The Two Major Problems Facing Arsenal and Manchester United
As Arsenal and Manchester United clashed this month at Old Trafford, the problems both teams have been facing tactically were on show. It’s important to note, that this analysis is in effect critiquing both teams and the biggest problem in front of them, it isn’t singular to the game they played against each other. Rather it is just another opportunity to dissect what is happening for both clubs and delve into why.
Arsenal’s lack of penetration
Arsenal have a number of absences and injuries. But throughout the season, it’s clear to see there was an over-reliance on set-pieces. As soon as the goals from dead balls dried up, it felt as though Arsenal have ran out of ideas.
The lack of men they actually commit up the pitch up against defences is scant. The best attacks in the world, commit players and pin defences back. Against United, it is only Mikel Merino pinning a defence of five back, granted Merino is not even a striker naturally.
The problem is that players who are on the pitch are too busy dropping in and linking up in build-up, Martin Ødegaard-Thomas Partey-Declan Rice are busy trying to find pockets in the centre, Leandro Trossard is also dropping off to receive with Riccardo Calafiori inverted, there is no one stretching the defence.
All that happened was after neat approach play, Arsenal did well to get in and around United’s box but not actually finding space in it, it resulted in many shots outside the box, but United crowded the space with enough men back whenever this happened. It became harder when United went 3v3 in midfield stopping central space.
Man Utd’s build-up
On the flipside, whilst Arsenal’s build up is good but doesn’t result in much, Man Utd’s build-up is a huge issue and has been since Rúben Amorim arrived. It feels like almost every team that United come up against know exactly how Amorim is going to setup and so far the Portuguese manager doesn’t have an answer.
The ball goes to the wide centre-back, and as the press pushes up on United, every option to pass, be it down the line, inside or back to the centre-back is closed off.
The problem arises because as the wide CB is marked, so is the CM (Casemiro) inside, the central centre-back (Victor Lindelöf) and the wide winger and full-back on that same side. It feels like when United get the ball wide it’s a trigger for the opponent to surround them.
The most concerning aspect in both the cases of Arsenal and United is how long the issues have gone on, with neither manager yet to come up with a solution.
By: Dharnish Iqbal / @dharnishiqbal
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Catherine Ivill / Getty Images