Arsenal went down 3-2 to United on a cold and ultimately deeply frustrating Manchester night. The game threatened to be forever known for the extraordinary opening goal scored by Emile Smith Rowe after David De Gea had collapsed in the goalmouth. Deficiencies all over the pitch ensured that wasn\u2019t the case despite some promising and silky football from Arsenal at times and some good individual performances. That many of those performances were from our defenders and yet we conceded three goals suggests the structure of the side needs tweaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tonight the team selection was a surprise. Tavares continued to keep out Tierney, Elneny (amazingly) was picked ahead of Sambi Lokonga and AMN, and Martinelli replaced Saka who was deemed fit enough to take his place on the bench.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This game usually attracts controversy and is rarely dull. Tonight was no exception. Arsenal began it well, forcing three corners in the first ninety seconds and passing the ball crisply between the back and midfield. The lack of a better focal point than Auba always strikes me when we knock the ball long in the air. He rarely wins those duels but one could not fault his workrate or Martinelli\u2019s eagerness. The young Brazilian looked full of pace and intent and was having a good battle with Telles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arsenal were pressing effectively and depriving United of good possession and the game was progressing well. All the activity was a preamble to an extraordinary moment in the 13th minute when a United corner was cleared after Fred had trodden on De Gea and as he lay prone in the goalmouth Smith Rowe collected the ball and whipped it left-footed inside the near post. North London pessimists which included me suspected Martin Atkinson, no friend to us, would disallow the goal but as the cameras dissected the incident it became clear that there was absolutely no reason to rule it out. In Ferguson\u2019s day it would never have counted but Michael CarSick doesn\u2019t intimidate referees like Old Purple Nose and (I\u2019m sure reluctantly) the goal was allowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
United 0 Arsenal 1 (Smith Rowe) 13<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n United tried to respond forcing Ramsdale to a couple of comfortable saves and Ronaldo almost connected with White\u2019s head and the ball simultaneously as he tried a flashy overhead kick . Arsenal were careless in midfield particularly Partey but a fine pass by \u00d8degaard almost set up Martinelli who finished poorly. Arsenal sat deeper and were troubled by Sancho on the left although Tomayisu was playing very effectively and White was occasionally distributing the ball quite brilliantly. Just before half time Sancho\u2019s switch to Fred who transferred it to Fernandes gave the Portuguese midfielder the chance to slip the ball past Ramsdale who got a touch but couldn\u2019t prevent the goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n United 1 (Fernandes) Arsenal 1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It was a goal that might have satisfied the United-loving majority but Arsenal could feel at half-time that the Mancs could have been in the lead without the bizarre circumstances of Arsenal’s opener.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Half-time United 1 Arsenal 1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The second half began with a spectacular save by De Gea from Gabriel from a corner but United took the lead after 52 minutes when Dalot drove forward intelligently and picked out Ronaldo who turned the ball in from near the centre spot. We were opened up easily and needed a quick response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n United 2 (Ronaldo) Arsenal 1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We provided one immediately. The lively Martinelli cut the ball back to \u00d8degaard who swept it in with his fight foot. De Gea looked slow to respond to the shot to this observer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n United 2 Arsenal 2 (\u00d8degaard)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Battle was joined and we saw an end to end game. Aubameyang fired in a fierce shot from the inside right channel which De Gea blocked but then the game turned again and \u00d8degaard who had emerged as a potential saviour blotted his copybook with a poorly judged challenge on Fred and for the umpteenth time United had a penalty against us at the Stretford End. Ronaldo drove it down the middle as Ramsdale dived left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n United 3 (Ronaldo pen) Arsenal 2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We created a number of chances in the last twenty minutes. Two fell to Aubameyang who confirmed the growing suspicion that he is something of a spent force. Saka replaced Smith Rowe, Lacazette and Nketiah came on for \u00d8degaard and Aubameyang who despite being captain and ostensibly the leader of our attack was not deemed capable of leading the recovery. It seems unlikely that he will start at Everton on Monday. Saka produced two efforts both blocked and I felt he was playing too wide to really hurt United. Martinelli was always lively and enterprising particularly after moving to the left. Tavares was tireless and willing but despite decent possession our midfield two were ineffectual and unreliable going forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And so we subsided to a defeat which felt unnecessary and avoidable but which occurred because we were unable to control the game, could not prevent the counter attack and gave away a stupid penalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Full time – United 3 Arsenal 2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It is worth reflecting that Atkinson seemed reluctant to give our first goal and didn\u2019t award a clear penalty. He is a poor referee despite his status in the refereeing hierarchy. This may say more about the quality of our \u2018top\u2019 referees but every time I see him officiate I\u2019m profoundly unimpressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Disappointment is the overriding emotion after that match despite several causes for encouragement. Most of the defenders were effective. White produces superb distribution, Gabriel is solid and reliable and though Tavares lacks the defensive nous of Tierney both full backs had decent games against a team strong on the flanks. Upfront Martinelli showed several flashes of quality and Smith Rowe was always dangerous and willing although he understandably tired. But for these positives there are big negatives. Partey showed yet again he is nowhere near the midfield colossus we hoped we had purchased. No one expected Elneny to make much impact and he did little to surprise us. Upfront Aubameyang is profoundly out of form and doesn\u2019t currently merit a starting place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As sides develop it is often a case of two steps forward or one back (or vice versa). We must be patient. Top clubs are not built in a day and this team has a chance of finishing fourth at best but is more likely to finish sixth or seventh. That is unless we can recruit in key positions in the January window. Given what we need to really compete that is a challenging task.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Arsenal went down 3-2 to United on a cold and ultimately deeply frustrating Manchester night. The game threatened to be forever known for the extraordinary opening goal scored by Emile Smith Rowe after David De Gea had collapsed in the goalmouth. Deficiencies all over the pitch ensured that wasn\u2019t the case despite some promising and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4305"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4305"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4316,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4305\/revisions\/4316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}