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Arsenal defeated Manchester United 2-0 in a crucial Premier League match at the Emirates Stadium yesterday. Arsenal have now moved into the 4th position with 60 points from 30 matches, while United have slipped down to 5th with 58 points from the same number of matches.
It was only United’s 2nd defeat in 18 matches under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, as Arsenal continued their impressive home form. They have now defeated United, Chelsea and Tottenham in their home ground in the Premier League.
Granit Xhaka put Arsenal ahead with a good striker in the 12th minute, while Pierre-Emerick Aubemeyang converted a penalty in the second half to win the match for Arsenal. The Gunners put in an impressive display, while United were below par and most of their players looked a bit jaded.
We would now take a look at the 3 crucial factors that contributed towards Arsenal's win.
#1 Arsenal's slick and quick passing football troubled United in the first half
Arsenal were the better team for the first 20-25 minutes of the match, as their midfield comprising of Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey did not look devoid of creative ideas. They played some quick passes in the midfield and cut through United’s defence repeatedly with their slick football.
Arsenal started with a 3-5-2 formation with Aubemeyang and Alexandre Lacazette as their tow forwards. Xhaka played as the defensive midfielder, and Laurent Koscielny, Sokratis and Nacho Monreal played as their three central defenders. Playing with three center-backs have enabled them to be solid while defending inside their own penalty box in the last few matches, and yesterday was no exception.
However, their goals did not come through a well-orchestrated move, and resulted from an error in judgment from the United goalkeeper rather. Xhaka got the ball just outside the United penalty box and took a shot at their goal. The ball swung away from David De Gea, United’s goalkeeper, and found its way into their net. De Gea could not anticipate its movement and looked on helplessly as Arsenal took the lead.
It was Xhaka’s 11th goal in 125 matches for Arsenal. The goal boosted Arsenal’s morale, and they continued to dominate United for the next 10 minutes or so.
#2 United lacked width through the left flank and struggled to make adjustments
United started with Paul Pogba in the left wing, Marcus Rashford as the center-forward and Romelu Lukaku as the right-winger in a 4-3-3 formation. Fred and Diego Dalot started as the two central midfielders, and Nemanja Matic made a comeback to the side from an injury.
However, it did not seem to work for United, as they were lacking width through the left flank. Pogba is far more comfortable while playing in a central position, and had difficulties in adjusting with his new responsibility.
Therefore, Solskjaer made some adjustments well into the first half by putting Rashford in the left wing, shifting Lukaku to the centre-forward’s role, and pushing Dalot ahead to the right wing. Luke Shaw kept making some overlapping runs through the left flank to provide the much-needed width.
Pogba was shifted to the central midfield and looked far more comfortable there. He also started to exert his influence on the game gradually and played some good balls to the forwards. Lukaku came very close to scoring and hit the crossbar once.
On another occasion, Arsenal’s goalie Bernd Leno made a brilliant save off him from a close range. United looked a much better team in the last 20 minutes of the first half after having made the necessary changes in their formation. Still, their efforts were not enough to find the elusive equalizer.
#3 United conceded a soft penalty and did not have enough attacking players on the bench
Just as United continued trying hard for an equalizer in the second half, they ended up conceding a soft penalty in the 68th minute. Fred tipped Lacazette from behind inside United’s penalty box, and the referee pointed to the spot.
It was an unnecessary and clumsy challenge, as Lacazette was not even in a goal-scoring position. Aubameyang made no mistake in scoring his 20th goals of the season from the penalty spot. That goal destroyed United’s morale, and they gave up all hopes of staging a comeback.
Ashley Young and Matic some good long balls to the forwards, but the latter could not put them to good use. Rashford and Dalot were very ordinary last night, and the latter had to be replaced by Anthony Martial in the second half. However, Martial did not seem to be fully fit, and could make no significant contribution.
Several United players were out with injuries, and Solskjaer did not have any experienced forward left in the bench to replace Rashford. Young Mason Greenwood had to be introduced in the 80th minute, as Matic was taken off. However, United midfielders kept playing a lot of miss-timed passes and conceding possession easily, as heavy rain kept lashing the pitch of the Emirates stadium.
It was only a matter of time before the final whistle was blown, and Arsenal collected 3 valuable points.
