was not his best outing. On the other flank, Sancho had Cedric’s number and he could not cope with defending one-on-one.

Arsenal got lucky in the second half, but all that matters is the three points. It’s about dusting themselves down now, taking the win, and moving on. This performance demanded a lot from the players, and they obliged.

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