FA Cup: Manchester United 1-2 Arsenal – Takeaways
Credit: ESPN
It was billed to be a close encounter at Old Trafford between Manchester United and Arsenal and at times it was, with fast flowing football interspersed with tough tackles and plenty of individual errors. Manchester United had been arguably the better team in the first half but the story was very different in the second as Arsenal outpaced and outplayed United and came away with a ticket to Wembley and the semi-finals.
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What can we take from the defeat?
1) Backpasses Costly
Antonio Valencia was at fault for Welbeck’s winner of which De Gea cannot be blamed for at all. In fact, De Gea proved again why he is among the best goalkeepers in the world but unfortunately has a terrible defence in front of him.
He made a terrific one handed save to deny Giroud, and he not only stopped the ball hitting the net but scooped it back under his control in one swift motion. He kept United in the tie but the team could not repay him with another goal.
United have made a habit of passing it back this season and at times it has been a risky strategy. Especially against a team that has so much pace like Arsenal it was always likely to end badly. It was unfortunate it had to be Antonio Valencia who made the mistake because he gives it all for the team but he reaffirmed that he is not a defender and playing wingers in defence has its drawbacks despite Louis van Gaal’s insistence on the system.
Taking Hererra off made these passes all the more prominent because they lacked a way of moving it forward effectively through the middle, Carrick not quite the same player and Blind looked like he was nervous all game.
2) Unnecessary changes
Why did Louis van Gaal take Herrera off at half-time? The gulf in class between the first half and second half was immense. A completely different team.
It was the changes that made the game change, because it disrupted the flow and the teams ideas because without Herrera it was much harder to get the right balls in to Rooney and put much more emphasis on the wings which meant the midfield ended up disjointed and all over the park.
Jones added nothing extra in defence and it seemed like a waste of substitutions especially with better options on the bench to really unlock the game. Even Falcao was left to sit on the bench and watch his team lose. He truly is on his way out it would appear as again he was not chosen to chase a winning goal.
In short, the half time changes were not needed and proved detrimental in the outcome of the game. United lost its attacking threat and were shaky to say the least at the back and preferred to pass it backwards rather than forwards. Louis is no stranger to big calls but these proved too big for the occasion and didn’t pay off.
3) Wrong Sport?
Januzaj. Dived. Young. Dived. Di Maria. Dived. Which led to a red card. It is disgraceful and totally unacceptable.
There was no reason to dive as much as they did and on a game shown to millions of people it was the wrong message to send about the club. The sending off did not help matters either and prolongs the criticism Di Maria is facing for his poor season.
His handling of the referee was arguably in the heat of the moment but he has played for many years to know that this should never happen.
Januzaj has collected a number of yellow cards in his fledgling career and many of those have for simulation. He needs to cut this out of his game fast.
As for the rest of the team, they need to remember who they are playing for and what that shirt means to them, the manager and the fans. It should not be tarnished with needless bookings for cheating the referee.
Other Takes
– Shaw looked good, although was taken off at half time. Possibly a fitness issue?
– Rooney worked hard all game and his goal was deserved, but suffered from the players around him.
– Di Maria had shown some signs of improvement but his sending off condemned him to more criticism.
– United looked to tire and most players gave up in the final moments. Something the manager needs to cut out as well as the diving.