The FA cup fourth round match between Arsenal and Manchester united saw the red devils edge the gunners in a feisty match. Manchester united won the match 3 – 1 thanks to goals from Alexis Sanchez, Jesse Lingard, and Anthony Martial with Arsenal only goal coming from Aubameyang.
Arsenal coming back from the win in the London derby against Chelsea were full of confidence and hoping to stop Manchester united from recording their 8th win on a row. The match ended in a loss for Arsenal at Emirates stadium where they have been solid this season.
What went wrong for the gunners in that match?
Injuries
Just like in the league match against Manchester United where Arsenal was forced to make 2 substitutions due to Holding and Ramsey injuries the same happened here. Sokratis Papastathopoulos was forced off with injury in the 21st minute and was replaced by the inconsistent Mustafi. It all went downhill from there. Manchester united took control and got their first goal in the 31st minute thanks to some shabby defending. Tricked by a fake Lukaku shot, the Arsenal defense allowed Lukaku to slip a pass to Alexis Sanchez who rounded Cech before slotting the ball in from a tight angle. The flood gates opened and Lingard got in the scoresheet 2 minutes after the first goal.
A second half facial injury to Koscielny mean Granit Xhaka had to deputise at the back. This proved disastrous as Arsenal were carved open at every Manutd attack.
The injuries were a huge decisive factor in that match. No manager will be happy making 2 substitutions out of the permissible 3 due to injuries. It disrupt the team tactics and manager plan.
Tactical decision
Unai Emery is a tactical coach and one that love trying different formation and tactics. He showed it against Chelsea. The game was won based on tactics.
Against Manchester United, his tactics back-fired. He tried to keep a high-line against Manchester United in order to compress the space and let Arsenal dominate. Solskjaer countered by deploying Romelu Lukaku to the right wing. His pace, strength and link-up ability caused Arsenal a lot of problem resulting in him assisting 2 goals. Arsenal high line and offside trap tactics backfired. This was evident in Manchester United second goal when Kolasinac decide to keep Lukaku in an offside position only to be let down by Koscielny and Mustafi who played him on. Kolasinac could have gone back to his left back position and leave Xhaka to close down Luke Shaw.
High-line or offside trap tactics is not an effective style for a team with a shaky defense like Arsenal.
With the scores 2-1 and Koscielny injured, Emery decision to withdraw Iwobi and Xhaka playing at centre back is not a good decision. Iwobi has been Arsenal main threat throughout the match. He is the reason Young wasn’t able to come out. It’s not his fault that Arsenal strikers decide to go missing when needed most. Lacazette was almost inexistent in the first half while Aubameyang disappeared in the second half.
Xhaka is always a disaster when playing at centre back. He has shown that in the few matches where he played at the back. Slow, poor awareness and anticipation, poor marking, poor tackling. That is Xhaka. Why play him at center back? A better substitution should have been Monreal for the injured Koscielny and Ozil for Lacazette.
That will leave Arsenal playing Mustafi and Monreal at center back with Xhaka, Torreira at the midfield and Iwobi, Ozil, Ramsey in an advanced position while Aubameyang top strike.
We don’t need Guendouzi in that match. What is needed is a holding midfielder to curtail Manchester united counter attacks. Xhaka and Torreira would have fit in as Arsenal look for the equalizer. Guendouzi is a roaming midfielder and bringing him in result into Torreira being the only midfielder in the middle of the park. Manchester united 3rd goal is an example of the non-existent midfield.
The game was almost lost due to injuries but Emery tactical decisions ensure Arsenal lost any chance of winning the match.
Watch the highlight of the match here
It is now Arsenal going back to the drawing board and focus on their next match against Cardiff.
Kudos to Manchester United, they deserve the win.
Let me know your thought below.
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