Arsenal 3

Man Utd 1

United started the match very cautiously. I do not particularly like the playing around the box – sooner or later it will cause a calamity. And to be honest, it was not like we were eventually creating anything. But after 27 minutes of what seemed as an attack vs defence session, Rashford was sent through and despite the attention of 3 Arsenal defenders and the keeper’s attempt to save, his shot went in off the right post. 1-0 to United. Now we’ll settle down and play football, I thought. 100 seconds later it was 1-1. This switching off your focus is a psychological thing it seems, and United are prone to it. And it seems that collectively it is something that happens that you lower your guard when you’ve just scored a goal. With all the sports scientists around these days, you would think that United should be able to deal with this issue. Anyways, 1-1 at HT.

The second half had a bit of everything. Arsenal thought they had a pen but it was rightly called off by VAR. We thought Garnacho had given us the lead with 2 minutes to normal time. VAR cancelled that. And in the 8 minutes of injury time given, we conceded 2 goals. We defended badly for Arsenal’s second. Rice had time to bring it down in the box, too much time, and his shot was deflected but Onana should have pushed it out. An experienced coach once told me, if the keeper can reach it, he should save it!

A defeat that could have been a win, albeit, a smash and grab type of win. My overall concern is that we have not even started to play good football this season. I do not consider today’s performance as good, and this would have stood even if we had got the 3 points.

Our midfield has hardly dominated any game this season. Casemiro was great last season but I do not believe Real Madrid sell you anything with a long shelf life. Both Varane and Casemiro fall in that category, in my opinion, and we need to build a team beyond them. The problem is, that the Glazers are still around and with owners like them, you can only expect to see United playing with Maguire and Evans against a young and vibrant Arsenal side. It’s like going to war, with no form of protective wear…NUMQUAM MORIBIMUR!