Match Report | Match highlights | (Some of) Wenger’s thoughts | Credits: Sport.net
This was more than we deserved… Let’s face it, Arsenal were anything but convincing. Bar that early Alexis Sanchez header after a (can you believe it) Theo Walcott flick-on, there was little that we created in the first half that gave Manchester United genuine cause for concern. Indeed, while we had greater possession in the first half, they had the better chances. In the first 45, I think we didn’t even register a shot on target.
The second half was even worse. United had possession, they had chances, and pretty soon they had the goal. Like it or not, Jose Mourinho knows exactly how to be Arsene Wenger’s Kryptonite, and if Olivier Giroud wasn’t determined enough to make the most of a half-chance, his superiority over Wenger would have been all the clearer.
The starting XI was riddled with holes… It wasn’t a secret that Carl Jenkinson would be in for a difficult day. In the absence of Hector Bellerin, his selection was more out of force than a show of faith, and everybody knew it. Even so, someone like Walcott could have should have kept our right hand channel more secure.
Although that wasn’t the weakest area of our pitch. Antonio Valencia had one of the best games of his life because Nacho Monreal let him make meals of himself. And where was Aaron Ramsey when Monreal was getting skinned alive? Positioned on the left flank – an area of the field largely unfamiliar to him – he spent most of the game running at nothing in particular and falling over after attempting to pull off the most ridiculous of roulettes. Quite how he played the entire 90 minutes was beyond me.
Granted, we made amends for our lack of preparation, but that was more of a happy accident than the result of intricate planning. We pulled it out of the fire, but we were the ones who chucked it in the fire in the first place. When will we be more proactive than reactive?
Many underperformed… Any claims that United were above their game will never sit with me. United have been far from their best in the last three or four years. They were on an embarrassing run of form, largely shorn of confidence, and this was one of the best chances we had to best them. Instead, it was not them who were better, but we who were worse.
I love Mesut Ozil, but he wasn’t close to the immaculately high standards he has set for himself. Mohammed Elneny’s passing was considerably off. Perhaps their lapses in focus is definitely forgivable, given how they have performed in recent weeks. Nevertheless, it is suspicious how otherwise reliable players of ours don’t cut the mustard in games like these. As a matter of fact, apart from Alexis, no one was really up for the seriousness of the occasion.
It’s not anything new. Time and time again, regardless of the players under him, Wenger has failed to master the psychological barriers associated to games like these. The 2-0 win against Manchester City back in 2015 gave us an oasis of hope, but it was one win too less. We are Arsenal, but when will we start living up to our name and reputation?
What next? The loss extends our dry Premier League spell at Old Trafford to ten years now. It’s a shameful record for any top team to have and we have to make sure we’re not sensitive to its negativeness, for it could wreck what we’ve built this season. Until next season, it’s something we have to learn to deal with and move on.
November hasn’t been kind to us, but it hasn’t provided a fatal blow yet. Giroud saved our blues yesterday, but we can’t bank on one-offs like that again. Instances like these (and indeed, of matches before) are symptoms of a greater warning. Starting Wednesday, we must go around curing that disease.
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Apologies for the short post, but it didn’t seem like there was anything new to talk about. Until PSG.
-Santi [Follow me on Twitter @ArsenalBlogz ]
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