Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal claimed an impressive 2-0 victory over Ruben Amorim-led Manchester United in their Premier League Matchday 14 meeting at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night, December 4. Their well-earned triumph, combined with Liverpool’s 3-3 draw with Newcastle United, allowed the Gunners to move within seven points of the Reds at the top of the English top-flight rankings. Manchester United, meanwhile, slipped out of the top half of the rankings, with them now sitting in 11th place after 14 rounds of fixtures.
Arsenal Hurts Manchester United Through Clinical Corners
The hosts had an excellent goalscoring opportunity eight minutes into the game, as Declan Rice found Thomas Partey with a gem of a corner towards the near post. The midfielder, however, failed to apply the finishing touch, sending his header wide of the post. In the 25th minute, Oleksandr Zinchenko’s rebound fell kindly close to Gabriel Martinelli. The Brazilian attempted to poke it home but ended up sending it wide of the post.
Manchester United’s first noteworthy goalscoring opportunity fell to Diogo Dalot in the 43rd minute. The full-back put enough power behind his effort, but his shot from a tight angle drifted wide of the mark.
Having tormented the Red Devils through set-pieces in the first half, Arsenal finally made one count in the 54th minute. Rice’s delivery from the left was inch-perfect, allowing Jurrien Timber to flick the ball in from six yards out. Man Utd thought they were back on level terms in the 67th minute, as Matthijs de Ligt directed a powerful header toward the top-right corner of David Raya’s goal. The Spaniard, however, refused to let his clean sheet slip, denying the center-back with an acrobatic save.
In the 73rd minute, Arsenal put the game to bed, courtesy of an excellent corner from Bukayo Saka. Partey nodded Saka’s delivery across the box, and William Saliba was there to send it in with his back. Mikel Merino could easily have made it 3-0 in the 77th minute as he met Saka’s corner from the right. But luckily for United, the ball skidded off the surface and went wide.
Ruben Amorim Laments Lack of Aggression From His Players
Speaking after the game, Man Utd boss Amorim admitted his players lacked drive in the final third of the pitch, suggesting that the problem would not go away that easily.
The Portuguese tactician said (via Manchester Evening News):
“We work a lot on building up. You can see the structure, you can see the idea, you can see the bounce when the center-backs go to the midfielders, you can see that.
“But in the last part or last third you can see we need to improve, be more aggressive, more ideas but that part is more difficult to improve without a lot of training.”
Having tasted his first defeat at Man Utd, Amorim will be eager to recapture the winning feeling when he leads his side out against Nottingham Forest this Saturday, December 7.
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