Introduction
Manchester United always cause troubles for the teams competing for the league title against the odds. It was the game between the second and 14th in the league and it unfolded as expected, with Arsenal in control. However, it was Man United who broke the deadlock thanks to Bruno’s stunning direct free kick. In the second half, Arsenal shifted their attacking approach and became more direct towards the goal in the final third, which finally paid off as Rice scored off the far post. Nothing happened after that and the points were shared, but it seemed more disappointing for Arsenal as the gap between Liverpool extended to 15 points with a game in hand.
In this article, the game between Man United and Arsenal is going to be analysed in detail but before moving on, here’s the lineup for the game.
Arsenal dominate & United retreat
From the first minute of the game, what to expect in the game was clear, Arsenal in control of the possession and United in the 5-4-1 defensive block. In the first possession in the game, when Saliba played back to Raya, United stepped up as a team and tried to press high, but it was played through easily thanks to Ødegaard crossing the lanes to create an overload. This forced United to drop back to reorganise themselves in the midfield.
When United tried to press high, although it didn’t happen a lot, Ødegaard often provided an extra option for Raya or centre backs with the licence to leave his original position to break the opposition pressing and progress the ball forwards. This was the base of their dominance in possession.
In the final third, Ødegaard was the key player again as Arsenal tended to attack from the right side. Ødegaard, Timber, Merino or even Rice created an overload in the right side, and they often let Nwaneri take on Dalot. However, Nwaneri couldn’t beat Dalot even once with three attempts. Dribbling past the defender is not the only option and Arsenal tried to penetrate into the box with runs in behind.
This illustration above replicates the situation when Arsenal were about to break down the United’s defence in the third minutes of the game. Initially, Nwaneri took on Dalot but he chose to play back, and they combined well to find Ødegaard and Merino in between the lines, then Merino chipped the ball to find Rice who made a run into the right side of the box. From Nwaneri’s pass to Rice’s movement, Arsenal used six players to break down the United’s left side.
However, throughout the first half, United successfully kept the compact block by setting the back line as high as possible to get out the 18-yard box and close the space in between the lines. Against this, Arsenal attempted to exploit the space in behind with the runs in behind like Rice, which is shown in the illustration above, and Nwaneri and Timber also made similar runs in behind. Ødegaard tried to find them with chipped or through ball, but none of them were good enough to give the teammates running in behind opportunities to score.
United struggle to play out
On the other hand, United also tried to play out from the back a few times, but they struggled in most opportunities. When Onana possessed the ball, Lindelöf was positioned in the middle like a single pivot while the other two centre backs stayed deeper next to Onana. Arsenal tweaked the shape into the 4-4-2 with Ødegaard stepping up when pressing high. In the first opportunity when United tried to play out from the back in the third minutes, Arsenal forced United to play outside very well and were about to win the ball in the opposition box.
Merino guided Onana to play to Yoro while Ødegaard was positioned in between Lindelöf and Yoro, and as soon as the ball is played to Yoro, Ødegaard closed down him quickly. Lindelöf received the ball, but Merino and even Rice pressed him, and he was only able to play Dalot on the touchline. He was closed down by Nwaneri quickly and his pass was blocked by him, which dropped in the box and recovered by Onana.
Then, United tried to build up again and this time, it succeeded. They circulated the ball from right to left and found Dalot in the opposite flank.
The difference is Nwaneri jumped to Yoro, leaving Dalot free. In the first example, Arsenal’s front two effectively managed the back three and goalkeeper, but this time, the right winger stepped up. This means Arsenal utilised one more player to press on the opposition back three and goalkeeper, so there were one fewer player in another area. Additionally, Timber tried to follow Dalot dropping back, but Eriksen made a run in behind, so he was required to stay at the back.
It was a rare moment when United successfully progressed the ball from the back. In the 20th minutes, Arsenal could win the ball back from the similar situation.
As soon as Nwaneri jumped to Yoro, this time, Timber communicated with Saliba and closed down Dalot. Instead of Timber, Saliba picked up Eriksen and Gabriel won the ball from Dalot to regain the possession. If Zirkzee won the duel against Gabriel there, it would have been an opportunity to exploit the space in behind. However, as Højlund was on the bench, there were no target players up front to beat the Arsenal’s man-oriented high pressing. The importance of target players against man-marking pressing was discussed in the article below, in case you want to know more.
United struggled with lacking a target player up front when playing long, but Mazraoui stepped up.
In the 45th minutes, Onana played long and he won the aerial duel against Calafiori, and Garnacho regained the ball back from Trossard who initially touched the second ball first. Then, he got fouled around the D and Fernandes scored that free kick.
Different approach from Arsenal & United increased threat
In the second half, Arsenal needed some changes to score goals. They lacked quality and accuracy of the last passes into the box in the first half. They tried to break down the compact defensive block by combination with an overload in the right side. However, they became more direct towards the goal with more crosses and more shots from distance.
In the 50th minutes, they earned a corner kick by delivering a cross from outside the box. Then, they played a short corner to let Ødegaard take a shot from the edge of the box, which was saved by Onana, resulting in another corner kick. Once again, they performed a well-designed routine, which was Rice’s volley from Ødegaard’s straight delivery. These consecutive actions show how they changed their approach and it paid off by Rice’s goal.
On the other hand, United had more chances in the second half. In 54th minutes, from a throw-in, Zirkzee held up play and passed the ball in behind, and Dalot overlapped Zirkzee, received the ball and delivered a cross to find Mazraoui whose shot was saved by Raya’s leg.
It was already discussed that the lack of target players who can hold up, but this time Zirkzee did it and generated a goal-scoring opportunity.
And in the 59th minutes, from the second ball situation after Onana played long, Garnacho took on Lewis-Skelly who just came on the pitch to replace Calafiori and delivered a cross which Zirkzee tried to flick with his back heel.
Both teams tried to increase the tempo of the game as the number of passes combined decreased from 508 in the first half to 354 in the second half, which means they had less intention to keep passing in the second half. Additionally, United and Arsenal delivered three and 11 crosses respectively in the first half, but it increased to eight and 16. This state of the game is favourable for United more than Arsenal because United prefer to making the most of individual quality up front. To do this, they need space to attack with a few players and to create space, they need to increase the tempo of the game. It is fair enough to say that Raya saved Arsenal. The expected goals of United and Arsenal in the first half were 0.10 and 0.61 respectively, but United generated 1.42, which is greater than Arsenal’s 1.01 in the second half.
Arsenal needed to be more clinical in the final third and able to control the game. United did well to defend in a compact shape and score with a few chances. Especially, they achieved it in the first half, and they created more chances in the second half, which should’ve been converted into goals.
