Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal can't escape the 8th place! The two played well, and Ten Hag was not questioned for a long time

Romy's Manchester United blog

2024-05-13 08:36Posted in Hong Kong, China

There are no miracles, United lost 1-0 to Arsenal at Old Trafford, three points behind Newcastle United and Chelsea with only two games remaining, and it is almost impossible to finally get out of the current eighth position, only beat Newcastle in midweek and hope that rivals will drop points in the final round, or work a miracle to erase the goal difference deficit of 16 goals behind Chelsea and 26 goals behind Newcastle.

Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes, who Ten Hag announced before the game, were not in the squad, prompting criticism from Rooney that they had avoided fighting. Ten Hag's explanation for this was: "Marcus Rashford has trained in the last few days but not enough to be selected. Bruno also trained for two days, but his recovery from injury was not sufficient.

As a result, Ten Hag made a rare start for 40 million euro winger Ahmad Diallo and Moroccan striker Amrabat, who were outstanding. It was Diallo's first start in 886 days, but he was one of the best players in the squad, energetic, bold and direct, and the only United striker to have upset the Arsenal defence.

But Old Trafford fans are wondering why Ten Hag waited so long for him to get into the squad for the first time, even after the FA Cup extra-time winner, and refused to give him a chance sooner.

Amrabat, who started his first league game since 17 December, ensured a balance in midfield that ensured the Reds conceded just one goal against Arsenal, the second-most goalscoring side. It's also questionable why Amrabat hasn't been used when there is no one available in central midfield and the defence is always exposed to the opposition's attack.

However, United ultimately lost by a narrow goal and were declared goalless in the opening 20 minutes. Because the team's crippled defence made another low-level mistake, Casemiro did not run forward in time when Onana kicked wide, Arsenal easily reversed offside, and Wan-Bissaka watched the ball without looking at people, allowing Trossard to rush into the net, Manchester United trailed Arsenal 0-1.

This is another of Ten Hag's dissatisfying appointments, why Casemiro insisted on using him despite his repeated serious mistakes at centre-back. Scott McTominay played at centre-back for Scotland, while young centre-back Cambovara, who returned from injury, was on the bench for another centre-back, Evans.

Garnacho's breakthrough was very brave in United's attack, but his last-ditch shot was on his way to Marcus Rashford. The stats show Garnacho had five breakaways and seven shots on goal in the game, but zero shots on target and only one key pass. Without a manager to guide him properly, as he did with Cristiano Ronaldo, the Argentine winger could become another United talent with no strategy.

After this defeat, Manchester United set a number of negative records: Arsenal won three consecutive Premier League games against Manchester United for the first time since 1998; Manchester United have lost 19 games in all competitions, equalling the record for defeats in 1978/79 and losing 14 games in a single Premier League season is also the highest in team history. Since October 2021, United have conceded 10 consecutive goals in all competitions, with 82 goals conceded this season setting a record since 1970/71. The Premier League's goal difference of -4 is the worst defensive statistic since 1978/79......

Philanthropic fans may have sympathy for Ten Hag and feel that losing only one goal to the leaders with such a squad is a good thing. But as Manchester United manager, such a record is unjustifiable in any way. Can he say that the fact that we have only lost one goal against Arsenal on Sunday after four goals to Crystal Palace on Monday shows that we have made great progress?

Veteran United fans will not forget that in the past, with a broken squad, United still had a chance to knock down Arsenal. Fabio and Rafael da Silva brothers, O'Shea and Gibson played in midfield, creating a classic of a back seven over Arsenal; Louis van Gaal won against Arsenal with a defensive combination of Smalling, McNair and Blackett or Vareira, Carrick, Blackett and Mensah.

Manchester United boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his close confidant Sir Dave Brailsford were in the Old Trafford box. They will be clear that Manchester United need a major overhaul and that Ten Hag and many of the players have to leave, just as a stadium in disrepair needs to be revamped.

After the race, a rainstorm caused the Old Trafford roof to "plummet three thousand feet" again, recreating the spectacle of the Great Falls. It happened many years ago, but United have not been determined to overhaul it like the first team. This time, even Arsenal's visiting dressing room was leaking, but thankfully they won an important victory, and a leak in the roof is unlikely to dampen their joy.

United said 40mm of rain fell in the two hours following the final whistle, surpassing the figure for the entire month of May last year. How much is it like Ten Hag, who has been blaming injuries after the loss, and the club is offering £9 million a year in the hope that the boss will solve the problem on the pitch rather than complaining about it in the press conference.

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