Arsenal secure rare win at Old Trafford to take title to the final day

Manchester United 0 Arsenal 1   
Premier League   
Sunday 12th May 2024  4.30pm    

The points were the main thing for Arsenal, and given that they historically struggle to win at Old Trafford, nothing could be taken for granted in the Gunners’ penultimate game of the season. On paper, given the relative strength of the two teams, you’d have liked to see a scoreline akin to Manchester City’s at Fulham on Saturday lunchtime. If only football was that simple. 

An unchanged Arsenal line-up did enough to win, in that they produced better efforts that Manchester United, whose finishing was woeful, but they didn’t play that well. As one friend commented, “That match was painful. We played like a team on the Wednesday before a cup final. Too cautious but a win is a win. Agonising as it was!” 


That they kept a clean sheet was partially due to defensive resilience and organisation, but also the woeful quality of United’s attack certainly played its part. 14 attempts on goal, only two on target. The home side had greater possession and more attacks. 

 

Uncharacteristically, especially in the second half, Arteta’s team gave the ball away far too frequently. This was almost very costly early in the game when the scores were level, and Partey was dispossessed, although the consequent chance saw Hojlund blast over. Arsenal could relax a bit after 20 minutes, when a lumbering Casemiro played Havertz onside to cut the ball back to Trossard who put the visitors ahead. It was Arsenal’s fortune that Erik ten Haag has such an injury list that he had to field a central defensive pairing of Casemiro and Johhny Evans – the same duo that had been so cruelly exposed at Crystal Palace the previous Monday. 

 

For the rest of the first half, Arsenal did look more in control of things and United’s threats were not too much of a cause for concern. After the interval, all that changed and the second half was unquestionably United’s, but with no end product. So many efforts either high or wide of the goal. The visitors looked a little jaded, and there was an argument to replace Partey with Jorginho fifteen minutes into the second half, not as late as injury time. It felt like part of the reason that passes were going astray was a lack of focus, instigated by mental fatigue. A better attack would have punished them.

 

It was certainly became tense in the away section, as a Manchester afternoon that began in glorious sunshine turned to torrential rain as the second half wore on. The away side saw the game out, and on the break could have doubled their lead with decent efforts from Martinelli and Rice forcing Onana to save.  Saliba was named man of the match, which was a fair call as he certainly made some key interceptions. 

 

It will likely be a game that is quickly forgotten for details, but a result that will be remembered if it contributes to an Arsenal title. Yes, a long shot maybe, but we will wait to see if City are denied by Spurs on Tuesday evening, and if not, then pray for a miracle from West Ham next weekend. Football can throw up the occasional surprise. We hoped for one at Craven Cottage on Saturday, but Fulham were so woeful, this observer was scratching his head at how the Gunners only took a point from them in two matches.

 

Still, it needs to be remembered that the first half of the season saw an Arsenal team transitioning from 2022-23. Xhaka had gone, Partey was injured after a handful of games, and Rice and Havertz had to be integrated, which with the latter was at times a painful process. It was a credit to the team that they stayed in contention by picking up results whilst rarely demonstrating the fluidity of the previous campaign. You do have a feeling that ultimately, the team has improved as the points total and the record number of league victories indicates, and that the trajectory is upwards. That even if they cannot pull it off this season, then it can’t be too long before a league title is secured once again.

 

Who knows if it might come as early as next weekend. Arsenal have done what they can to make it a possibility, now it’s a rare use of the phrase ‘Come on You Spurs’ in this blog, with the hope that an occasional bogey team for Man City can frustrate them once again.

 

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