Why Manchester United's win against Arsenal was a pyrrhic victory

Old Trafford has been painted blue after Manchester City, Manchester United's bitter rivals, stopped them from recording a new club record 41 matches unbeaten at Old Trafford after the Citizens defeated them 2-1 over the weekend. The game was undoubtedly the biggest game in the league this season, and it lived up to the hype, with goals from Otamendi and Silva gifting City all three points despite Marcus Rashford equalising before the first half ended.

United, heading into the clash were in high spirits, as they had won their last four matches in the league, but the game plan by Jose Mourinho was not the best. Yet again, the Portuguese set up to negate Guardiola, but the United players made a mess of it by constantly giving the ball away.

United's last game in the league was a 3-1 victory over Arsenal, in which they were set up the same way but were saved in the league by a masterclass from David de Gea. The win was a Pyrrhic victory, which means that the effort the Red Devils put into the game at Arsenal has accounted for nothing as they are now 11 points behind City, who have set the pace for the rest of the league this season.

City have won 15 and drawn just 1 in 16 league games, which has never been done in the history of the league. United knew that a victory over City would have cut the lead back to 5 points, but at this stage, the title is City’s to lose.

The absence of Pogba affected the team chemistry as his suspension ensured that we had nobody that could move from box to box and dominate the opponents with his physicality. Yet again, Jose Mourinho proved that his tactical supremacy that used to make him invincible is starting to leave him.

United had the chance to make a statement with a victory but Jose put the handbrake on his players, instead of trying to negate the opponent with a defensive, pragmatic approach. Guardiola outfoxed him with his spot on tactics but as Pep said, the title is not won in December. Winning against Arsenal elevated the morale of the 20-time English champions, but they came back crashing down to earth with a forgettable performance.

United's last loss at Old Trafford was a 2-1 defeat to Manchester City last year September and they have been beaten yet again by the same opponent, missing the chance to go 41 unbeaten at Old Trafford, which would have been a new club record. Pogba missing the clash was painful, as his stupid red card cost them a player that could have changed the course of the game. There are still 22 matches to be played, meaning that there is still a lot of points to play for.