Arsenal beat Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford to return to the top of the Premier League, with just one game remaining for Mikel Arteta’s side this season.
Leandro Trossard scored the most important goal from close range following a pass from Kai Havertz. It now means the title race will go down to the final day with Manchester City – who are one point behind Arsenal on 85 – playing their game in hand against Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday.
United, meanwhile, are eighth with 54 points, three points behind Chelsea and Newcastle United, with two matches remaining.
Carl Anka, James McNicholas and Liam Tharme break down the game’s main talking points…
Trossard arrives when it counts… again
Neither Gabriel Jesus nor Gabriel Martinelli have been as effective in front of goal as expected this season, with just 10 league goals between them. Fortunately, someone else intervened: Trossard. He scored the match opener for his 12th Premier League goal this season – his 17th in all competitions.
His form saw him displace Martinelli as first choice on the left wing, and he justified Arteta’s faith at Old Trafford with another critical contribution. Trossard is arguably the most natural finisher in the Arsenal team and has a habit of delivering big moments even when he appears to be on the periphery of the game.
Generally, Trossard’s goal bodes well for Arsenal. Prior to this match, Arsenal had won their last nine Premier League games when the Belgian scored and were unbeaten in the last twelve games in which he found the net.
James McNicholas
It’s been a week to forget for Casemiro. The 32-year-old was beaten and bullied by Crystal Palace players during Monday’s 4-0 defeat before being left out of Brazil’s squad for the 2024 Copa America on Friday.
The imperious former defensive midfielder has struggled for United all season as injuries, tactical adjustments and other quirks have left him a shadow of his former self.
This is not the Casemiro who was a controlled frenzy of a man, patrolling Real Madrid’s midfield on his way to winning five Champions League titles. This is not the man who dismissed Marcel Sabitzer in February 2023, knowing that few Premier League strikers could beat him.
This season’s Casemiro took time to recognize the dangers of football And naive in reacting to it. Arsenal’s 20th-minute opener saw Casemiro – again moonlighting at centre-back – hanging around near the byline when Andre Onana attempted a short goal kick.
Arsenal’s aggressive counter-pressing quickly won the ball back, but Casemiro had barely passed the edge of the Onana penalty area by the time Havertz entered space on the right.
Instead of sprinting at full speed to reach his teammates and possibly set an offside trap, Casemiro moved without urgency.
Havertz’s pass found Trossard at the near post and Arsenal found themselves a goal ahead. The (reasonably) good work United had done up to that point had expired. As Gary Neville said in commentary for Sky Sports: “This is a fundamental mistake. You have to get up faster and he leaves. There is no excuse for this.
What Erik ten Hag’s team gained from Casemiro’s long through ball (he almost served Rasmus Hojlund with an overhand pass in the first 10 minutes of the match) was offset by everything else .
Casemiro is not a centre-back – and he, or anyone associated with United, would not have started the season expecting him to play there in an injury emergency. However, at a time when Ten Hag needs big performances from its most experienced players, Casemiro continues to make juvenile mistakes.
Carl Anka
Saliba and that tackle
What is the biggest difference between Arsenal this time last year and Arsenal today?
There are a few possible answers: Declan Rice, a growing sense of maturity, going blow for blow with City rather than maintaining a lead. But most important of all might be the availability of William Saliba.
Saliba was imperious for Arsenal (Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
The centre-back’s value to Arsenal was demonstrated in the second half when he executed a sublime tackle on Alejandro Garnacho. As the Argentina international headed towards him, Saliba reversed course before intervening with perfect timing. If a tackle can be something beautiful, then surely this was it.
Last season, Arsenal lacked composure. Saliba embodies it. In a game in which Arsenal were far from their best, they could always count on the 23-year-old to keep United at arm’s length.
James McNicholas
An arsenal of options
“We know the difficulty and the history,” Arteta said before the match, of a ground where Arsenal had won just four times in 31 Premier League visits.
Whether it was an injured United side or not, it was a professional performance compared to the way they came unstuck and faded against Bayern Munich and Porto in the Champions League. Arsenal started the match sitting back, forcing United to try to play through the compact midblock and then strike with the punch goal.
There were some heroics in the Arsenal box – notably Saliba’s tackle (as described above) – but it took United more than 67 minutes to register a shot on target.
Arsenal showed their different faces throughout, pushing United back early in the second half with possession, counter-pressing aggressively to win it back as quickly as they lost it. There was also a clever build-up using Havertz as a false nine and wingers running inside him, and the other end of the tactical spectrum with wingers defending deep in a back six.
GO FURTHER
Arsenal’s rest defense is the most underrated weapon in the title race
Never mind just a second win at Old Trafford in the Premier League since 2007, Arsenal have achieved 42 points, 13 wins, 11 clean sheets and just 13 goals conceded in Premier League away games in 2023-24 – their best season on the road since 2003-04 Invincibles…
Liam Tharme
Crumbs of comfort for United?
In recent weeks, Ten Hag has struggled to express the impact of injuries on United’s season. The Dutchman had ambitions to make United a transitional team, but a litany of ailments prevented him from fielding his best XI for large parts of the season.
At the start of the match, Ten Hag had gone through 14 different central defender combinations this season. Arsenal, for comparison, had used three.
United are an underconfident team and lacking familiar passing rhythms – as seen in a second half which saw several misplaced passes from United players in the final third, with individuals unsure where where to go and what to do in the rare moments when they had possession. in dangerous areas.
If there are any crumbs of comfort left, they will likely be in the balance of United’s midfield.
Sofyan Amrabat was given a rare start in central midfield and was tasked with winning the ball from United’s central defenders in the build-up. The Moroccan also sat next to Kobbie Mainoo when the team did not have the ball, creating a simple but not always visible screen in front of the front four.
United were not the inconsistent and often inconsistent pressers they have been in the past against Arsenal, instead remaining in a more compact 4-4-2 shape than usual when their opponents looked to recycle possession.
Amad – who had to be substituted in the 70th minute due to what appeared to be an impact injury – looked dangerous in spots when progressing the ball into attacking areas. It may have been his first Premier League start, but he has made a case for getting more game time soon (health permitting).
Carl Anka
What did the leaders say?
We’ll bring you this after Ten Hag and Arteta speak at their post-match press conference.
What future for Arsenal? (…support the Spurs?)
Sunday May 19: Everton (M), Premier League, 4 p.m. UK, 11 a.m. ET
After Manchester City fans watched this match hoping for a United victory, Arsenal fans face the unedifying prospect of having to support Spurs when they host City on Tuesday night. Arsenal know that if they want to win this title, they need a favor from elsewhere.
Arteta’s side next face Everton at the Emirates, to whom they have only lost twice at home in the Premier League (31 matches), winning 24 and drawing five.
What future for Manchester United?
Wednesday May 15: Newcastle United (H), Premier League, 8 p.m. UK, 3 p.m. ET
While Newcastle have only had one league victory at Old Trafford since 1972, the story belongs to Manchester United. Yet Eddie Howe’s depleted Newcastle beat United 3-0 in the Carabao Cup in November.
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(Top photo: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
News Source : theathletic.com
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