A rising header from ex Arsenal fan favourite Robin Van Persie meant Arsenal’s brilliant start to the campaign halted by the thinnest of margins at Old Trafford. While David Moyes could have had a tight night’s sleep, Arsene Wenger would be disappointed the way his boys approached the game against the Red Devils with some very poor performances from his star players. While Mesut Ozil, Santi Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey all of them had a poor day at the office together, Arsenal’s weakness were perhaps exposed at the Theater Of Dreams.
Here are three things we learnt from the game:
Lack of a terrorizer up front
Even though Olivier Giroud has significantly improved from last campaign, his holding of the ball has been immaculate by bringing others into play. The Frenchman who has improved immaculately on bringing others on the ball, drops deep and has been used as a outlet, winning headers in open play. However, Arsenal do need a striker someone like a Aguero who can terrorize the opposition defence and has immense poaching abilities, with brilliance on the ball. Also like Liverpool’s Uruguayan Luis Suarez who with his mesmerizing dribbling abilities, can change any game by the scruff of the neck. Though these kind of strikers are not available in the market, someone like Alexandre Pato who is willing to join the Premier League might just be the solution to their striking woes up front. Even when Walcott and Podolski will be back from the sidelines, Wenger will have some options to choose from.
Has Sagna’s crossing really improved?
Bacary Sagna did look uncomfortable at times but his crossing was very much improved in the second half. The French wing back made two brilliant deliveries which should have found someone in yellow, to just slot the ball home. Sagna was very much average last season, but it looks like he is getting back to his best (both in attack and defence). Should Wenger extend his contract? Of course he should.
Arteta was okay but where was Flamini in the game?
Flamini was for me the flop of the game, with a lot of misplaced passes, poor positioning and looked totally out of sorts today. Arteta too, had a poor game at the office given his standards, did almost nothing throughout the match as Arsenal consistently lost the midfield battle. The Spaniard is usually very solid in the midfield, loves to dictate the tempo but he does not track back which is a sign of concern.
All in all, the Gunners had a poor game by their standards, failed to implement their passing game, for which United deserves credit. David Moyes should be proud of the way his side responded after a disastrous start to the campaign and slowly things are falling in right place for the Scot.