-Umeh
United had not been 3 goals down this quickly since the opening day of the 1995-1996 season at Aston Villa, when the goals came in the first 37 minutes and Alan Hansen came out with his immortal line "you win nothing with kids." 20 years later, it was almost a surprise as Arsenal didn't add more goals, with the substitute Chamberlain coming the closest in stoppage time with a shot off the crossbar.
Some key factors about the attack & defense:
United's attack was in shambles;
Smalling had somewhat his worst game of the season. Darmian looked tired. Blind was once again exposed as he showed his shortcomings at CB. Young looked to be giving the Board reasons to get busy in the January transfer window.
Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil took turns tormenting their opponents. They played in a way that made it feel as though they were accustomed to the pressure of the past week, and Wenger deserved praise for the way his players looked free of self-doubt. Sanchez, in particular, showed glimpses of improvisational brilliance. His flick in the build-up to Arsenal's second goal was total beauty.
Source: fullyfootball
United had not been 3 goals down this quickly since the opening day of the 1995-1996 season at Aston Villa, when the goals came in the first 37 minutes and Alan Hansen came out with his immortal line "you win nothing with kids." 20 years later, it was almost a surprise as Arsenal didn't add more goals, with the substitute Chamberlain coming the closest in stoppage time with a shot off the crossbar.
Some key factors about the attack & defense:
United's attack was in shambles;
Smalling had somewhat his worst game of the season. Darmian looked tired. Blind was once again exposed as he showed his shortcomings at CB. Young looked to be giving the Board reasons to get busy in the January transfer window.
Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil took turns tormenting their opponents. They played in a way that made it feel as though they were accustomed to the pressure of the past week, and Wenger deserved praise for the way his players looked free of self-doubt. Sanchez, in particular, showed glimpses of improvisational brilliance. His flick in the build-up to Arsenal's second goal was total beauty.
We were outplayed. Ashley Young was just as vulnerable as Darmian in defense. United were totally outplayed and out-passed in those exhilarating moments of beautiful football by Arsenal. The impression it left was United's recent ascent to the peak of the BPL was deceptive.
Toothless Attack (Though Martial's brilliance was evident again):
LvG showed clear signs of dissatisfaction with the maladroit attacking football his team displayed by removing Memphis and making Rooney drift to the left in the 2nd half. Fellaini was brought on to assume the attacking role just behind Martial and, though there was improvement, it never left even a remote sense of urgency to get the ball behind Cech.
The United's gaffer off-philosophy was made to look bland and fruitless; there was an absolute lack of fluency in the final third. Martial's neat spin and shot was nullified by a sprawling Cech save just before the interval, but Rooney's decline was evident again.
Inaction in Midfield:
Bastian's great football mentality didn't seem too relevant as the game demanded his legs to work. Carrick was passive. Morgan might 'hold water' if he asks why he wasn't picked in the starting XI to match Coquelin's physicality. Cazorla and Ozil bossed affairs in the middle of the pack.
To summarize what transpired in the game at the Emirates:
The Gunners picked a perfect time to exhibit their most exhilarating football since the 2015/2016 season kicked off.
Manchester United played the most painfully brilliant football of the season as they held the ball for almost the entire time after Arsenal scored thrice and failed to create any clear-cut goal-scoring chances.
Many positives from the game for United too:
-Martial showed some flashes of brilliance as usual
-Possession was at it's peak (though it didn't produce results)
-The loss meant Manchester United are just 2 points behind league leaders Manchester City
*Never write off Manchester United. We'll come back stronger*
[James Adams]
Like many United fans, after a string of good performances, I was looking forward to the game on Sunday against Arsenal. However, my positivity quickly evaporated and my head was like United's back four - confused and all over the place.
Nonetheless, I don't think you can solely place the blame on the players. I actually think a large part of the problem was Louis van Gaal's tactics - that last statement feels particularly strange to say given that Van Gaal is a man that prides himself on meticulous preparation.
No doubt Arsenal played some great football in the first 20 minutes but I thought there were 2 key areas where the game was lost on Sunday.
1. United played too high up the pitch - Gary Neville spotted it straight away and it was actually one of the first aspects of the game he commented on. History should have taught us (along with West Ham) that at the Emirates it's best to sit a bit deeper and break. There was way too much space in between the midfield and defence. United paid the price.
2. Not playing Morgan Schneiderlin - Playing Schweinsteiger and Carrick together may have sounded great on paper but they just didn't have the legs to compete in midfield (something that was actually flagged when they played together but I believe they need Herrera or Schneiderlin playing alongside them. In my opinion, Schneiderlin would have been perfect on Sunday, breaking up the play and stymieing the attack - he would have brought balance and energy to the side.
Finally, I don't like to use injuries as an excuse but you can certainly make the case that having to play Ashley Young at LB also contributed to the loss. A huge percentage of Arsenal's attacks came down United's left flank and you've to wonder how effective they would have been if Luke Shaw was playing.
Anyway, the second half performance was better and United will look to get back on track in a tricky away game at Goodison Park.
Many positives from the game for United too:
-Martial showed some flashes of brilliance as usual
-Possession was at it's peak (though it didn't produce results)
-The loss meant Manchester United are just 2 points behind league leaders Manchester City
*Never write off Manchester United. We'll come back stronger*
[James Adams]
Like many United fans, after a string of good performances, I was looking forward to the game on Sunday against Arsenal. However, my positivity quickly evaporated and my head was like United's back four - confused and all over the place.
Nonetheless, I don't think you can solely place the blame on the players. I actually think a large part of the problem was Louis van Gaal's tactics - that last statement feels particularly strange to say given that Van Gaal is a man that prides himself on meticulous preparation.
No doubt Arsenal played some great football in the first 20 minutes but I thought there were 2 key areas where the game was lost on Sunday.
1. United played too high up the pitch - Gary Neville spotted it straight away and it was actually one of the first aspects of the game he commented on. History should have taught us (along with West Ham) that at the Emirates it's best to sit a bit deeper and break. There was way too much space in between the midfield and defence. United paid the price.
2. Not playing Morgan Schneiderlin - Playing Schweinsteiger and Carrick together may have sounded great on paper but they just didn't have the legs to compete in midfield (something that was actually flagged when they played together but I believe they need Herrera or Schneiderlin playing alongside them. In my opinion, Schneiderlin would have been perfect on Sunday, breaking up the play and stymieing the attack - he would have brought balance and energy to the side.
Finally, I don't like to use injuries as an excuse but you can certainly make the case that having to play Ashley Young at LB also contributed to the loss. A huge percentage of Arsenal's attacks came down United's left flank and you've to wonder how effective they would have been if Luke Shaw was playing.
Anyway, the second half performance was better and United will look to get back on track in a tricky away game at Goodison Park.
[Jamie Schiels]
First of all, in my opinion, the approach we showed to the Arsenal game was unbelievable naive. I can accept conceding an early goal, however the naivety to go and concede again nearly put us down and out within 7 minutes.
Daley Blind got exploited without a deeper holder midfielder, seeing as how our two central midfielders, Carrick and Bastian, seemed to be pressing high into no man's land.
3-0 came soon after and my fear was that the game was far beyond us and we'd suffer a famous loss. However, the strike from Alexis was simply class (no doubt).
Subsequently, in the game towards the back end of the first half, we grew into it and became more comfortable in possession & threat. However, there wasn't any real domination, just football in total.
Looking back, Martial had a great chance matched by a great save, arguably a moment that could have turned the game around.
Overall, I wouldn't worry massively. I'd put this down to a bad day in the office for Louis van Gaal. We re-group after the international break and we come back stronger.
[Jide]
Manchester United and Arsenal clashed at the Emirates on the 4th of this month. A match that meant a lot to both managers, teams and fans.
United were top of the league coming from a comfortable 3-0 win against Sunderland, while Arsenal got going with an emphatic performance against Leicester City. They were victorious 5-1 with Alexis getting back into the picture after some barren games getting a hat trick.
Although there was a morale killing performance from Arsenal in the Champions League (they were defeated by Dynamo Zagreb at The Emirates, making it tough for them to qualify for the group stage/s).
On the contrary, Manchester United came back from 1-0 down after a sloppy start to defeat Wolfsburg 2-1, placing qualifications in their own hands. This was supposed to be a morale booster going into Sunday's game against Arsenal.
LvG claimed in his press conference that there was plenty of fatigue and it'd be tough for the players to recover before the clash, while Arsene Wenger believed the Gunners have a lot to prove coming back from a disappointing defeat in the Champions League.
The match was more vital for United after Manchester City trashed Newcastle after a horrendous defensive display and a 5-star performance from Aguero getting 5 goals. This win saw City move to the top of the league and LvG's Army was seeking to reclaim top spot before the international break.
Every United fan knew it'd be anything but easy to defeat Arsenal at the Emirates, although we've had plenty of happiness against them in previous years, mostly during the season 2012/2013. Louis van Gaal employed his routine 4-5-2 for the match.
The only surprise was Ashley Young who played LB against a top team and Carrick's return to the starting lineup after a minor injury. This drew mixed feelings within the fans, with some claiming that starting both Bastian and Carrick was a bad idea against Arsenal which proved affirmative when the match begun, whereas Arsenal used a 4-5-1 formation with Per. M filling in for the injured Laurent Koscielny, with many feeling Anthony Martial would get plenty of joy against him due to his slow pace.
The match kicked off with both fans optimistic about how the result was going to turn out. The match started with Arsenal playing in high pressure.
The fast flowing Arsenal were winning all second balls and United fans were getting afraid of conceding an early goal which would give Arsenal the momentum they needed to win.
The goal was inevitable with the manner Arsenal were playing and both of our holding midfielders were lost in the middle of their roles as they were dominated by their opponents.
Ozil received the ball far post and cut a ground cross to Alexis Sanchez. United fans' fear was actualized when Ozil beautifully flicked it past De Gea - no one knew that this was just the start of an emphatic performance by Arsenal.
Usually, there would be screams from LvG for the players to get their heads right or out captain Wayne Rooney would assume responsibility and drive his team mates back into the game. However, none of this happened and Arsenal got back into their stride with a second goal. Walcott's pace was an issue before he cut back to Ozil, with the German calmly putting it into the net. It was a disastrous outing in the first few minutes.
Manchester United weren't able to make any impact on the game. There were plenty of horizontal passes. Memphis lost possession often and Arsenal closed down every move by United. Arsenal counter attacked again, knowing a third goal would win the match in the first half.
Alexis gained possession and was one on one with our signing of the season (so far) - Darmian. Alexis cut in, beating Darmian and powered a shot past De Gea. Arsenal fans, players and coach were in euphoria while things started looking calamitous for MUFC.
There wasn't entry for United in the remaining half but only a beautiful turn by Anthony Martial which hit the ball with Petr Cech sticking out his left foot to deny him his 5th goal (which might have proved a game changer in the course of the match).
The first half ended with Arsenal knowing the game was almost won. United players buried their heads as a result of a disappointing display.
We can all but imagine LvG's half time team talk with the players. But the aim would definitely be to return to the game ASAP. There were half time substitutions with Valencia coming on for Darmian and Fellaini replacing Memphis. Everyone knew it'd be a very tough task for Man United.
The second half started with United controlling possession and trying to unlock Arsenal's compact defence, but to no avail. There were half chances for Rooney and Bastian. However, with Cech emerging top in both instances, United were starting to look like a defeated side.
Mata came off for the young James Wilson. Van Gaal tried to inject more pace in attack but nothing came through. Ramsey missed a blatant chance to make it 4-0 for Arsenal.
Chamberlain came on and almost executed a wonder chip past De Gea which would have been the game's highlight. The final whistle was blown with MUFC's players and coaches appearing dejected while appreciating the away fans for their support in the disappointing performance.
This was how the much awaited encounter ended in delight for Arsenal and dissatisfaction for Manchester United.
In LvG's post-match conference, he attributed the loss to a "very bad start" and a lack of energy & strength in the players. He (LvG) also mentioned Arsenal's aggressiveness which led to him being questioned on why Morgan Schneiderlin didn't start.
This'd be a good lesson for LvG because: last season, at the Emirages, United started sluggishly and Arsenal were unlucky to score through a bad finishing and heroics from De Gea. Manchester United's fans and players should emerge stronger from this defeat as they prepare to face Everton at Goodison Park with the sole aim of claiming 3 points.
We should support United and the manager in such trying times. Win or lose, we love Manchester United.
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