Pass & Move – Wenger’s Delight
Arsene Wenger doesn’t often have reason to feel vindicated. This last week, for example, he spent on the back foot trying to defend his selection policies after a potentially devastating Champions League loss at home to Olympiakos. He barely even had time to savour Alexis Sanchez’s return to form against Leicester City…
It’s been five years since Arsenal last beat Manchester United at the Emirates. Last year they won just once against other top four opposition, drawing three and losing twice. In many ways they’re the most predictable team in England. Fourth place and the Champions League knockouts. Every year, rinse and repeat.
It feels hasty to say that that might be changing, but maybe it is. This result was Arsene Wenger’s first major victory in a long time. The Community Shield win over Chelsea, the 2-0 win over City last season… they were games in which the Gunners had to adapt to overcome. This was not. This was a game where they played to the complete potential of all that Wenger want this team to be. No compromise. No selling out his ideals.
The fact that Arsenal fans have for years wanted to see more adaptability in this team is beside the point. Wenger’s commitment to beautiful football is his life’s work, he will never change that about himself. Nor should he be expected to, that’s all just stagnated frustration. If you want tactical tweaks every week, hire Brendan Rodgers (too soon?).
Arsenal dismantled Manchester United. They picked them apart in the first 20 minutes and coasted for the rest of it. It was pace and precision. Fast, fluid football that United, who entered the weekend at the top of the table, had no answer for.
If you remember this fixture last season, Arsenal kinda started the same way. Man United were just as laboured early, but they pulled through without damage before a second half own goal from Kieran Gibbs and a late Rooney sealer (Giroud superbly pulled one back in the fifth minute of injury time) gave United a Snatch-And-Grab 2-1 win.
Not this time. Man Utd barely touched the ball before the first blow was struck. Arsenal had all the energy, led from the front by a buoyant Theo Walcott, who’d gotten the start ahead of Olly Giroud. Wenger teased a job share there but it’s becoming clear that Theo is the man he wants. It makes sense, he compliments the midfield nicely with his constant movement, even if he isn’t a perfect finisher.
The main selection issue for United was who played at fullback. Darmian returned to right back after playing on the left midweek with Ashley Young on the left. Left back vs Arsenal isn’t a huge deal because it means marking mostly Mesut Ozil and he spends most of his time drifting inwards for others to deal with (like Juan Mata at the other end). But right back means coping with Alexis Sanchez. Young could have gotten the gig for his extra pace, Darmian got it in the end for his greater defensive ability. As it turned out, it didn’t really matter. Neither had a hope.
Having started so much on the front foot, Arsenal took just over 5 minutes to open the scoring. Rapid ball movement down the right flank, Cazorla to Bellerin to Ozil back to Bellerin. Hector got inside Young, who could have shut it down there if he’d had the position, instead Bellerin was able to get a ball into the box, partially cleared by Blind and sent back in for Ozil by Ramsey. A lovely ball, the German beating the trap and slipping a pass back across the goal which Blind couldn’t get a foot on and Sanchez beat Darmian to it for the goal.
Slightly shambolic but it all came from the speed that Arsenal were playing at. They created gaps and found space with quick, deliberate movement and a United defence that relies on patient organisation wasn’t able to cope on the fly. Theo’s circular run does a lot in freeing up Ozil, btw, don’t overlook that.
The Red Devils had still barely strung a pair of passes at this stage and almost straight after the kickoff Chris Smalling got stuck for options and lumped a long ball towards Martial. Cue an Arsenal counter attack. Cazorla pushed the pass to Sanchez, who played a glorious little heeled flick inside to Ozil. That touch caught the defensive line and meant Ozil had room to hit Walcott on the burst. Theo got one on one with Blind and, to be fair, Blind did well to hold him up until Ozil then got free for the pass and he stroked it first time into the net. De Gea didn’t even move.
Man Utd finally woke up a bit after that but not enough. Arsenal blitzed once more as Ramsey beat Young on halfway and that ended up in Sanchez having about an acre or so of room on the opposite side. Darmian looked like had done well to cut him down but his tackle wasn’t strong enough. Can’t fault the strength of Sanchez’s shot that followed though. Thumping.
3-0 up after 20 minutes. Incredible. If Aaron Ramsey hadn’t volleyed over then it soon would have been four. Probably should have been.
Louis Van Gaal had no choice but to make changes at the break. In fact, it’s almost surprising that he waited that long. Off came Darmian, on came Antonio Valencia. Valencia had been subbed off at half time of the Champs Lge game against Wolfsburg midweek for his rubbish right back play and now here he was on the other end of things a few days later. The Luke Shaw injury has really messed this defence up. There’s no clear replacement and that’s meaning reshuffles every game with the fullbacks. Though one thing to be cleared up: Antonio Valencia is not a ‘winger playing as a fullback’. Ashley Young is one of those, but Valencia has been playing right back since Fergie was still on the sidelines. He’s played RB far more than he has RM the last three years. This isn’t like playing Raheem Sterling as a wing-back or anything.
Along with Valencia, Mary Fellaini also came on for Memphis Depay. Rooney went out left (with licence to roam), Schweiny went CAM and Fellaini sat in with Carrick but he got pretty far forward when he could.
The alterations made a difference as Fellaini’s added physicality helped United find at least one aspect of dominance in the midfield though his introduction probably had something to do with the spike in free kicks. It also helped that Arsenal weren’t pressing as far forward with numbers. United completely bossed possession in the second half but Arsenal let them have it. They reeled themselves in and attacked on the break.
In past seasons, the Gunners may still have blown this somehow. It only takes one goal to get back into it, for the doubt to creep in and the errors to emerge. But this time they had that last line of defence. When people talked about what Petr Cech could bring this team, games like this were a lot of what that was all about. He wasn’t 10/10 or anything. He didn’t get the opportunities to earn himself man of the match. Yet he did what he did flawlessly and confidently. A lovely save with his trailing leg denied Martial a fine goal late in the first half. He made another diving at Schweinsteiger’s feet in the second half. Plus the numerous crosses plucked from the air. When you have a keeper as assured as this guy is, it makes a genuine difference to the defence in front of him.
Of course that’s only gonna start more debate about why he didn’t play in the Champions League, but it’s not like it was a shock. Wenger likes to rotate his keepers between competitions, and David Ospina is a fine keeper in his own right. His mistakes are his mistakes, Cech’s got nothing to do with it. One big difference though: Ospina can be a shaky one. Cech’s ability to take care of himself is a luxury, Ospina could really use a little protection now and then.
3-0 it finished. United had some chances, sure, but Arsenal were never not in control. This was a blistering performance, the sort of thing so often teased by this team only to disappear in the most important games. Actually, it’s more often Arsenal on the receiving end on these occasions.
What exactly went wrong with Manchester United is hard to define. Probably because there were so many things. Schweinsteiger and Carrick were outworked by Arsenal’s flowing attacking midfielders. Not playing Schneiderlin, who offers more of a defensive screen than the others, may have been a mistake. This was the first time where Daley Blind had really been caught out. It was thought that imposing strikers would ruin him but United had been able to cut them off at the source. Instead it was the speed of Walcott that had him on his heels too often. Only Smalling offered real pace in that line. In fact only Smalling and Martial offered it at all for MUFC.
It’s been suggested that United have finally paid the price for starting slowly in games. That’s a fair point. This is a team that likes to dictate play. They’re at their best in a slow game where they can poke and prod away down the flanks and Arsenal certainly did not give them that. They took them out of their comfort zone and there wasn’t much of a plan B. United just didn’t react to the situation. They like to spread the field but this game demanded they set a platform of midfield dominance. That should have necessitated a more compact beginning. Instead with Arsenal’s energy and tenacity United were sliced into six isolated men beyond the backline. All they could do was pass sideways or lump it and it took about half an hour to solve that. United looked shell-shocked as Arsenal attacked with wave after wave.
(A counterargument to the majority opinion: Wayne Rooney was quite good here. One of his most enterprising games of recent times, showing a mostly good touch and looking to play with a bit of fire. Maybe all he needs is to stop thinking about things and just play, passionately and unconsciously?)
More than anything, while it may be a bit of a wakeup call for the defeated team, a result like this has to be about the magnificence of the victors. All three goals were sublime and they left a couple on the table too. Those first 20 minutes were the perfect definition of Wenger’s footballing textbook. Passes came swiftly and with purpose. They did need a bit of naivety for their opponents to allow them to hit the absolute heights, yet the benchmark’s been set all the same. City and Chelsea have both had their share of defensive confusion this season, more so than United even (though City on attack > anyone else outside of Spain not named Juventus or Bayern).
For the first time in a long time, Arsene Wenger – so often becoming the grumpy old man of the Premier League these days with his excuses and his stubbornness – left the field with a beaming smile. Now he’s just gotta do it again against Bayern Munich a couple times. And at least once against City. Oh, and they play Chelsea and Man Utd again too. Because with great games come great expectations.
Still, after a week of doubts and accusations, this was as emphatic a rebound as they could have possibly wished for.
Man of the Match: It can only be Alexis Sanchez. He blew this game away early with his speed and aggression. A slick finish for his first goal, a belter for the second. On days like this he is as good as any player on the planet (almost). An absolute nightmare to deal with and a joy to witness. Credit also for wonderful games to Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott.
The Good
Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) – The best forward in the Premier League adds another great performance to the many already in his photo album. Five goals in a game, something only four other men have ever done in the Premier League: Andrew Cole (Manchester United), Alan Shearer (Newcastle), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham Hotspur) and Dimitar Berbatov (Man Utd). But Aguero did it quickest, with a mere 20 minutes between first and fifth goals. If it weren’t for the equally extra-terrestrial Bobby Lewandowski the other day then this’d be almost beyond belief.
Christian Eriksen’s Free Kicks (Tottenham Hotspur) – Phwoar, amiright? Phwoar! Okay, not the first one that went down the middle of the goal, but the second one was just… phwoar!
The Bad
Chelsea – Like, at what stage do they start figuring it out? It’s starting to feel a bit like Dortmund in last year’s Bundesliga. It’ll help when they get Diego Costa back after the break. Also, Southampton are were a tough matchup for them. Solid at the back, tight through the middle, flair on the wings and strength in the air up top. All things Chelsea have struggled with this season.
Brendan Rodgers (Unemployed) – Fare thee well, ye of great character. Alas the green grass of Anfield was but a little too long.
The Ugly
Managerial Job Security – It’s one thing for Brendan Rodgers to be flicked after his long ordeal but talk of Jose Mourinho leaving Chelsea is beyond ridiculous. He just won the Premier League! How impatient can people be? The same thing happened with Manchester City last year, dumb folks talking about Manny Pellegrini getting sacked. The literal only reasons to get rid of him would have been a guaranteed, no-backsies deal with Pep Guardiola, or maaaybe with the ghost of Brian Clough. Thankfully Pelly held firm and Mou will surely do so too. If he leaves it can only be for non-football reasons, some personal clash or something. The team’s having massive problems but it’s his job as manager to sort that out, he needs to be given that room. And jeez if there’s a manager in the world who’s earnt that right it’s Mourinho. Bloody hell.
Harry Kane’s Own Goal (Tottenham Hotspur) – Worth a chuckle. Good to see the scoring touch hasn’t deserted him.
