3 positives & negatives from Arsenal's vital 1-0 win away to Man Utd

Positive #3: Defenders stand strong once more

David Raya added another clean sheet to his tally, having already clinched the Golden Glove award, while the rest of Arsenal's backline offered a familiar show for fans to enjoy.

William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes have established themselves among the best defensive pairings in world football this season, and the former was a class above the rest on Sunday.

Saliba's game will likely be remembered by his exceptional last-ditch challenge to deny Alejandro Garnacho, in a defensive performance which shut out the hosts, nullifying almost every threat from Manchester United almost as soon as they arose.

Negative #3: In-game management

As often feels the case, Arteta's substitutions felt far too late in a game that was crying out for a game-changer.

The Spaniard made just two changes before injury time, despite versatile, experienced and exciting options available from the bench, and several players who looked to have been having sub-par games.

As a fan looking in on the situation, the only answer that I can suggest is that Arteta simply does not trust a number of the club's 'rotation options,' which would explain why he often makes few, and late, substitutions.

Ultimately we got the job done and, had Arteta made more and earlier changes, and we had lost the game, I am sure he would be facing criticism for it, possibly even from me, so maybe it is just a trivial issue.

But the fact remains that a manager has to be able to trust and turn to his bench to change and consolidate games, which Arteta does not always seem able, or perhaps willing, to do.

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