Manchester United – Arsenal: Pragmatic Arsenal Secure The Win (0-1)

Arsenal were able to take the lead in the first half against a Manchester United side who struggled to pose a serious threat with the possession share they were given. Mikel Arteta’s side were content to defend relatively deep for much of the game, and ultimately remained solid to secure the three points.

Tactical analysis and match report by Josh Manley.

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Manchester United hosted Arsenal at Old Trafford as a disastrous season for Erik ten Hag nears its end. Questions over the United manager’s future have begun to swirl, especially after the 4-0 humiliation against an in-form Crystal Palace side last time out.

Ten Hag lined his side up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Casemiro, Jonny Evans, and Diogo Dalot at the back. In midfield, Scott McTominay played in advance of Sofyan Amrabat and Kobbie Mainoo, while the frontline consisted of Amad Diallo, Rasmus Højlund, and Alejandro Garnacho.

Arsenal meanwhile came into this game with rather more purpose, looking to keep up the pressure on Manchester City by going top with a win, albeit with an extra game played. Mikel Arteta’s side lined up in a 4-2-3-1 system, with Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães, and Takehiro Tomiyasu in the back four. Thomas Partey was alongside Declan Rice in the double-pivot, while Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard started wide. Martin Ødegaard then supported Kai Havertz up front.

Arsenal take the lead

The decisive goal in this game arrived after twenty minutes, when Havertz was able to assist Trossard. The German had been played onside by some poor positioning from Casemiro, who was slow to push up in line with the rest of his defense.

When Arsenal had the ball they often had White remaining deeper in buildup alongside the center-backs, while Tomiyasu would push into midfield from the left back position. These forays into midfield from Tomiyasu did not only include joining Partey in the double pivot, although this was common when Rice pushed further forward.

Tomiyasu and Rice both made forays through the left halfspace.

There were some occasions, however, when Rice would stay deeper alongside Partey, and Tomiyasu would make runs beyond him in the left halfspace. Since United’s marking is mostly man-oriented, this was an interesting scheme to exploit spaces in their shape. United were a bit better at maintaining compactness than they have shown in certain games in the past, however.

Amrabat was mostly responsible for marking Ødegaard, who naturally played more towards Arsenal’s right halfspace. With McTominay and Mainoo often pushing up onto Partey and Rice, this left United’s midfield unit a bit unbalanced at times, and the underlapping runs by Tomiyasu in the left halfspace for Arsenal were a good theoretical idea, especially as Diallo was not always keen to track him very far.

Elsewhere for Arsenal, Saka generally held the width on the right, except for when White forayed forward. Trossard provided the width on the left, while Havertz played a false nine role, searching for space between the lines.

Pragmatic defensive strategy

United actually shaded possession in this game though, especially in the second half. However, this was in part due to Arsenal’s defensive strategy, in which they were happy to defend deeper and allow United to have the ball, given the home side’s difficulties with putting together convincing possession phases.

Given that United’s biggest threat is generally in transitions and other situations where the opponent leaves space behind the defensive line, it makes sense to defend deep. Arsenal were generally in a 4-4-2 block, in which Ødegaard and Havertz played very close to their midfield line, giving them ten men behind the ball for much of the time.

When United had the ball, they often moved into a back three, with Amrabat dropping between the center-backs. This left Mainoo as the main presence in the number six area, as McTominay tried to stay in higher positions in support of Højlund.

Arsenal’s 4-4-2 defensive block was able to repel United’s attacks. 

Both fullbacks moved forward a fair bit, as the wingers often inverted into the halfspaces. There was also the option for the fullbacks to remain deeper and invert while the wingers held the width, but this was slightly less frequent.

United’s possession was at least somewhat stable, due in large part to Arsenal’s less aggressive approach. However, as has often been the case this season, there was no convincing means of creating danger to the opponent. Much of United’s play was fairly pedestrian, and attempts to change the tempo and move the ball forward were often hopeful rather than purposeful. The majority of United’s shots in the game were from outside the box, as they were unable to breach the Arsenal defensive block.

Quiet second half

With Arsenal in the lead going into the second half, there was little need for them to change the defensive strategy that they had employed in the first half. They continued to defend in a solid block, and ask the question of United as to whether they could break them down.

United’s own approach did not change much either, in terms of structure or effectiveness. They continued to demonstrate that they are not confident in breaking down organized defenses when the space in behind is closed.

Arteta made his first change with twenty-five minutes remaining, bringing fresh legs to the left side as Gabriel Martinelli replaced Trossard. Ten Hag made his first change shortly afterwards, bringing on Antony for Diallo who had a decent game. Willy Kambwala also replaced Evans going into the final fifteen minutes.

Ten Hag used his remaining subs with a few minutes left in the match for one last attempt at a comeback. Christian Eriksen, Omari Forson, and Ethan Wheatley replaced Amrabat, Wan-Bissaka, and Højlund. This saw Dalot moving over to right back, and Antony being deployed as a left back. This attempt did not amount to much though, and Arsenal were eventually quite comfortable in seeing out their lead, taking the three points from Old Trafford.

Takeaways

United have certainly played worse games this season. However, the bar in this respect is quite low, and this was still an uninspiring performance. Of course, they missed key players through injury, but the tactical issues such as the inability to create chances consistently are not new, and Ten Hag will be judged on such criteria at the end of the season.

For Arsenal this was also not a stunning performance, but a pragmatic and professional one. Their possession play was functional enough to secure them the lead, and they proceeded to defend deep and stay concentrated to secure the win and keep up the pressure on City in the title race.

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