Man United were lucky to get a point from a fighting Arsenal team

Fighting Arsenal take a good point at Old Trafford by Konstantin Mitov

Hello lovely Arsenal people! It’s a good time to be an Arsenal fan. We went to Old Trafford after a huge win vs Tottenham and for the first time in ages put a performance that was worthy of all three points!

While history remembers only the results, we were really unfortunate not to win. We took the lead twice and had it for less than 5 minutes combined due to lack of concentration, I would say, because defensively I thought we didn’t allow them any clear chances.

Another thing that didn’t go our way was injuries. Holding was carried off the pitch and Ramsey is unclear how long will be off after being subbed at halftime. And I must say the ref was shocking! Their first goal was offside, but it was sad that we didn’t react to the ball, because we had bodies in the box.

Then at our second goal, Rojo should have been sent off, because had the ball not found the net, it should’ve been a clear penalty as Lacca was just taken out from behind which is a yellow card anywhere on the pitch.

Unfortunately we completely lost concentration again and allowed a straight away equaliser, but afterwards we missed two sitters to take the lead again. Finally, Fellaini probably missed his old haircut and tried to take it from Guendouzi by pulling his hair which again got missed by the ref and it could’ve been a red there.

Add to the fact we played a much more physically demanding game than them in the weekend and that they had an extra day to rest, I’m very happy with the performance. We went there to win and did our best to do so. I thought Guendouzi was superb! I thought we’d really miss Xhaka, but Matteo was excellent.

Lacca from the bench was also superb once more, and Unai Emery again managed to tweak it so we come out stronger in the second half. He resisted the temptation to play both his best strikers, so that we can change the game and it worked. The fact that we didn’t lose after losing the lead was also important. Under Wenger I really doubt that we would have gotten anything out of the game had it gone the way it did.

It hurts that this was yet another match where we failed to take control of the game, but Unai is always the first man to admit it and I love it. His positive attitude is electric. In his post match interview he talked about how Kolasinac was down due to his error, and he said to him that there were lots of positives and he should just work on the mistake.

Interesting, but not surprising was the fact we left Ozil out again due to a “back spasm” or as I would call it a coaching injury. And I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes a miraculous recovery for Huddersfield. Some injuries have piled up on us and we need bodies coming back to make it through a very packed December.

Our fixture list is now quite favourable for us and we should focus on getting a good recovery for Saturday as it’s a must-win game for us. Chelsea’s shock defeat to Wolves and the fact they are playing Man City next means we can go back to the top four with a win.

That’s me done for today. See you after the weekend game, hopefully with 3 more points in the bag!

Konstantin

42 Comments

    1. Sue we missed Ozil’s creativity. He would have been best suited for this game because there were so much space. Neither Ramsey nor Mhiky opened Man U’s defence in any particularly way. I felt we lack accurate creativity. Man U were there for the taking.

      1. We still created some fantastic chances without Ozil though. De Gea’s point blank save from Auba, and that flick from Miki at the near post, amongst others. You also have to remember that EVERYONE was fighting like crazy for the shirt, something Ozil doesn’t give us, and that gave us control of the game.

        I admit his creativity may have added something given the space we had, but overall, we would have lost out more than we would have gained, given Ozil’s lack of mentality, fight, spirit, aggression, pressing, and work ethic.

      2. these games requires energy and hard pressing which ozil lacks. I believe he will have his chance with the weaker opponents. he could have cost us with his attitude when he loses possession. He is good though, but as I said he is not fit for high intensity games.

        the man u game was a must since we created all the clear cut chances, I am for Chelsea to end city’s unbeaten run. Top 4 still a reality not far from fetch.

    2. Whe you try to analyse that game properly,you could realise Auba lacked through passes to finish Man Utd.We lacked creativity which would have made our game more enjoyable.Ozil will come back strong and I expect us to finish the remaining matches of 2018 on a wining stake

  1. Arsenal shd have won.The first mu goal was clearly os but the ref allowed it.
    The defence as usual went to sleep.
    I trust Emery to fix the defence and then we shall see.

  2. It feels like a loss,arsenal was unlucky with injuries and the referee did not help,all in all,a good point,there’s something about this arsenal team the mindset is different,for all those who said arsenal played rubbish against wolves,I hope you guys watch the Chelsea match yesterday,I think xhaka would have made a lot of difference yesterday,iwobi was so poor,I think Leno should have done better with those goals,kolasinc was average,guedouzi was brilliant,am very sure during wenger last 6 years we would have lost the match so that’s a plus.

    1. Please let’s keep Wenger out of our comments. The man is gone. It is unfair to suggest that we would have lost if the match had been played during the last six years of Wenger’s reign. That is not true. I recall that during the last six years of Wenger, we beat Man Utd 3-0 in the league and knocked them out of the FA Cup with a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford.

        1. I second that Lance.
          It seems Konstantly cannot write any post without making up some jibe or another.
          He should note that the majority have moved on and want to discuss Emery and his team, not keep harking back and suggesting something that has no basis whatsoever.

          1. Wenger is bound to be still relevant while most of our start eleven were signed under him. That is blindingly obvious. Once several windows have passed and Emery has his own players in entirely, THEN and ONLY THEN can we cease mentioning Wenger. Beats me why you worry what others think anyway; I never do , unless they make a personal attack on me.

            1. What is blindingly obvious Jon is that Emery has blended those very good players he inherited, plus some new signings, into a team that just hammered spuds and should have beaten utd.
              We’re on an unbeaten twenty game run, isn’t that what matters?

              Why speculate on if we would or wouldn’t have won if AW was still here? He isn’t, it’s all guesswork and it is totally irrelevant.

              I would rather discuss the form of those players on show last night, our injury problems, the referees contribution, the unbeaten 20 game run, Huddersfied game, Ozil’s future, Ramsey’s future, January transfer rumours and kitty, Kronkie’s plans, if any of course, Fa cup game against S. Moors etc etc.
              There are so many positive and current things to ponder over.

              Just as a thought though Jon, the twenty five man first team squad consists of twenty AW signings, plus all of the younger squad players coming through and exciting us gooners.
              It seems as if you won’t be able to relax and enjoy life under Unai in the forseeable future, especially if Kronkie keeps to his transfer kitty budget.
              Still, onwards and upwards as they say.

              1. Ken you are obviously wrong to say I “won’t be able to relax and enjoy life under Emery in the future etc” as I am already doing so and hugely too. He was a superb appointment, way beyond my wildest drreams. He has restored pride, passion, ferocious team spirit, work ethic and binned favouritism to non performingplayers and is putting the team first, second, third and always, NEVER the individual as Wenger so often did. He is a passionate and demanding coach who will not settle for less than the club can and should achieve. He is long overdue -or his type is anyway- and had the club appointed his type many years ago as it ought, we would be far further on right now than even we are. He is not a miracle worked but the next best thing to one. I still, each day, bless the fact that WENGER , FAR TOO LATE, FINALLY GOT HIS JUST DESERTS.

  3. Henrikh missed an easy goal scoring opportunity,iwobi was not gud yesterday.We need a attacking midfielder and a winger then we can easily win Europa league and finish top 4 which will give our legend koscielny a nice send off ( personally I want him to retire at arsenal)

  4. We dropped points at palace and against Wolves. That is considered bad and dissappointing results. Draw at Old Trafford is not bad. Chelsea lost at Wolves .

  5. A goal is a goal no matter how you disputed it.

    We should focus on the next game and for goodness sake, fix the defending.

    Facing Manure is not less than a London Derby. And they hated us, likewise ourselves towards them.

    I think they are extra charged up with or without the key players like what Merson said. It really need extra determination to kill them off.

  6. I had a mixed feeling about the match, I would happily accept 1 point had it been offered before the match was started, but given the way we played I become a little bit sad we didn’t win the match. We were a unlucky with officiating of the match and injuries, kudos to Unai Emery as he proved himself even when injuries forced his hands, I really love that man. This is a new Arsenal team spirit….. I can’t wait for weekend.

  7. What a cracking match. Led twice, but some mistakes blew it up. They still put an admirable effort though:

    – Aubameyang: Hardworking, but couldn’t do much due to the lack of support

    – Ramsey: Did not look good as an AM in 3-4-2-1 formation

    – Iwobi: Did not put an extra effort to prevent the first Man United’s goal. Arsenal need a better attacker

    – Torreira: Impressive defending again

    – Guendouzi: He was everywhere, but a bit careless at the beginning

    – Kolasinac: Excellent crosses, but his mistake allowed Man United scored their second goal

    – Bellerin: Gutless performance and almost invisible. He needs to improve in the next match

    – The CBs and Leno: Good defending

    1. He’s a dirty, dirty sod… always has been… I hope he gets a ban for what he did…. should have seen red. If that dodgy ref had actually done his job properly, he would have been sent off ????

  8. I am absolutely fine with the result and happy with 1 point on this occasion.

    The draw against Wolves at Home was really BAD!
    It was 2 points dropped and felt like a loss

    A draw against United at Old Trafford was Good and fair. It wasn’t 2 points dropped or Bad. Some people love to complain, even if we win

    1. We fought hard
    2. They fought hard and they fought dirty
    3. The referee was a moron
    4. United have technically more quality players than we do.
    5. We beat Spurs and draw at Old Trafford is a decent 2 matches in a row
    6. Our streak is still alive
    7. No injuries and we have better chance of finishing top 4 than United
    8. It’s freaking tough to win in Old Trafford

    So I am not unhappy about this at all

    Now lets hammer Huddersfield and let the youngsters deal with Qarabag

    COYG

    1. But we led TWICE Innit…. but anyway that’s gone now, hopefully we’ll get back to winning ways against Huddersfield

    2. No injuries? I am afraid you forgot about Holding. Could come back to haunt our season given how thin we are at quality central defenders position. I expect to miss him for at least 2 months but even 2 weeks would hurt us.

  9. I’m so happy for the lads performance to be honest. Let’s get the whole three points during the weekend. And sit there on top 4. COYG

    1. Yes, we did. Especially his laziness and refusal to work hard as the others all did. Hope we miss him again and again.

  10. Would have took the draw before the game but feel like it was a massive missed opportunity, especially with Chelsea losing.

    De Gea produced two fantastic saves from Auba and Mikhi missed from point blank range in a chance he really should be putting away. If one of these went in we win as Man Utd created very little and did not look dangerous at all. We conceded from a hopeful lump forward we failed to deal with and from a lapse of concentration from a freekick (that should never have been given)

    I was worried before the game about a lack of physicality and experience in the middle with Guendozi and Torreira and I think I was right. I am a huge fan of both players but felt we did miss Xhaka in the middle of the park.

    Would have liked to have seen Lacazette come on earlier for Iwobi who I thought was very poor and maybe having Ozil available from the bench would have helped us in the second half.

    1. I think Lacazette should have started, it makes man marking Auba so much harder when he does. He didn’t play the full game v Tott so I was surprised he didn’t start. Emery likes to have options from the bench, that is good, but Laca is a big game player so I would’ve liked him out there from the first. Maybe I’d of haven Auba on the bench because he seems to react to that in the way you’d hope.

      This isn’t a criticism, I am fully aware that a PL manager knows a hell of allot more than I ever will, regarding football. Also I am very proud of our team with the way they’ve conducted themselves over the last few fixtures, and more. I also believe Emery got the better of Mourinho, because our team had them ready to be carved, but luck was not with us, or you could say lucky them. I am just saying, if it were my decision, hypothetically, that is what I would have done. Sometimes you need to say these things or people take you up wrong.

      1. I agree Laca should have started, I posted my team to start in another thread. It was essentially the same team that Emery went with but Laca and Auba as a front two with Ramsey just behind. All I am saying here is that after watching Iwobi’s horror show in the first half I would have hooked him at half time. The guy is a bit of a headless chicken with very little in the way of an end product – all shots are scuffed with little power/accuracy and the amount of times he fronts up his defender just to blast the ball at them with his cross is happening too often.

        I do also feel that we looked a bit leggy at parts in the game especially at the start and were a bit off the pace, maybe the game come a day too soon after Sunday’s high intensity NLD.

        Still – let’s look a the positives. This was a game we would have (and did) lose last year and this year we feel very hard done by and unlucky to lose, remain unbeaten in 20 games, are within 2 points of third and have just spanked Spurs 4-2.

  11. iwobi was disappointing, although he started d first 15mins well.
    mkhi didnt make any real impact.
    the injuries to ramsey and holding restricted emery’s tactical masterclass
    …. we should look forward to the next game against huddersfield town now….
    ozil can come in for that.
    torreira needs a rest
    iwobi needs to warm d bench for a bit

  12. Looking at the wider picture on how very far we have come since the dreary unmotivated and dog tired, stale days of WENGER, I AM THRILLED AND WE HAVE BOUNDED FORWARD BEYOND ALL SENSIBLE EXPECTATIONS. If you focus only on last nights mistakes by both the ref and some of our defenders, then you may feel cheated . I do too but I focus on the vast improvement and see as we surely all must- and are now singing too – that we have our Arsenal back. From the near grave where Wengers stale and backward looking management was keeping us. REJOICE!

  13. Good article Konstantin, covered allot and it came across as it would a newspaper piece. I looked up our fixtures straight after the game, we should pick up points but the injuries are worrying. I read before the game that Arsenal have ran more miles than any other PL side. That is some stat seeing as Liv and city are going full pelt for the title. Teams probably fear them a little more than us, and they may keep the ball a wee bit better. But it is still a good stat, only problem will be the eventual injuries that it might bring. Our squad isn’t the biggest, we have a good group of youngsters but our bench can look a bit thin when Ramsey is injured or our two strikers start. I looked up Totts fixtures too, they look like they have some winnable games. Minus the cup game against the mighty Arsenal, of course.

  14. While both sides were lacking in real quality The Emery effect is getting through to the players who all worked their socks off and got a result we would have taken prior to the Spurs match.It has to be said that our defensive problems have not suddenly disappeared and I hope the injury to Holding is not too serious as he has been, without doubt our best defender this season.At least Monreal and Koscielney are now fit again to plug the gap in Holdings absence.Time for AMN to get some game time please against Huddersfield as Guendousi and Iwobi both need a rest.They struggled to make an impression against Man Utd.

    1. No . Koscielny hobbled off the other night in the Under 23 team and Monreal is still not fit. If either were fit they would have been in the 18 man
      squad but they were not. TRUTH!

  15. Really disappointed Arsenal couldn’t hold on to a league or score that third goal to come away from Old Trafford with a win.
    The positives were the fitness levels and commitment of the Arsenal players, who kept going to the final whistle. Mourinho is living in his own fantasy world stating that only Man U were playing for a win and Arsenal for a draw,
    When one analyses the performances of referees and assistant referees (linesprrsons) in Arsenal’s and other teams matches in recent seasons, it becomes obvious why no English referee was chosen to officiate at the last World Cup.
    Mhikataryan and Iwobi appear to have lost all confidence in front of goal. The Mhikataryan/Aubameyang partnership has failed to materialize at Arsenal. Aubameyang himself should be out of sight for the EPL golden boot, if had taken the chances he has had so far this season.
    The injury to Holding is disappointing for him and the club, not only because his game has been progressing, but his enforced absence reduces Unai Emery’s defensive options as the games mount up in the various competitions.
    Arsenal missed Xhaka and Ozil. Hopefully Ozil’s back issues are resolved, because despite the sceptics, if he does have a back injury it will be debilitating for a sportsman at professional level.
    Guedouzi plays his heart out, but it must be remembered he is only 19 and will only improve with coaching and experience. At the moment he gives away possession too easily and too often.

      1. Brilliant write up ozzie, covering everything that was of any relevance to where we are as a club today.
        So refreshing to read comments on what has actually happened and not what might have happened previously and if we had other players!!!
        Such a shame for Holding, he has come on so well under Emery, as have so many of our defenders.
        Kolasinac is a warrior who looks so good going forward, it will be difficult for Monreal to justify selection over him at present.
        I think his performances plus Bellerin’s is where we are causing so much pressure and Emery just has to be congratulated on what he is squeezing out of players this season.
        Aba must be kicking himself for the misses, and I go back as far as the Chelsea game where he was so remiss in front of goal. Yet he scores that wonderful goal against spuds…an enigma at this present moment.

  16. Many people here write about Ramsey not creative and good enough. Can those people give me 5( five ) creative midfielder currently performing better than Ramsey and give their statistics.

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