In the 21st week of the Premier League, Manchester United and Arsenal, 2 teams that have been in good form recently, faced each other. In a highly competitive match, Arsenal emerged victorious with Nketiah's goal in the 90th minute with a score of 3-2. With this score, Arsenal increased their point difference with their closest rival Manchester City to 5 and strengthened their lead.
Starting Formations
MANCHESTER UNITED IN POSSESSION
Arsenal, who puts the opposition under intense pressure, especially in home games, did the same in this match. Saka and Nketiah pressed the center-backs up front, while right-back Ben White was on hand to press Luke Shaw. In the middle, Odegaard was responsible for covering the United midfielders who dropped deep.
Throughout the match, Saka's purpose in shifting from the wing to the center and pressing was to limit Lisandro Martinez's time with the ball and deprive Manchester United of Martinez's passing ability. When Saka shifted to the center, Ben White came forward to make sure Luke Shaw was not left unmarked. In these moments, 1v1 match-ups occurred all over the pitch
On the opposite side, Martinelli pressing Wan-Bissaka and the duo of Nketiah and Saka pressing the center-backs meant that De Gea had a big responsibility in the build-up. Knowing that De Gea is a poor passer, Arsenal tried to take advantage of this in the match.
In this position, De Gea didn't see anyone near him to pass to, so he intended to pass to Luke Shaw. Not realizing that Luke Shaw had moved into the middle, De Gea sent the ball outside of the play area.
When Manchester United moved the ball into the oppositions half, Arsenal met them with a 4-4-2 formation. Arsenal opted for a very narrow formation, preventing players like Bruno Fernandes in Manchester United's midfield from receiving the ball. Arsenal players standing narrowly in the middle caused the ball to be redirected to the flanks, which meant that the playing field was narrow for Manchester United.
In this position, for example, the Arsenal players covered the center as well as possible and made it extremely difficult for Manchester United to attack from the center
With Odegaard also applying pressure at times, Arsenal pressed with 3 men up front and forced Martinez to play long. However, Arsenal's fierce pressure led to a 3 v 3 match-up with Manchester United players in defense and with a player like Rashford, who is skilled at carrying and passing the ball, leaving gaps in his side could be problematic.
In this situation, Odegaard warns the defense to watch out for Rashford and Eriksen tells Martinez to pass the ball to Rashford
On several occasions when Manchester United were attacking, Eriksen dropped back and received the ball. Eriksen coming back and receiving the ball instead of McTominay was a clear indication that Manchester United wanted to take advantage of his ability to direct the ball. The "Red Devils" built many of their attacks in this way.
ARSENAL IN POSSESSION
Arsenal had more possession throughout the match. The "Gunners" aimed to win the ball back with their hard pressing throughout the match and they were successful in this regard. Manchester United, on the other hand, played a more passive pressing game, aiming to score goals from counter-attacks. The "Red Devils", who have a fast and capable winger like Rashford, wanted to take advantage of this. However, the fact that Manchester United full-backs were not pressing up front like the Arsenal full-backs allowed Arsenal to benefit from the full-backs to set up play.
In this position, despite having 3 men pressing up front, Ben White was free, which made it easier for Ramsdale to open the play and once Ben White had the ball, he carried the ball into the midfield to shape the attack
During Arsenal's build up, right-back Ben White would add width to the play, while left-back Zinchenko would come into the midfield and receive the ball. Arsenal wanted to take advantage of Zinchenko's playmaking ability. Zinchenko was very prominent in this aspect of the game and helped his teammates distribute the ball.
Here, with Ben White on the line, Zinchenko is positioned near the midfield arc
When Arsenal moved the ball into the opposition half, the Manchester United players defended with a 4-5-1 formation. United players matched 1 v 1 with every player in the opposition half, making it extremely difficult for Arsenal to move the ball forward. Arsenal’in topu ileri taşımasını son derece zorlaştırdılar.
As it can be seen here, there were match-ups like Varane-Nketiah, Antony-Zinchenko and Wan-Bissaka, not pictured, was defending Martinelli
As mentioned before, Manchester United, aiming to score on the counter-attack, tried to score on several occasions with quick diagonal passes through the midfield.
After winning the ball in their own half, Manchester United aim to attack with a diagonal pass from Bruno Fernandes
SONUÇ
Although Arsenal won the game with a last minute goal in the 90th minute, Arsenal was superior throughout the match and suffocated United with constant attacks. In contrast, Manchester United's goals came from a corner and the individual talent of the in-form Rashford. It was crucial for Arsenal to win the game and continue their winning streak, and they made no mistake in a tough game.
