It may have cost Anthony a few hundred million, but his first goal with Manchester United was priceless.
Arsenal have never been defeated like a punching bag at Old Trafford.
Better posture, a bit of fluency and a great tip-toe feel have turned the tide for Eric Ten Hag.
Look away from the questionable VAR, umpires and referees for a second. The meeting at Old Trafford was fun to the objective eye, a battle between – for the big moments – a finished team and one growing together into something really powerful.
Because Mikel Arteta has succeeded so much. Arsenal are now strong on paper and in reality, they are a flexible group of individuals who are interconnected and difficult to approach. Take Gabriel Jesus, for example, one of the best players in the world at putting his body between the opponent and the ball. United’s central locksmith Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane often had to pay illegally, or alternatively, throw sumo on copper to get in order.
Never Fun With Focused Judgment
If Arsenal gets a change, he immediately goes, bam, bam, bam, Gabriel Martinelli receives a deep pass on the left wing and thunders forward. The 21-year-old did so twelve minutes later at Old Trafford, confidently shooting up front behind David de Gea and only celebrating a youngster with five straight wins behind him.
It’s never going to be fun when it ends up ruling you in focus, this Premier LeagueThe weekend was particularly bad at that particular point. If Paul Tierney thought Martin Odegaard’s push for Christian Eriksen in the build phase was wrong in real time, that’s fine. In any case, the decision is up to Tierney. But sending it to the screen, which roughly means “you’re wrong” in VAR, doesn’t feel “clear and clear” (to use another VAR expression).
Learn to love – and hate
The disallowed goal gave Manchester United a second chance, and one they certainly took advantage of. New player Anthony, who moved the names of Ilanga to the bench, wanted a lot and succeeded in some things. The key to the 1-0 goal for the hosts was something as simple as Arsenal cheating the lead by returning the ball, then Christian Eriksen sent a streak-breaking pass to Bruno Fernandes.
A moment later, Anthony put the ball into the back of the net and kissed the club’s badge as if to convince the fans that a billion crowns was a reasonable transfer fee. It’s undeniable that the Emotional Adjuster is a player who has the potential to be loved by fans – and hated by everyone else.
Arsenal continued their work, trying to make creative use of several set-pieces and challenging full-backs Diogo Dalot and Terrell Malacia. Bukayo Saka’s goal in the 60th minute was the product of all this, but the momentum he gained quickly faded. Manchester United can also change opponents and punish them.
Arteta is commendable but…
Cristiano Ronaldo, who replaced Anthony, was on the field but not near the goal when Marcus Rashford made it 2-1 and then 3-1. It’s not a criticism, it’s just an example of Eric Ten Hag’s great faith in the Englishman and his important deep business. She was wanted against Liverpool, she was wanted today.
Mikel Arteta still deserves to be positively highlighted after Arsenal’s impressive start to the season and superior performance on Sunday. On the other hand, his triple change before the quarter-finals wasn’t good at all and here Eric ten Hag was feeling much better. Man United’s start with three consecutive defeats may be a nightmare, but the Dutchman is not a coach with dozens, his understanding of football has led to Ajax having many successes in the Champions League.
Arsenal should be proud of the development in the past year, and how they behave on the pitch compared to before. Erik Ten Hag’s big goal for Manchester United is, of course, to go through a similar process – and move on.
