Pretty much Burnsy. We need to invest with intent this summer.
We face Chelsea next. Win that and top four looks comfy. Lose and it’ll start to get nervy.
Our fixtures that follow looks straightforward on paper but then you realise we unzip to reveal an rantallion attack composing of Trossard, Merino, and Odegaard.
People thought this was a foul-
Gunner89 yeah I didn’t get the call for a foul either.
Prime example of Odegaard spending too long on the ball. It allows the opposition to set their defence.
Watch that whole play. He’s looking for forward runs and can’t find any because there are no spaces. His best alternative was to pass back to the defenders.
In a completely open game Odegaard uncorked an assist and two goals. If anything i would get a second player much like Odegaard in there. He’s carrying a heavy creative burden because he’s the only one who can hold onto the ball in the centre of the field when we are facing a wall.
Yes no open spaces at all
Also, unlucky with that tame effort where he could have won it or the FK
I watched Odegaard in real life for the first time yesterday and only now realised how good he actually is. Best player on the pitch by a mile for me, the guy plays billiards with his feet. Yes his shooting and finishing has been very disappointing for a long time now, but he's really not the problem in this team.
In general, yesterday's result doesn't worry me at all. We completely controlled the game until that cheat free kick. Never seen us dominate like that at Old Trafford. We need players back and need to add quality up front. If we do that I believe we are a top 3 team in the world, especially after replacing Rapey with Zubimendi.
The funniest criticism is for not scoring the FK. Last season 3,88 % of direct freekick attempts were scored. 380 matches, 11 FK goals.
Claudius they were terrible defensively though, they may have opened up as well but they just didn't look like a team that had any idea to defend. That being said they probably should have still taken the lead and we don't tend to do well when that happens. A team with more quality I think will punish us.
Was watching this from the United end on Sunday.
The main observations were:
Our full backs offer no attacking width which left Trossard and Nwaneri isolated and often having to try and beat two men with a dribble. Additionally, the ball was almost always played into their feet rather than space which meant no momentum to attack. The contrast with the United distribution and attacking threat down the channels was marked and could see how much our defence panicked compared to theirs in similar situations. Things improved when Martinelli came on as he attacked at pace. He sat a bit deeper than Ethan when he came on and there seemed more of an emphasis to play into space for him and also by him for others.
Our central midfield was woefully slow in distribution. They kept the ball well but always seemed to turn back on themselves to then look up for a forward pass by which time United players got themselves well set in a defensive formation which we couldn't break down. Partey was guilty of this the most, while Odegaard seemed to struggle with directing the play. His dribbling would move slightly forwards or sideways but just seemed like trying not to lose the ball rather than of someone with any proper idea of how to instigate our attacks. United found it very easy to nullify any threat from him. Rice was constantly running into space looking to break quickly before their defence set but the midfield never tried those passes to find him.
When MLS came on for Calafiori, our attack down the left hand side disappeared entirely and Trossard became a complete non factor in the game. When Tierney came on for Partey, unfortunately there was still no improvement to that area.
Merino made no impression as a CF. His runs were ponderous and United defended him so easily. He couldn't create for himself nor looked like bringing others into play. Our attack was not even predictable, it was non-existent. Dare I say it, I would rather have Sterling there attempting to make off the ball runs to make space for our other players, than what Merino offered. Even the few crosses we put in the box had Trossard as more likely recipient that Merino.
We were susceptible to the counter far too easily which doesn't see right given how many people we leave behind the ball on an attack. From what I saw, our failure to progress the ball quickly meant United getting back into place and our defenders, particularly the full backs push up high (without going beyond our wide forwards). When the ball was eventually lost after an attempt to eventually pass/dribble forward after sidewaysball, United were able to quickly exploit the space behind the FB. Zirkzee was actually a decent outlet for them in that regard as he helped occupy whichever of our defenders who drifted out wide allowing with their wingers eagerly following up any return balls.
If we carry on like this, it will be a very difficult last 10 games of the season.
MistaT I sat at the end where Arsenal attacked towards in the first half and had a superb view. United were very organised in their back 5 and Dalot playing inverted Nulified Nwaneri completely who was playing with a little hand brake on.
Not sure how it looked like on TV but we "dominated" in the first half like how we did against Nottm and West Ham. Domination in possession without really threatening. Onana had nothing to do. United was very comfortable letting us have the ball and hitting us on the breaks. Our players were happy to recycle the ball horizontally without taking vertical risks.
MistaT I was at the other end so had the better view of us attacking in the second half. Agree with Clrnc that it was domination of possession without creating anything of note. The same was largely true of the second half with only Martinelli creating any fear. Declan was good but his energy was wasted by our conservatism.
The United fans I spoke to over the weekend were all expecting us to beat them comfortably. They started off really quiet when we dominated possession but once they understood we were going nowhere with it, they became confident and started really getting behind their team. While still wary, they were believed they had enough to beat us but the Rice goal took the wind out of their sails. However, despite upping the pressure, United had the better chances to win the game.
Anmorim was also more visible on the touch line from what I saw, with Arteta barely patrolling the box.
DKGooner what was interesting is Arteta took every single break in play to summon the players and give them instructions. Amorim didnt do that at all and kept squatting down.
In the 2nd half Jover keep summoning Raya to give him instructions to pass to the rest of the team.
I did the City and United Tours before the match (old toilet is really dated and run down, while Etihad stadium is pretty untouchable from our level currently) and the United fans were hoping not to lose by too big a margin. Any marginal loss is a win for them they said. Like you said, they grew in confidence once they realised we ain't going to threaten their goal and the stadium was really loud in the 2nd half.
DKGooner @Don Pacifico please read this re Merino.
@Clrnc welcome back.
Clrnc I did notice that as well re the Arteta instructions. I guess the frustration was that all of that talking barely led to any tangible improvement in our play.
I do wish we had another Sagna like FB. I find Timber far too passive in that role when it is so important to our attacking patterns under Arteta. After the game, I did also wonder whether switching Timber to DM (replacing Partey) would help us as well. Would also like to see Tierney given a few starts to see how a traditional overlapping LB works rather than the inverted system used so far. Might help bring Trossard (if we persist with him on the left) closer to the middle giving him more time on the ball and an outlet for someone to run beyond him. It was painful watching Trossard toil against United.
The domination without impact thing is an issue that affects a lot of teams. It's evolution. Defenses have caught up to the Klopp / Pep offenses. That way of football might become less pronounced with teams ceding possession to create more opportunities to attack in transition. Interesting to see what the top teams look like in 3-4 years
