PL L FA Premier League

Manchester United 0:1 Arsenal

Post-match discussion


Sun, 01 November 2020

Schnappo

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Curious to know how many penalties Pogba has given away in his time at United. I feel like I've seen him do this exact same foul in the box 2 or 3 times at this point. So sloppy.

Ole got it wrong today but I think it also highlighted the need for quality wide players. With the players at our disposal, we pretty much had to play very centrally. We made it so easy for Arsenal to defend against as they knew there was no threat coming from the wings so they could just plug the spaces in the middle and watch us passively pass it side to side. We desperately needed a win today, we're starting to slip further away now as Chelsea, City, Liverpool and Arsenal are all starting to find consistency. The league form is very very worrying indeed.
 
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londonredmaniac

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I just want to see us as a proper attacking unit, we've got more than enough players of true quality to achieve it, and yet we look nothing like that. We're pathetically defensive. It's pretty shameful, especially against this level of opposition.
Have to agree with this
 

Heinzesight

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It’s bizarre how in the two CL games our passing is fast, accurate and slick. All players have a lovely first touch. We look confident.

Then we play in the PL and turn to shit.
 

Cnaiür urs Skiötha

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Awful stuff. McTominay has been a waste of space, even Cleverley or Schneiderlin offered more compared to this display.
Fred and Pogba both with abysmal passing today. Our CBs are too slow and if the covering does not work they are absolutely worrying.
Bruno had a crap game as well. Partially this is due to Arsenal having done very well in defending the spaces.
Donny must get a run of starting games.
Very bad stuff from Ole, no excuses for him.
 

Canuckred64

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Disappointing , especially after the win over Leipzig. We can't seem to score enough in the Premier, looks like we are playing not to lose rather than trying to win.

I am no tactical genius, but playing two of Fred, Matic or McTominay doesn't create enough chances, none of the three offer anything going forward. I don't know what the answer is but if teams keep their shape and we can't score on the counter, we struggle to score and it is looking like its going to be a long season.
 

OleTheGreat

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I don't know why I thought Pogba was one of the best players in this United side. Today he was purely given the license to go up the pitch and make things happen. He was useless on the ball, I don't think he's a flair player anymore and I sad to say he needs to work really really hard to keep his place in this team or he should be shipped off. Bruno is dying out there. Our formation was total crap. What hurts me the most about games is, we're so slow in possession. For the Love of God, push forward and find the players quicker. It never happened and we were utterly bad. Every player in that team receives the ball turns towards his own goal every time. There wasn't one player willing to beat his marker and go beyond. We're 15th in the table for the right reasons and this time I will blame Ole too because we wasted one full half with a narrow formation and then got back and did nothing about for around 20-25 mins in the second half as well. I cannot believe we're so horrible. That was lack lustre, demeaning, slow as a snail, bad bad performance. Just so you know, although Arsenal got the win, I don't think they played a great game either. They were shabby in possession too but the mistake from Pogba was unnecessary and gave them a lifeline. I'm gutted and hate to be the losing end of the fixture that Arsenal haven't won in 14 years. If Moyes could win this fixture, I cannot believe Ole blew it. What's even worse is I cannot think of anything we can do to change what's happening in this club. For the Ole haters, a change in manager will not change the situation. We need players and I blame Ed and the board for this mess. I mentioned this well before the end of the transfer window, we'll struggle if we didn't buy quality players and I'm sad it's panning out the exact way. One step forward, one step back they say. I think the PSG game was one off and Leipzig game changed because of quality introductions in the second half. Not like we walked all over them. We're so slow, so so slow. I just don't know why they don't have the fighting spirit in them. This is just sad.
 

calodo2003

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I just want to see us as a proper attacking unit, we've got more than enough players of true quality to achieve it, and yet we look nothing like that. We're pathetically defensive. It's pretty shameful, especially against this level of opposition.
And that’s 100% on the coaching staff.
 

DSG

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We still don't know how to play out of a high press.

Partially, this is a tactical issue. Ole needs to move to a 3-5-2 to stretch that first layer of the press. Secondly, this is a squad issue. McT, Fred and particularly Pogba are really slow in transitioning when playing out of the press. Two to three touches, slow play...

I blame Ole for not recognizing this and bringing one more player into the midfield. But he has issues with the ability in the squad as well. None of his CMs are particularly technical on the ball.

Pogba is shit
Defends like a tit
Penalties abound
Yet he's still around

Unbelievable. Is he the dumbest player that has ever worn a United shirt? Week after week, he's a liability. He isn't even a particularly effective attacking player either...
 

Inigo Montoya

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The best teams in the world can play badly and still win. Plenty of times under Sir Alex we were dreadful but got the result we needed. This current Man Utd needs to be absolutely firing to get anything from a game. Its a sign of our level. We're pretty much where Liverpool were 10-20 years ago. Capable of great things when everything's going for us, horrifying when its not.
Sir Alex wasn't afraid of dropping players even if they played well!

This guy is scared to drop Pogba. Would have been great to start DVB then bring Pogba on. Having 2 very defensive minded midfielders against Arsenal played intio their hands, big time
 

Sandikan

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Yeah, the only positive I can see is I haven’t wasted my time and money driving up and down the M6 to watch that performance.
Just when we all need a lift with the covid sh!t, we've actually gone massively backwards this season.
The classic if you stand still, you go backwards routine.
 

Scholsey2004

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Organised but uninspired performance. League table isn't pretty reading right now. We normally do quite well against possession sides but we were pretty short on ideas today. On a side note, not blaming Pogba individually for the result, there are a few others who weren't great either, but we certainly aren't getting much out of him performance-wise week in week out nowadays.
 

glazed

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Though I agree on the team sheet being wrong, dont agree about Keane. He is right regarding leaders, attitude and rolling your sleeeves up with so many of these players who are just so inconsistent
I mean you might be right. But we lost because Arsenal had tactics we couldn't work our way past. High press is hard to beat. You have to pass well.
 

jesperjaap

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The space appeared because we were 1-0 up (lucky enough), otherwise they would not put their back line in the middle of the pitch. People saw the 5-0, no focus on our woeful performance before the last flurry of fun. Same with Newcastle really. As an attacking team against decent opposition, the manager is far away from being the right fit.
Bang on, we werent masterful against Leipzig, they were the better side until the goal and then capitulated. We were poot against Newcastle as well until the last 5minutes
 

hobbers

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I can't believe we basically spent the same amount on VdB as Arsenal did on Partey, only to not play him while Pogba prances around for 90 minutes and ultimately costs us the game. Again.
 

londonredmaniac

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If Arsenal was more clinical, they could have won by 3 or 4 goals. You can’t blame Pogba, when Arsenal was superior throughout the game...away from home.
To be fair...there is some truth to that, and you can't blame Pogba in entirety at all.

But he is supposed to be a senior player...with world class ability.

He should be part of the improvement. He should be part of the influence of leaders.

Is he feck.
 

Falcow

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Fuming. A game that 30 mins in and its glaringly obvious that what we are trying to do isn’t working.



OGS doesn’t make suitable changes at half time. Still, after a further 25 mins of tumescent football no progressive changes are made.



It took him at least 15 mins of second half to decide Matic for Fred!....Really



Restored to Matic diving for a penalty, Maguire diving for a penalty. Seriously. It’s pathetic.



Arsenal with Elneny in midfield dominated us in the middle of the park. Elneny.



Fred, Matic, McTominay aren’t good enough if we’re honest. Sure they can press and destroy but utterly clueless with the ball at their feet. Not helped by Pogba being woeful, Bruno being woeful.



And when we’re chasing a goal, he takes Greenwood off.



Surely a front 3 of Rashford, Cavani, Greenwood would have been a better option.



I’m not OGS out. Far from it. I think he’s building a decent squad and his man management appears to be fine. He really struggles with in game management. Like he has a plan (including subs) and regardless of how the game plays out he sticks to that plan
Agree with nearly all of this. Fred and Mctominay at home together has to stop.
 
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Formation and selection not good but with THAT attitude and effort from the players, you're never going to win.

I can get past losing games but I hate how wimpy they are. No effort, no closing, poor attitude. At the very minimum, 100% effort.. not even close today.

Pogba is a huge dilemma. Cost a fortune, doesn't give enough, can be a liability and blocks other players getting in the XI.
 

sunama

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We are currently in 15th place.
If we win our game in hand we might be able to get 13th.
We are currently stuck in the lower half of the table.
 

Sandikan

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To be fair...there is some truth to that, and you can't blame Pogba in entirety at all.

But he is supposed to be a senior player...with world class ability.

He should be part of the improvement. He should be part of the influence of leaders.

Is he feck.
The penny has finally dropped with a lot of us about Pogba.

A world class player should have a high influence on those around him.
Instead, all we ever hear is what system and what role he'll have for us.

It's getting very similar to the Rooney end game, when he had to have legs, or pace round him, in this or that formation, in that role etc.
Bit worrying when he should be firmly in his peak.
 

Decade long lurker

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Feel exhausted after watching that shite. Tired from keeping in the tirade of abuse I wanted to spew at the telly box, but couldn’t. Weekend fecking ruined. Absolute pish
 

jesperjaap

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Waiting until the 80th minute before you start playing is never a recipe for success, and we do this game after game it seems. That drive shown during the last fifteen minutes, that should be the case all along. Arsenal was at it from start, they deserved no less than three points from this. Why do we need to be on the brink of failure before our players wake up?

Also, Pogba. I still don't get him, what the point of him is and to be honest I doubt he does as well. And Maguire needs to practice his headers. He's incredibly bad at it considering how often he does it. If he could hit a barn from point blank, we'd have an additional eight to ten goals since his arrival.
Weird how he has been so good before arriving in the air n the opposition box isnt it, yet here I only remember one occasion he hasnt been poor
 

DomesticTadpole

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Curious to know how many penalties Pogba has given away in his time at United. I feel like I've seen him give do this exact foul in the box 2 or 3 times at this point. So sloppy.

Ole got it wrong today but I think it also highlighted the need for quality wide players. With the players at our disposal, we pretty much had to play very centrally. We made it so easy for Arsenal to defend against as they knew there was no threat coming from the wings so they could just plug the spaces in the middle and watch us passively pass it side to side. We desperately needed a win today, we're starting to slip further away now as Chelsea, City, Liverpool and Arsenal are all starting to find consistency. The league form is very very worrying indeed.
Sure I posted something earlier that it is three since the restart.
 

Untd55

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The space appeared because we were 1-0 up (lucky enough), otherwise they would not put their back line in the middle of the pitch. People saw the 5-0, no focus on our woeful performance before the last flurry of fun. Same with Newcastle really. As an attacking team against decent opposition, the manager is far away from being the right fit.
Yep, that is true. If we don't score early, we are in a very difficult position.

You're right, Newcastle was almost a clone of the Leipzig match. Most of our goals end up being due to the pace of our frontline and a pass-through by Fernandes. We are no good at incisive passing.
 

Sandikan

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We are currently in 15th place.
If we win our game in hand we might be able to get 13th.
We are currently stuck in the lower half of the table.
Just write this season off mate, and enjoy any rare highlights when they arrive.

We won't possibly go down, and very likely we won't get near the champ league unless we win this year's version!!
 

Offside

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We are currently in 15th place.
If we win our game in hand we might be able to get 13th.
We are currently stuck in the lower half of the table.
I mean it’s bad but it’s 7 games in...
 

Berbasbullet

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He’s given away a couple handballs in the box too hasn’t he?
 

sunama

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Other than the penalty Utd were in total control of that game.
True.
And other than the fact we finished with the 3rd highest points total last season, we actually won the league :D
 

RuudTom83

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Of course i'm pissed off, but you can't be annoyed at someone for not wanting the same thing you want.

Everyone at the club wanted a point today, its a shame Paul gave away such a weak penalty, otherwise it would have been job done and secured the 1 point everyone wanted.

Top 4 is still on, and it's very clear what the goal is now.
 

DrRodo

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Even my cat saw pogba wasnt working on the left. Yet ole let him waste all the game there offering nothing, among many other mistakes. This one is on Ole, absolutely owned by arteta tactically
 

jesperjaap

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I mean you might be right. But we lost because Arsenal had tactics we couldn't work our way past. High press is hard to beat. You have to pass well.
Agree with you, but so many sides are now playing a high press and so many other sides in the premiership have been able to adapt to it far better than we have. I have been impressed with several sides far far weaker than us this season in the premiership playing out from the back, we simply are unable to it seems
 

DomesticTadpole

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I mean it’s bad but it’s 7 games in...
We have Everton next away and Southampton away at the end of the month, if Everton have their injured players back we could be in trouble. We have WBA in between which could either be another disaster or Ole's saviour.
 

Player Ratings

4.8 Total Average Rating

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Lowest Rated Player

Compiled from 316 ratings.

Score Predictions

215,13,40
  • Man Utd win
  • Arsenal win
  • Draw

Detailed Results

  • 22% Man Utd 2:0 Arsenal
  • 22% Man Utd 2:1 Arsenal
  • 13% Man Utd 3:1 Arsenal
  • 11% Man Utd 3:0 Arsenal
  • 9% Man Utd 1:1 Arsenal
  • 3% Man Utd 0:0 Arsenal
  • 3% Man Utd 1:0 Arsenal
  • 3% Man Utd 2:2 Arsenal
  • 2% Man Utd 1:2 Arsenal
  • 2% Man Utd 4:0 Arsenal
  • 2% Man Utd 3:2 Arsenal
  • 1% Man Utd 4:1 Arsenal
  • 1% Man Utd 5:0 Arsenal
  • 1% Man Utd 0:2 Arsenal
  • 1% Man Utd 4:2 Arsenal
  • 0% Man Utd 5:1 Arsenal
  • 0% Man Utd 0:1 Arsenal
  • 0% Man Utd 5:2 Arsenal
  • 0% Man Utd 1:3 Arsenal
  • 0% Man Utd 0:3 Arsenal
  • 0% Man Utd 0:4 Arsenal
  • 0% Man Utd 0:5 Arsenal
Compiled from 268 predictions.
Show more results Score Predictions League Table

Match Stats

  1. Man Utd
  2. Arsenal
Possession
53% 47%
Shots
8 7
Shots on Target
2 2
Corners
6 3
Fouls
12 12

Referee

Mike Dean