Were Manchester United just too good or are their deeper issues for Arsenal?

Arsenal had an enjoyable midweek fixture against Inter Milan. The game itself was entertaining, we created numerous chances and managed to score three. However, the win itself was not essential, but the manner in which we won was. It’s teed us up for a stress free end to the Champions League division phase. Arsenal had to turn their attention back to the Premier League where form was dipping. Two 0-0 draws in a row were very disappointing, but we had a chance to put things right against Manchester United.

First Half

Arsenal began the game quite well. They weren’t as intense as they were against Inter, but still contained United. Declan Rice probed with a couple of efforts, as did Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard. Martin Zubimendi had the best chance of the opening 20 minutes, seeing his close range header parried over the bar. 10 minutes later, Arsenal were one-nil up. A deep cross from Piero Hincapie found the feet of Saka, he flicked the ball to Martin Odegaard who swung his boot at it. His shot was probably going wide, but Lisandro Martinez unfortunately knocked it in to his own goal after pressure from Jurrien Timber. After that point, United took control of proceedings and made life uncomfortable for the Gunners. The home side were forced into silly mistakes and they almost equalised moments after conceding. William Saliba had to sort out his own mistake to put off Bruno Fernandes from an almost certain goal. The mistakes didn’t stop there and Martin Zubimendi was the culprit for Bryan Mbuemo’s equaliser. The Spaniard attempted a first time pass, but completely mistimed it and gifted Mbuemo a 1-on-1. The United forward took full advantage and equalised. 1-1. Zubimendi tried to restore Arsenal’s lead a few moments later, but the United defence were able to block it off. That was it for the first half.

Second Half

Mikel Arteta’s men started the second half in a similar fashion to how they ended the first half. Loose in possession, struggled to get a foothold in the game and invited United on to them. The away side were rewarded with the positive start and managed to carve out a lead. The ball bobbled around the edge of the box with Zubimendi battling Patrick Dorgu, the Spaniard lost out and the United star rifled a shot beyond David Raya. 2-1 United. Arteta rung the changes not long after. However, the Gunners still couldn’t really create big chances for themselves. Mikel Merino had a couple of our better opportunities, but Arsenal lacked that dangerous edge. Merino did eventually grab our equaliser after a goalmouth scramble following a corner. But, once again, Arsenal didn’t seize the initiative and go for the winner. In fact, they invited pressure on them again and were punished by Matheus Cunha. His fierce shot caught Raya out and suddenly United were 3-2 up. Arsenal didn’t have a chance after that. That was the end of the match.

Statistics

The stats show that Arsenal did struggle to really overpower United. The North London side had 15 shots, only 4 on target. This created an xG of 1.19 with just 1 big chance created. United, on the other hand, had 10 shots with 3 on target. Generating an xG of 0.71 with 2 big chances created.

Player Ratings

Starting XI

Raya – 5 – United had three shots on target and scored all three. For a goalkeeper, that’s a 0% save rate. Looking at the goals scored, it’s hard to argue he could’ve saved any of them. Maybe could’ve got down quicker for Cunha’s, made himself bigger against Mbuemo.

Timber – 6 – Didn’t really do too much wrong, but I still don’t like how involved he gets in the attacking phase. Yes he influenced the own goal, but it’s too much involvement outside of that. Forced into left back after Ben White’s introduction.

Saliba – 6 – Made a big mistake, but recovered in the same phase of play to deny a certain goal. Perhaps can take some of the blame for Zubimendi’s mistake, but I don’t see it myself. Marauded forward a few times, but to little effect.

Gabriel – 6 – The better of the defenders out there. Not perfect, but he was let down by his colleagues. Not much got out of his control.

Hincapie – 5 – He provided the whipped cross into the box that resulted in Arsenal’s first goal, but you could tell he’s just come back from injury. Some lazy moments on the ball and did struggle to combine with his team mates.

Zubimendi – 4 – This was probably his worst performance in an Arsenal shirt. Made a mistake that gets taught out of you from a young age. Never pass across your goal if you’re not absolutely sure it’ll reach its target, especially when you have two attackers filling the space in between. Tried claiming a foul for Dorgu’s goal so gave up trying to defend him, it wasn’t a foul. He needs time off.

Rice – 5 – There’s a theme developing. Those that are playing the most minutes have been struggling in recent weeks. Timber, Zubimendi and Rice have each barely had a game off and it’s taking its toll on the pitch. Rice is normally so powerful in midfield, but United easily bypassed him. Some decent set pieces, but I can’t rate someone on having a decent set piece.

Odegaard – 3 – Not for me at the moment. He’s encapsulating our recent performances, except the ones he’s not playing in. He’s playing like a boxer who spends his entire time running around the ring, avoiding getting hit and getting in a couple of jabs from a safe distance. Ultimately that boxer gets knocked out with one punch. It’s no secret that our best performances this month have come when he’s not on the pitch. Even that game against Chelsea that he started, when he came off, our chance creation increased tenfold.

Saka – 6 – He was bright, but not dangerous enough. Got a few crosses in and was a big part of Arsenal’s first goal. Was unlucky not to score his low driven shot. However, we need more from him right now, he’s not delivering enough in the league.

Jesus – 5 – Brilliant against Milan, reverted back to frustrating against United. He couldn’t hold the ball up, link with team mates or create any real danger for the away side’s defence.

Trossard – 5 – He probed as much as he could, but as soon as Arsenal gave United momentum, he was anonymous. His form has dropped off in recent weeks.

Substitutes

Merino – 7 (MOTM) – I have to give it to someone and he was perhaps our most dangerous player in the closing stages of the game. He had a few attempts and managed to squeeze one in. It should’ve been the goal that earned us a point. I’d much rather see Merino play than Odegaard.

Gyokeres – 5 – He tries and I have to give him that. He gives defenders more to think about, but if all you can be praised for is trying, then you don’t deserve a higher rating. We need more from him in the league.

White – 6 – No real complaints with his performance, he does what he can.

Madueke – 6 – Like Gyokeres, he does try. He will run at defenders and trust his ability to create something. However, his final ball has let him down time and time again.

Eze – 5 – He added some security on the ball, but came on at a time where United had settled into their rhythm. He struggled to really impact the game.

Summary

There’s no point lingering on this game. We shelve it, learn from it and move on. We have a free pass this week as we face Kairat Almaty at home in a competition that we’ve already qualified for. Rest the big names and make sure they’re up for it against Leeds. Leeds actually play tonight (Monday 26th) so they won’t have much longer than us to rest. We’re still four points clear and have a pretty nice run from now until the end of February. Leeds away, Sunderland at home and Brentford away in the league. Three very winnable games. Sandwiched in between them is an EFL Cup semi final against Chelsea, which is at home. We also face Wigan at home in the FA Cup before we face Tottenham Hotspur a week later. We effectively have a full squad available right now, so we can afford to rotate where necessary. In the same period of time, Manchester City will face Spurs away, Liverpool away and Fulham at home. That’s a tougher run, plus they’ll have to go full strength against Galatasaray to gain automatic qualification in the Champions League. If they don’t then they’ll have two extra fixtures to play over Arsenal. They do have a couple of easy home fixtures coming up with Newcastle and Salford in respective domestic competitions. They end the month with another home fixture against Newcastle. It’s always very well mentioning this, but City could win all these games. We have to keep focused and take off the handbrake a little. Sometimes stretching the game forces teams out of their low block. Trust that we do have the best defence in Europe and let the players express themselves. Start with beating Kairat, then Leeds and build that momentum.

Arsenal Predicted Lineup

We don’t exactly need to throw the academy at the game because we actually can’t. We have a registered squad to choose from and can only dip lower if we request. As long as the big names aren’t playing; Saka, Rice, Trossard, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel and Zubimendi then that’s fine. I wouldn’t even use them as subs. If Riccardo Calafiori is fit then he can get some minutes, same as Kai Havertz. With Ethan Nwaneri out on loan, that has potentially opened up a slot for someone to fill and I would very much like to see Andre Harriman-Annous again. I would’ve also included Marli Salmon ahead of Piero Hincapie, but I believe he got injured for the U21’s in their most recent fixture. We should breeze past Kairat, hopefully we can get some good performances out of the players and some smiles to return. Let’s get it!