Match report – Participant rankings – Arteta response – Video
You possibly can think about the Manchester United dressing room earlier than the sport when the team-sheets dropped. No Gabriel. No Riccardo Calafiori. They should have felt good about that. The absence of the Brazilian specifically would have given them some hope that they may negate Arsenal’s energy from corners.
What they didn’t realise although was that we’re like a set-piece Hydra: reduce off one head, and two extra develop again. Metaphorically talking, in fact, but it surely additionally feels fairly literal as a result of at occasions in that second half it should have felt like we had extra heads than them. That is the evaluation that retains folks coming again.
It’s honest to say that the primary half was fairly dismal from a efficiency perspective, and as a spectacle. United had been nicely organised, saved the sport slender so we couldn’t get the ball vast to our wingers and stretch the play, and our greatest probabilities got here from corners. From one Thomas Partey headed vast with the aim at his mercy, whereas after one other the ball fell to Gabriel Martinelli who hooked a shot vast after an Oleksandr Zinchenko effort had been blocked.
On the different finish, the one second of actual hazard got here when Jakub Kiwior’s clearance fell for Diogo Dalot who fizzed a shot not too vast of David Raya’s far publish. After the away performances in Lisbon and at West Ham, this was actually nicely beneath par from the collective – though there was rather a lot to love about what William Saliba was doing, defensively and in possession.
There should have been a dialog within the dressing room on the break, as a result of instantly we seemed higher because the second half started. Gabriel Martinelli had a chance however took his shot too early (we did get a nook although), and Declan Rice noticed a shot deflected over from which we additionally received a nook. It didn’t take lengthy for the primary aim of the sport to reach.
A nook from the left (gained by Martinelli off de Ligt), delivered completely by Rice, noticed Jurrien Timber flick residence a header for his first aim for the membership. I loved the aim, I loved the micro-analysis of whether or not Timber had made a foul within the build-up, I loved the the crestfallen seems on the faces of the Manchester United gamers. The realisation that even with out Gabriel, Arsenal can menace and torment you from nook kicks. And I actually suppose that created a chink of their armour that we seemed to chip away at repeatedly and once more.
It wasn’t simply set-pieces although. Mixture play from Saka and Odegaard noticed the previous’s shot nicely saved at his close to publish by Onana, though the following second of actual hazard got here when a United participant headed the a Rice nook in the direction of his personal far publish, just for one his teammates to bail him out and head it off the road. On the different finish, a Matthijs de Ligt header was brilliantly saved by David Raya after Zinchenko gave away a very pointless free kick simply outdoors the field after dropping it carelessly from our personal throw in. He ought to be sending the Spaniard a gift-basket right this moment, as a result of if that had gone in, he’d have been very a lot underneath the highlight.
The supervisor made a few adjustments, with Zinchenko and Martinelli coming off for Mikel Merino and Leandro Trossard. The corners saved coming. The group received into it, and United had been underneath the cosh. Marcus Rashford conceded one he shouldn’t have, Saka whipped it throughout, Partey headed again into the mixer, and whereas the large Frenchman didn’t know a lot about it, the ball rebounded off Saliba’s arse and into the again of the web for 2-0. Greater than anybody he deserved a aim, he was so good final evening in each side of his sport, so for him to seal the sport felt proper.
Merino may have made it 3-0, heading simply vast. Extra corners. Extra noises of anticipation from the house followers. Extra jitters within the United field. Onana doing in addition to he may however the high quality of the deliveries – significantly from Rice – should have made him really feel like he’d quite have been wherever else. I favored Rice’s post-game feedback about corners and the risk we pose from them:
It’s important to imagine in your course of. We imagine in our course of, , we preserve at it on a regular basis. We by no means get bored. Once you go up for a nook, there’s an opportunity to attain a aim. It’s not an opportunity to chill out and chill.
I believed that was attention-grabbing. The mindset that it’s a chance appears apparent to me, however possibly that’s not at all times how corners have been considered by gamers and managers down the years. Definitely now no person can ignore the truth that being this good at one particular side of the sport could be vastly helpful. I’m not going to say et that set-pieces have been considered because the poor relation of well-worked staff objectives, however there was an affiliation with groups who can’t do the previous so that they focus on the latter. Possibly it’s not fairly the identical as Arsene Wenger discovering a bonus in one thing so simple as weight-reduction plan and diet again within the day, however I don’t suppose any Premier League staff as of late can afford to simply wing it from corners and set-pieces. Arsenal have demonstrated you could be good at soccer typically, whereas concentrating on this side of the sport too.
As Arteta stated afterwards:
We have to have a look at each angle: what the [opposition] do, the place they are often weak, and the place we are able to exploit the weak point of the opposition. Each single part of play, simply maximise it and preserve engaged on it, preserve enhancing.
However it’s not nearly set-pieces:
We need to create particular person moments, magic moments, numerous gamers can create their very own objectives. We will create objectives on brief counters, lengthy counters, in opposition to gradual build-ups, when we’ve to have restarts and the chance to open the opposition. Each single part of play, simply maximise it and preserve engaged on it, preserve enhancing.
Possibly some folks will pour scorn on the actual fact we gained a sport with two objectives from corners, as if these objectives are by some means value much less. Ask any United fan this morning although: would they quite rating two set-pieces and win, or lose 2-0, and each single one in all them will go along with that first choice. It’s an enormous credit score to Arteta, to Nicolas Jover in his function as set-piece coach, and these gamers that we’re so persistently efficient from a part of the sport that has been typically missed by many managers for years and years.
At 2-0 that was that. There have been extra corners. It was most likely instructive that at one level earlier than Saka or Rice delivered, Ruben Amorim sat ashen-faced on the United bench, virtually unable to observe. As if he was experiencing the ultimate kick of a penalty shoot-out quite than one thing as mundane as an Arsenal nook, however that tells you a lot about what we are able to do, and what he must do along with his personal staff.
So, that makes it 4 wins from 4 for the reason that final Interlull, and it was a vastly essential three factors as nicely as a result of a late aim at St James’ Park noticed Newcastle maintain Liverpool to a 3-3 draw. Simply a few factors dropped, but it surely was completely important we took benefit of that. Consideration now to turns to the weekend, and Sunday’s go to to Fulham, however for now, we are able to take pleasure in a very good win over conventional rivals and the actual fact the hole to the highest has closed just a bit.
For extra on this sport, we’ll have an Arsecast for you a bit later this morning, so please be a part of us for that. Within the meantime, have a very good one and revel in Wrighty’s pleasure and Gary Neville’s face.
The dichotomy (trichotomy???) of man #arsenal
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