Arsenal’s 1-0 win at Manchester United on Sunday could not have been probably the most thrilling match however so far as much-anticipated matches go, the opening weekend fixture at Previous Trafford supplied loads of meals for thought for 2 groups chasing upward mobility.
The Gunners could have pulled from a well-known playbook with Riccardo Calafiori’s set-piece objective however there was a newness to every crew on Sunday, each when it comes to concepts and personnel. Either side began a pair of high-profile recent faces, United going with Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha, Arsenal lining up with Martin Zubimendi and Viktor Gyokeres, whereas some new tactical concepts additionally took middle stage at Previous Trafford. Arsenal could have left Manchester with all three factors, however United confirmed a composure that was not often obvious final season, providing indicators of encouragement at this early stage of the season.
That mentioned, Sunday’s match was maybe extra notable as a novel showcase for each groups’ imperfections. Maybe the gamers are nonetheless shaking off the rust of preseason however neither aspect gave the impression to be at their greatest, particularly in assault. The glass-half-full look is that Sunday’s match is a crucial indication of the place room for enchancment lies, and that the problems are fixable over the course of a protracted season.
Listed here are three takeaways from Arsenal’s win at United on Sunday.
United present indicators of progress
It took United nearly no time to ascertain the holding sample of the match, one during which they dominated possession and did properly with their build-up play, doing what they may to generate high quality goalscoring alternatives alongside the way in which. Arsenal’s thirteenth minute objective did what it might to disrupt the Pink Devils’ early momentum however that rhythm was restored properly earlier than halftime and have become the defining facet of the match. They might not have ended the match with a objective however they’d 61.1% of possession when all was mentioned and finished, taking 22 photographs to Arsenal’s 9 and producing 1.59 anticipated objectives to the Gunners’ 1.05.
Supervisor Ruben Amorim rolled out a unique attacking method to begin his first full season on the job, opting towards beginning a pure striker however using Cunha as probably the most ahead participant and valuing play in huge positions, with Mbeumo pitching in on the precise and Patrick Dorgu enjoying extra as an out-and-out wingback on the left. It was not at all times excellent however the gamers had been efficient, Cunah and Mbeumo demonstrating a proficiency that was missing final season however exemplified the main takeaway from Sunday’s match. Enhancing the midfield was foundational to Amorim’s reinvention of the crew, as he mentioned post-match.
“We had been extra aggressive than final yr,” Amorim mentioned, per NBC Sports. “We sprinted extra. We had been extra courageous. We went one-v-one all sport. After which with the ball we had high quality. When the stadium makes some sounds, we continued the play the way in which we play. We misplaced fewer balls within the buildup in comparison with final yr. After which the small issues we discuss at first of the season — gamers like Cunha and Bryan can elevate the stadium. I believe crucial factor — we weren’t boring.”
United are nonetheless a piece in progress
Amorim was proper to single out United’s enhancements from final season however he may need gotten just a little forward of himself by claiming his aspect weren’t boring. They received sufficient proper in build-up play however had been unable to translate that into significant goalscoring alternatives, choosing a high quality over amount method. A few of that comes all the way down to the inherently uninteresting activity of enjoying towards Arsenal, a defensive juggernaut that is aware of tips on how to stifle opponents’ assaults, however there may be solely a lot leisure worth in watching a crew provide you with low-quality possibilities.
United solely put seven of their 22 photographs on track, oftentimes resigned to taking pictures from distance or robust angles. Solely 5 of their photographs had been valued at 0.1 anticipated objective or extra and the best one got here in at 0.2, when Cunha’s hit compelled a save out of David Raya within the 89th minute. New No. 9 Benjamin Sesko didn’t make a lot of an affect off the bench, both, taking simply two photographs in his 25-minute shift. The Pink Devils additionally appeared unbalanced in assault, both having too few or too many individuals in assault and failing to take benefit after making their manner into the attacking third.
What really price them, although, was a defensive mistake that was a basic reminder of final season’s chaos. Goalkeeper Altay Bayındir, who performed in Andre Onana‘s place on Sunday after he spent the majority of preseason coping with a hamstring harm, was outbodied through the nook and basically left his objective unattended. Set-piece defending has been a constant weak spot for United in recent times and is arguably an enormous motive why he’s the quickest supervisor to achieve 15 defeats within the Premier League since 2009, and demonstrates that his aspect have a number of unforced errors they should clear up.
Arsenal’s shock off day
Calafiori’s objective is straight from Arsenal’s tried-and-true playbook on set items, which afforded them their best goalscoring alternatives on Sunday. That was the place the attacking method started and ended for the Gunners, although, who had been pretty ineffective in any other case and had been on the flawed finish of some stunning statistics when all was mentioned and finished.
They had been quicker than regular however maybe traded their velocity for precision, Calafiori’s objective making up the majority of their 1.05 anticipated objectives. The Gunners’ attacking efforts actually dropped off within the second half, when they didn’t handle a single shot on track and got here up with simply 0.25 anticipated objectives from 4 photographs. Viktor Gyokeres, the No. 9 they lined up this summer time to resolve their goalscoring issues final season, didn’t register a single shot in a nondescript Premier League debut.
These weren’t the one classes during which Arsenal strung collectively a surprisingly paltry efficiency, both. The 22 photographs they conceded had been probably the most since a 2-2 draw with Manchester Metropolis in September 2022, whereas additionally they posted their lowest go completion price (76.8%) since that match. The efficiency was an outlier within the Gunners’ document in recent times, their model nearly all the way down to an actual science as of late, so it’s far too early to query their title credential but it surely was undoubtedly a bizarre outing for Arsenal.
