Arsenal’s 100% start to the season was broken in GW6 as Manchester United beat the Gunners 3-1 at Old Trafford. Despite the result, the Gunners still stay top of the league, with Man City only managing a point against struggling Aston Villa in the same round of fixtures.
While the scoreline might not say so, Arsenal dominated large periods of the game and with a little bit of luck, could’ve easily run out winners on another day- 1947 was the last time they started the league with six wins in succession. While the result might have been disappointing, Mikel Arteta need not feel very disheartened by the result- each of United’s three goals were fantastic examples of counter attacking football, and the genius of Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes in those moves would’ve probably cut every other league side to shreds as well.
United boss Erik Ten Hag made only one change to his side, with new signing Antony making his league debut for the Red Devils on the right wing, with Anthony Elanga dropping to the bench to accommodate the Brazilian. The rest of the team was unchanged from the side that had done the business against Liverpool, Southampton and Leicester, with Ten Hag choosing to keep both Casemiro and Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench.
There was a solitary change for Arsenal as well, with left back Oleksandr Zinchenko returning from injury to take his spot in the starting XI ahead of Kieran Tierney. There had been doubts over the fitness of goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale and skipper Martin Odegaard, but both were named by Arteta to start at Old Trafford.
The first 10 odd minutes were all United, with Antony even delighting the Old Trafford with a lovely back flick to Diogo Dalot, whose cross was however volleyed wide by Eriksen. Seconds later, at the other end, William Saliba had a chance of his own, but the defender was unable to replicate his heroics from the Bournemouth game, and shanked his effort wide.
Arsenal had the ball in the back of the net soon after through Gabriel Martinelli, but VAR, somewhat controversially, disallowed the goal for a foul on Eriksen by Odegaard in the buildup. Most pundits were of the opinion that Arsenal were hard done by, and that the foul didn’t constitute a clear and obvious error from referee Paul Tierney, who had been some 10 yards away from the area when the foul took place, and had allowed play to continue.
The visitors dominated the first half afterwards, and it was again Martinelli who came closest to scoring- his header was brilliantly parried away by De Gea. United then scored completely against the run of play, with Christian Eriksen’s pass slicing Arsenal apart, and the ball eventually found its way to Antony, who kept his cool and produced a lovely left footed effort past Ramsdale. It was also the first time that Arsenal had conceded in the first half of a league game this season, and they went into the break trailing 1-0.
Six minutes after the interval, a rare error from Lisandro Martinez allowed Gabriel Jesus to square the ball to a free Odegaard in the box, but the Norwegian uncharacteristically dragged his effort wide. Ten Hag brought on Ronaldo for Antony in order to break Arsenal’s dominance, but the Gunners did find a way through on the hour mark through Bukayo Saka, with the youngster scoring on his 21st birthday. United were left exposed at the back after Raphael Varane had coughed up possession in the centre of the park and Arsenal pounced to pick up a well-deserved equaliser.
United restored their lead six minutes later, and it again came against the run of play. Eriksen was again instrumental, and the final pass from Fernandes to set up Marcus Rashford was an absolute corker. Despite the best efforts of a despairing Ben White, Rashford was able to find the back of the net, and Arsenal were stunned. At the time of this goal, Arsenal had almost 80% of possession in the second half, but it was United who had their noses in front.
Both those goals exposed the visitors’ vulnerability in the centre of the park. With Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny both injured, Gunners fans had been hoping for a deadline day signing or two to bolster their midfield reserves, with Youri Tielemans widely quoted by papers as a target. However, no transfer materialised, and Arteta has been forced to play youngster Albert Sambi Lokonga in midfield alongside veteran Granit Xhaka in recent games.
Former Gunners boss Arsene Wenger, who brought Arteta to the club, is widely regarded as one of those who had the qualities to do very well in the world of gambling. Despite Arsenal’s mounting injury worries in midfield, Arteta, like his predecessor, has let very little show on his face, even if he might be internally worried about the situation. The season is long- fans have their doubts about the Lokonga Xhaka combo given that tougher fixtures are yet to come and that European games will make the calendar even more crowded. Emile Smith Rowe came off the bench here, but was injured afterwards. Fabio Vieira, signed from Porto back in June, has struggled with a foot injury in pre-season, and only made his Gunners debut here against United as a second half substitute.
Some have even suggested moving Ben White into the centre of the park might be a solution- his former boss Marcelo Bielsa certainly thought he had the ability to be a long term solution there. White was originally signed as a CB, but has been playing at RB in recent games with Saliba and Gabriel playing in the heart of defence. There is also a possibility of White returning to CB once Tomiyasu is fully fit.
The third United goal was also down to the genius of Fernandes, with Arsenal guilty of maintaining a high line. Eriksen timed his run perfectly to receive Fernandes’ ball and then squared the ball to an unmarked Rashford, who duly slotted home for his second of the evening.
The stats show Arsenal’s dominance of the game, even if they might not have any points to show for it. Gabriel Jesus and Martinelli were both very good, and the Gunners’ fine start to the campaign means they stay ahead of City and Spurs despite the latter two not having lost in the league so far.