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3 positives and negatives from Arsenal’s loss to Manchester United
Well, we knew it’d probably end at some point, right?
Arsenal’s perfect start to the season came to an end at the hands of Manchester United at Old Trafford this weekend.
3 positives and negatives from Arsenal’s loss to Manchester United
3-1 was the scoreline but it did not represent how the match went. Let’s dive into some of the good, and some of the bad.
Positive #1: Control
Bar a few moments, Arsenal were in control on Sunday. That is far from an easy feat in any away match, especially at one of the hardest away grounds in the league.
Manchester United’s opening two results will not be representative of their season as they’re building something to get back on track under Erik ten Hag, who’s been aided in the transfer market and it was debutant Antony who opened the scoring for the hosts.
Touches in the penalty area
— James Benge (@jamesbenge) September 4, 2022
Gabriel Martinelli: 9
Bukayo Saka: 8
Manchester United: 8
Granit Xhaka: 7
Gabriel Jesus: 7
Martin Odegaard: 6 https://t.co/BwdeNVwOG4
Despite this, Arsenal dominated the match and while United’s ploy was to sit deeper and counter-attack, I wouldn’t say they looked in complete control as the Gunners sustained pressure at will.
Overall, Arsenal were the better team, and similarly to last season’s 3-2 defeat at Old Trafford, the game could have gone either way. United were ruthlessly efficient, however, and they deserve a ton of credit because you don’t win matches purely from control, which leads us into…
Negative #1: Goals against the run of play
The control Arsenal had on Sunday was great but United showed an ability to score against the run of play, and it was Christian Eriksen who played a starring role.
The Dane’s ability to spot runs and spring United from defence into attack made all the difference for the Red Devils. They were able to capitalise on misplaced passes and disorganisation to find gaps to exploit which is why the game ended in their favour.
Arsenal were unlucky at times in the final third, particularly when Gabriel Martinelli’s opener was ruled out (more on that later), but it was still something that Arsenal could have improved on in this match. They needed to be ruthless.
Continued on the next slide…