3 positives & negatives from dramatic Man Utd victory

Arsenal bounced back from a disappointing result against Fulham last weekend with an impressive 3-1 victory over age-old rivals Manchester United. 

Despite what the scoreline may suggest, the result was anything but secure as the game headed into stoppage time, with Alejandro Garnacho adjudged to be marginally offside when appearing to give Manchester United a 2-1 lead just minutes before Declan Rice smashed home from close range to send the Emirates into delirium.

The performance was far from perfect, but the result in a game of this nature is always the most important thing. Here are three positives and negatives from the match…

3 positives and negatives from dramatic Man Utd victory

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Positive #1: Rice Rice Baby – Declan Rice scores first Arsenal goal

I have singled out Rice for individual praise multiple times already this season, but, following his display against the Red Devils, he deserves it more now than ever before.

His all-round play was superb, with the 24-year-old registering a pass completion rate of 88% and winning 4/5 of his total duels during the match, as per Sofascore, which allowed him to dominate the midfield throughout.

His 96th-minute strike was just the icing on the cake and has only helped endear him to us Gooners even more than he already had.

Negative #1: Vulnerability to counter-attacks

However, the performance was not without negatives, one of which remains our very clear vulnerability to quick, direct counter-attacks. In all four matches we have played this season, the opposition have found it far too easy to counter-attack against us, resulting in an increase in goals conceded.

Manchester United are, of course, particularly adept at counter-attacking football, and in Marcus Rashford, possess one of the best off-the-shoulder forwards in the league. But, that is no excuse and Mikel Arteta must find a solution to this issue before it costs us more points this campaign.

Continued on the next slide…