Arsenal travelled to Manchester on Sunday afternoon and came away with a point after a 1-1 draw that saw Ander Herrera’s opener cancelled out by a Tyler Blackett own goal in the second half.
In fashion similar to Arsenal’s successful trip to the Etihad Stadium earlier in the season, the side from Manchester dominated posssession, being allowed time and space on the ball, but on this occasion Arsenal failed to deal with the threat of Juan Mata, Marouane Fellaini and Ashley Young.
United’s first goal was well worked, an Ashley Young cross into the awaiting Ander Herrera who was able to volley home.
How the goal came about wasn’t acceptable.
Fellaini was allowed too much space on the left hand side and Coquelin should not have afforded the space to the Belgian who was able to turn and play the ball into Ashley Young, who then carried and drove the ball towards the box.
Juan Mata stole the attention of Nacho Monreal, bringing him further inside and bumping into Fellaini and Laurent Koscielny while Herrera pealed away at the back post with time and space to place his volley into David Ospina’s near post. A clever move by United, but had Coquelin been better positioned in the lead up and latterly Alexis Sanchez further back to cover the space left open by Monreal, the move would not have come together and the goal not allowed.
Santi Cazorla in the first half was not allowed to concentrate on anything but his defensive duties and his on the ball attacking nature suffered for it, sloppy passing the ball forwards on a number of occasions, something we’re not used to seeing from the often tidy Spaniard.
The second half was very different, within 10 minutes Arsenal were much better, Aaron Ramsey grew into the game and his influence became effective as his long range pass was collected by the feet of substitute Theo Walcott who’s low cross deflect off Tyler Blackett, beyond Victor Valdes and into the back of the net.
It might not have been a win and there might be a lot of room for improvement after the game, but Arsenal came away from Old Trafford with a point and can secure automatic qualifaction to the Champions League with a win on Wednesday against Sunderland at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal allowed United far too much time and space in the first half
Manchester United dominated the ball in the first half, with Arsenal pressing only in the final third. It was an odd tactic deployed by Wenger, but one we’ve seen before in Manchester. Against City, the Gunners sat back and allowed the likes of David Silva to dominate the ball, whilst covering the space further up the field, a tactic that worked well as the Manchester City players all attempted to make runs into the space already covered by Arsenal players, so it was easily dealt with.
Against United the story was much different, the likes of Ander Herrera, Juan Mata, Daley Blind and Ashley Young dropped deep at all times to collect the ball and make short interchanging passes as they moved forward, meaning that they could move up the pitch as a team, not as individuals, with a pass into a player with space always an available option.
United’s goal came too easily, Arsenal’s midfield was caught napping as Monreal was dragged out of position, rooky defending from a poor first half performance that was quickly eradicated during and after the break.
Fellaini vs. Coquelin kind of rolled back the years
Without rolling back the Roy Keane/Patrick Vieira years, Coquelin and Fellaini were involved in what can only be described as an interesting midfield battle.
It wasn’t one of hatred and and fight, but a genuine, honest, tough battle to win midfield supremacy. Coquelin struggled to deal with Fellaini early on, making rash tackles on the Belgian midfielder, but he grew into the game and helped Arsenal to dominate midfield in the second half.
Coquelin ended the game with a pass accuracy of 97%, while making six interceptions, four blocks and two successful tackles. Meanwhile, Fellaini create the most chances of all the players (3) and had a pass accuracy of 85%, but was poor defensively; making only one interception, one block and one successful tackle.
Not a classic battle, but one that had a grit and determination to it, a battle that would not have been expected before the start of this season, but the two players have become extremely important for their respective clubs and will continue to be as they go into their last games of the campaign and prepare to start the new season.
Olivier Giroud is great, but it’s time to be realistic
Let’s face it, we all love Giroud, but if Arsenal want to put in a genuine title bid next season they need to invest in a pacey striker who can finish.
The French striker has been fantastic for Arsenal and has developed fantastically under Arsene Wenger, but Giroud showed on a number of occasions exactly why Arsenal need to invest in a striker with pace. On a number of occasions, Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey turned away from the United midfielders and looked for Giroud’s run in behind the defenders, which he made, but his lack of pace meant that Chris Smalling was able to beat him to the ball every time.
Giroud also showed why he is such a fantastic forward, his hold up play was as good as it has been for a long time, with his highlight of the game being able to hold off Marcus Rojo and touch the ball beautifully into the six-yard box before his stretching effort was dealt with by David De Gea.
If Wenger wants to win the Premier League before he retires, whenever that may be, he needs to be realistic and recognise that Arsenal can no longer afford to put faith in Giroud to win games. There are a number of options within the Premier League and around Europe, so it’s time to dip into the transfer market, Arsene.
Aaron Ramsey needs to be brought into the middle
Santi Cazorla wasn’t great, he was unusually sloppy on the ball and was too deep in midfield to have any real impact on the game. Aaron Ramsey wasn’t great on the right side of midfield, his lack of pace meant that Rojo was able to deal with him easily enough, but in the 73rd minute Arsenal made a double substituion, Cazorla was given an early bath and was replaced by Jack Wilshere, while Bellerin was withdrawn for Theo Walcott, a move that meant Coquelin moved to right back, Theo Walcott was pushed out wide and Aaron Ramsey was allowed to move into the middle of the pitch.
This move was vital to Arsenal’s late resurgance, Aaron Ramsey grew and and grew as the game went on and dominated the midfield, making a number of tidy passes, running from box-to-box and in the 82nd minute his beautifully aimed pass into Theo Walcott led to the Arsenal equaliser.
Santi Cazorla is a fantastic midfielder, but he had a night to forget while Aaron Ramsey did his stake for a more central role absolutely no harm. If the Welshman is to be used in the Arsenal midfield, it cannot be from the right and with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain making strides in the team this season, it seems very unlikely that Ramsey will be able to hold down his place in the team if it is not through the middle.
Both teams have reason to be optimistic
Both teams have secured a top four finish and will both likely be in the UEFA Champions League group stages next season. Now is the time for the two manager’s to think about next season, how to improve and challenge Chelsea for the Premier League title.
Louis Van Gaal has already displayed his forward thinking, signing Memphis Depay very early on and he will no doubt have other players in mind as we move towards transfer season.
Both teams need further steel, Arsenal need players who can come into the side and kick the most talented players out of the side, while United need to strengthen defensively and perhaps their biggest and most difficult task will be holding onto the stunning David De Gea, who seems likely to leave for Real Madrid.
If Van Gaal can ‘get Angel Di Maria playing’, United will have a fantastic *addition* to the team, a player who adds pace to the counter attack and a great final ball, so he certainly provides optimism for United fans along with further potential signings.
Arsenal struggled to start the season, but the addition of Coquelin in midfield has as mentioned on numerous occasions added a significantly important balance to the side which has seen the best attacking players flourish and form increase significantly.
It could be an expensive transfer window ahead, but if Arsene Wenger signs a few very, very good footballers (not at all a tough task), it could be the beginning of something special for the North London side.
