Manchester United 1-0 Arsenal: Tactical Analysis

Arsenal playing higher up the pitch in the 2nd half

Arsenal’s attack moved higher in the 2nd half via squawka.com

Vidic’s injury meant that Moyes had to reshuffle his men. He chose to bring on Tom Cleverley and move Jones to a deeper role. While Cleverley has improved his defensive game recently, he has an entirely different skill set to Jones. Cleverley didn’t have a bad half and pressed well off the ball but Arsenal enjoyed more possession higher up the pitch in the 2nd half. Of course the other factor that facilitated this shift was United’s willingness to sit back and defend their lead as the game moved to the latter stages.

Sagna pushing forward as Arsenal chased an equalizer

Sagna attempted as many as 7 crosses in the 2nd half via squawka.com

For all of Arsenal’s creativity and technical flair, it was the French full back who posed the most threat as the North London side pushed for an equalizer. Kagawa had done a good job of tracking back and staying goal-side of the right back but he visibly tired and was eventually taken off. Wenger also threw on young Gnabry who looked bright and kept Evra occupied. The above 2 factors meant that Sagna found himself in space and took the opportunity to deliver as many as 7 crosses in the 2nd half as seen in the graphic above. Indeed 2 of them were delightful balls and were as close as Arsenal came on the night to troubling De Gea.

Manchester United’s Substitutions

David Moyes has got some stick thus far for what has been perceived to be negative substitutions most notably in the game against Southampton but on the night his substitutions were spot on. As mentioned above, Kagawa’s tiredness led to him coming up short in his defensive duties so Moyes replaced him with Giggs. The last substitution of Fellaini replacing Van Persie was another one that made sense for United. The big Belgian added an additional layer of protection higher up the pitch, added height to set pieces and his physical presence was one that United could use to see out the last part of the game.

Conclusion

The game wasn’t “one for the ages” or “an advert for the Premier League” but it was one whose importance cannot be diluted. On a weekend that saw City, Chelsea and Spurs all drop points, a win for Manchester United means that despite their lukewarm start they’re just 5 points off leaders Arsenal. On the night, United were simply the more determined of the 2 teams and a solid team performance punctuated by fine individual performances from the likes of Rooney and Jones got them through. For Arsenal they’ll have better days at the office and if anything they’ll be disappointed that they didn’t show the fine form they were in coming into this game. The result has left the Premier League table as tight as ever and although it’s only November, a close title race seems to be growing in its inevitability.