Man United get dominated in the midfield
Arsenal walks away with all three points at The Emirates after a dominant performance in the midfield which saw us take heavy possession for most of the game. With Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard being the engine behind the machine.
Both midfielders were controlling the pace of the game and shutting down every opportunity that United had to get out of their own half. After a misplaced pass from Kai Havertz, Rashford managed to put United ahead, but Arsenal quickly regained focus and after some great footwork from Gabriel Martinelli, our skipper buried the ball in the back of the net.
United seemed to find their feet in the second half but the mood changed once they had a goal disallowed for being offside in the 89th minute and the roar of the Gooners around the ground willed the team back in focus.
Again, Rice and Odegaard were leading the charge and in the 6th minute of stoppage time Rice’s hard work had paid off, scoring his very first goal for Arsenal.
We can start to see a clear vision of how this midfield is going to work and how much our midfield duo looks to be connecting on the pitch.
Whats your thoughts on our midfield partnership gooners?
Daisy Mae
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Utd never had a midfield. They didn’t have one ball winner. They were poor. Everyone is dominating utds midfield at the moment. Ericson and Fernandez are playmakers and passers. They are struggling and that is great news.
@Reggie
Gotta say, the move that created the disallowed goal went straight through our midfield. Jus sayin…
True but it was due to a mistake,a pass bad from Havertz.when it happened we were just outside their box,in possession with nothing to worry and our MFs and defenders were joining the attack too.that’s why were not covered when we lost the bal.anyway even before the teams were announced /confirmed some of us had already predicted that the midfield battle would decide the game.
Arteta has to managed the kai havertz situation well. Putting kai on the bench won’t kill him, kai needs the bench, away from the pressure and fury to fully settle. Arteta should beware of arrogance.
@Goonking
You don’t spend £65 mil on a player to have him ride the bench…Jus sayin
Pep BLEW 100 mil on Grealish but still benched him for many games. He also spent close to 60 mil and Mahrez and still benched him for long periods. Same for Stones, Ake, etc. Even the untouchable KDB has been benched severally. Sometimes you just have to accept that whatever you expected is not happening instantly and start planning for the long term. There’s nothing special about Havertz’s situation, he’s a good player who is currently struggling badly and needs some time off.
When fit, Partey and Rice should be played in central midfield with Odegaard as our AM.I believe that trio would be a match for any midfield in the EPL. Nothing complicated, a mixture of power, skill and creativity.Talk of playing Vieira alongside Rice and Odegaard is not a good mix with a lack of physicality and the ability to win the ball sure to put more pressure on our back four or whatever system of defence is deployed by Arteta.
I agree with Grandad,when fit that should be our midfield.it has all the components needed. Both TP/Rice are physically/technically strong and can score goals.as for MØ no need to point to his technically,reading of the game and goals but more importantly,without the ball he is not afraid to press,track back…all of this makes for a very complete & competitive midfield.even without Havertz height.
Havertz had a poor start but was looking much better in the second half. I think one of his problems is that he has to learn to play on the same wavelength as the brilliant but mercurial Martinelli and that could take some time. We have other options there and there are plenty of games coming up. Last season it was Fabio Vieira who was slow in adjusting but has looked superb this time round.
I agree with Grandad,when fit that should be our midfield.it has all the components needed. Both TP/Rice are physically/technically strong and can score goals.as for MØ no need to point to his technically,reading of the game and goals but more importantly,without the ball he is not afraid to press,track back…all of this makes for a very complete & competitive midfield.even without Havertz height.
were still playing with a hand break on with Kai in midfield and still dominated them. United offered very little this game.
Let’s not be fooled after one game as United’s midfied is appalling. But nonetheless Partey’s absence allowed Rice to prove that he can cover both DM and BTB on his own, and in certain games we won’t miss Partey. That’s reassuring as many of us are fearful that without Partey we don’t function.
Even with Havertz providing very little at 8 with Rice there we still had even greater control than the stats suggested. The tweaked system worked it’s the player’s lack of familiarity with it, bad finishing again and more individual mistakes that suggested we were poorer than we actually were.
We missed 2 sitters but what individual mistakes are you referring to?Havertz has been slated for displacing a pass which led to the Rashford goal but no mention of the part played by White, Saliba and Ramsdale who got a hand to the ball?In the same way where were White and Saliba in the goal which was subsequently offside.Havertz gets hammered but others seem immune from criticism.
Yes Thats why Havertz need to benched for now. So that he can train and come back stronger by being away from criticism. As of He is the big problem and everybody just can see his fault. Once he is away this will give chance to focus and fix other small issues.
Never taught Rice would replace the imperious Xhaka so quickly. He plays like he was born in Highbury. That 105m looks like money well spent.