Away day at Old Trafford, historically a very tough game for us, and it proved to be exactly that. Although we were going into the game with a sense of optimism carrying over from an emphatic derby win, it was a lot more even than what some fans may or may not have expected.
The game was lively from the off, and Manchester United came out the gates looking like they felt they had a point to prove. The first 20 minutes they looked dangerous, and it took us some time to find our feet and rhythm in the game. We started to connect a few passes and assert a bit of dominance for a good period of the half, the pressure ultimately led to a corner in which found Mustafi's head, the header forced a fumble from Dea Gea tipping it over the line. 1-0 to the gunners. Going 1-0 up I felt a bit of relief but knew that there was definitely more goals in this match to come, and exactly that happened just 4 minutes later with a simple finish from in form player Anthony Martial, equalising for the home side. the final 10 minutes of the half were end to end, but knowing Arsenal and the way we have been this season, I knew going into half time at 1-1 still left us in a good position to win the game.
The second half we came out and instantly controlled the tempo of the game, passed the ball around well and created a few chances down the left. Manchester United had the odd counter but otherwise we had control of the game, we managed to create a goal on the 68th minute through a great run from Lacazette, who was challenged by Rojo, with ultimately Rojo putting the ball in his own net. However the 2-1 lead lasted only seconds as sloppy Arsenal defending, particularly from Kolasinac, resulted in an instant reply from kickoff, from Jesse Lingard. 2-2. The rest of the game played out largely in United's half, Arsenal creating a few chances, most notably huge missed attempts from Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan. We tried to attack and get the winner, but it never came. A draw away at Old Trafford you would gladly take any season, but this season it feels a little disappointing. However with a run of winnable games ahead, it is a good feeling to have 4 points from Spurs and United, and continue our unbeaten run at 20 games.
Player Ratings:
Bernd Leno: 6
Player Ratings:
Bernd Leno: 6
Decent enough game, could have done better for the first goal by pushing the initial free kick out of play. Looked good as usual with his distribution.
Sokratis: 6
Solid performance, made a few tough challenges to set the tone for the game.
Rob Holding: 6
Looked good when he was on but unfortunately went off before half time with an injury, hopefully it isn't a serious one.
Looked good when he was on but unfortunately went off before half time with an injury, hopefully it isn't a serious one.
Mustafi: 7
Relatively comfortable at the back but gave away a few un-needed fouls. Chipped in with a crucial goal to give us the lead.
Hector Bellerin: 6
Was his usual speedy self, got up and down well but did not have as much impact offensively as I would like, and made a couple of poor crosses.
Sead Kolasinac: 6.5
A huge lapse of judgement for Lingards goal which drops his rating. But was our main source of width and threat going forward, created 3 chances, the most of anyone on the pitch. Also got us the corner for Mustafi's goal due to his positive running.
Lucas Torreira: 8
My man of the match on the day, gave it his all and you could see by the end he was absolutely shattered. Picked up an assist and sprayed the ball around nicely as well.
Matteo Guendouzi: 7.5
Was heavily involved in the game and had the most touches and passes of anyone in the Arsenal 11, but could not offer the same creative influence as Xhaka, who we still missed. However Matteo worked his socks off and got stuck in there for the odd challenge too, another good showing from the youngster.
Alex Iwobi: 5.5
Had a few decent driving runs, but in my opinion was a bit off today, and his decision making was overall poor.
Aaron Ramsey: 5
Captain for the day, but did not get as involved as I would've expected apart from a little passage of play in the first half. Subbed off for Mkhitaryan at the half through injury, hope he is fit again soon.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 6
Was a nuisance for United to deal with in the second half particularly, but could not convert the chances he had. Forced a couple of good saves from De Gea from outside and inside the area, but just couldn't find the net today.
Substitutes:
Henrikh Mkhitaryan: 6
Played the entirety of the second half and got quite involved, even helping out defensively. But could not find the net when he had the chance, and when it was even more difficult do do so he scored, but unfortunately for himself and the rest of us, it was offside.
Alexandre Lacazette: 7
Made the all important run for the goal to put us 2-1 up, and provided us with a bit more threat going forward, did not have many chances to score but made a nuisance of himself when it counted most.
Stephan Lichtsteiner: 6
Did not have too much to do when he came on and was not really at fault for the goal, did a job in his un-natural position.
Jake Wren
Comments
Post a Comment