Arsenal overcame Man United in a closely fought match at Old Trafford last Sunday to win 0-1 and keep their Premier League title hopes alive. Leandro Trossard’s close-range finish for the Gunners in the 20th minute was the only goal of the game.
The North Londoners regained top spot on the points table after the win, with 86 points from 37 matches. They are only one point ahead of second-placed Manchester City, who have a match in hand. The win at Old Trafford pushes the title race till the final day of the Premier League.
On the other hand, the Red Devils remain eighth in the league table with 54 points from 36 matches. Erik ten Hag’s men had the chance to move to sixth position due to an extra game in hand, but lost the advantage due to back-to-back defeats, first at Crystal Palace and now against the Gunners. Let us now take a look at three key talking points from the Man United vs Arsenal game:
1. Manchester United Conceded A Soft Goal Despite Dominating Possession
The Red Devils dominated ball-possession and ended the match with 55% of it. They also had more attempts at the Gunners’ goal than the latter had at United’s. However, they conceded a goal in quite a soft manner, as makeshift centre-back Casemiro failed to play Kai Havertz offside.
⏪ Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal.
All the highlights & all important winning goal from Leandro Trossard in a historic win at Old Trafford this evening. 🧩 pic.twitter.com/se8MM2h6BS
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) May 13, 2024
Leandro Trossard then scored from Havertz’s pass to give the visitors the decisive lead. Casemiro was once again guilty of allowing the Belgian attacker to run in unchallenged and score with a tap-in. Ten Hag’s men fought well on the day, but that goal dashed their hopes of earning a point.
2. United’s Lack Of Precision And Incisiveness Hurt Them
Man United kept playing miss-passes one after another in the Arsenal half. Moreover, their attacks were a bit too left-heavy, with Alejandro Garnacho getting involved more often than Amad Diallo, who played on the right flank. They also failed to penetrate into the box enough despite getting to the final-third frequently.
Sofyan Amrabat probably produced his best performance yet in an United shirt with a commanding display in midfield. However, a young Kobbie Mainoo often had the responsibility of playing crucial passes in the final third, as Scott McTominay hardly did any justice to No. 10 role in the absence of Bruno Fernandes. Even Garnacho was guilty of playing shots at the opposition goal when he could have played passes to his teammates instead.
3. The Red Devils Will Likely Miss European Football Next Season
Erik ten Hag’s men will probably finish no higher than their current position, which means that they might miss European football next season. Given their current form and performances, they should not be playing in the Europa League either.
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Nevertheless, it will add insult to injury if Chelsea go on to secure a spot in next season’s Europa League ahead of the Red Devils despite trailing the latter for the majority of the season. It remains to be seen whether United are able to reverse the tide in their next two matches. However, the chances of it happening are quite low at the moment.
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