Manchester United 0-2 Arsenal: 5 Talking Points & Tactical Analysis

#1 The race for the top four slots will go down the wire

Ole Gunnar Solksjaer's first Premier League defeat as United's manager came at a tricky time

This match was crucial from United’s perspective as a victory would have allowed them to go four points clear of Arsenal and on level with Tottenham Hotspur.

Moreover, Arsenal are not supposed to play any of the top six teams in their next eight fixtures and that hands them a probable advantage in the race for the third and fourth Champions League slots.

United, on the other hand, are yet to host Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in April, which would be a stern test late onto the season too.

Spurs lost their match against Southampton this weekend and hence this match had opened the opportunities for both Ole and Emery’s sides to stake a claim at the third spot in the table too. That would have been some turnaround for the Red Devils, but unfortunately for them, that was not supposed to be.

Meanwhile, Emery sparked an impressive comeback for Arsenal after that shambolic 3-1 defeat to Renness in the Europa League a few days ago.

To be honest, there were no signs of complacency from United in this fixture, as many would like to suggest. The players tried their best but were found wanting when there was a bit of requirement of composure and level-headedness in the final third.

Sometimes, a run of difficult fixtures takes a toll and results into stuff like this for certain players. For example, Rashford and Lukaku have been fulcrums of United’s recent impressive form but they were not up to the mark today.

Arsenal fittingly took full advantage of that and now has a formidable chance of ousting Solksjaer’s team for a Champions League spot. However, if one thing that has been constant throughout Ole’s short tenure so far, it is the fact that his team would never stop believing that they could make it until the final whistle blows.

Game on, ladies and gentlemen!