There was a whiff of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at the start of United’s latest transition period. Much has been said about the club’s missing “DNA”, whatever it may contain. But under Michael Carrick United won the big games again – historically reflective of the ‘Manchester United way’ – and like Solskjaer’s leadership, player rebirth was at the heart of things.
In Solskjaer’s side, 21-year-old Marcus Rashford has enjoyed a resurgence after being misused out wide by Jose Mourinho. The representative of Carrick is Patrick Dolgu. A year on from being signed by Ruben Amorim as a defensive solution, the Dane has found new life in a Manchester United shirt after being promoted to a winger position. His outstanding performance against the Gunners, which included a screamer few could have imagined, was further evidence of how he has been hampered by the now former Manchester United boss over the past 12 months.
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The early stages were a mirror to the ghosts of Dorgu’s past at Old Trafford. Much of Arsenal’s early fun came down the right wing, with Dolgu forced back deeper and soon finding himself fighting a losing battle with Bukayo Saka.
It was that duel that sparked the Gunners’ opener, with Saka calmly flicking the ball over the defender’s legs to Martin Odegaard, who fired the ball into the six-yard box occupied by Jurion Timber and Lisandro Martinez, who settled on his hip to force play. Paul Scholes had warned Martinez not to come out too strong after impressing in last week’s derby, and perhaps the Argentinian should have listened as Odegaard’s pass bounced off Martinez’s heel and into his own net. “When you start talking and yelling, the game comes back to bite you in the butt,” Scholes said. He was on the spot; it was a really bad miss and Martinez didn’t react at all to the ball being passed to him.
Arsenal’s first goal was a deflection off Lisandro Martinez’s foot (Mike Egerton/PA Wire)
But from the moment Arsenal took advantage, they also seemed bent on being the architects of their own downfall. Bryan Mbeumo found himself closing in on goal from the restart as the Gunners gave the ball away sloppily in midfield, but they were released when Bruno Fernandes fired wildly wide from the track.
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Mbemo was United’s top scorer in his debut season at Old Trafford and perhaps should have left on his own, ensuring he didn’t repeat his mistakes when opponents offered him similar opportunities. With United’s press closing in, Martin Zubimendi panicked on to William Saliba’s hospital pass and the Spaniard, while trying to pass the ball to the goalkeeper, passed the ball cleanly to Mbeumo – who was in his sights as he passed the ball – and the Cameroonian rounded David Raya to equalize.
Manchester United’s Brian Mbemo equalized after Martin Zubimendi’s horror backpass (PA Wire)
“We gave them goals,” lamented Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta as he struggled to find out why his players were committing a spike in errors as they got United back into the game. “Mistakes are part of football. It was very different to us but we gave them goals and hope and that changed the energy.” The visitors were in good spirits and, fueled by their new weapons, put in a strong performance in the second half.
Despite the instability at the back, Dolgu looks like a new signing. This is what we saw against Newcastle while Amorim was still in charge, making you wonder why the stubborn Portuguese manager dragged him back to left-wing-back before he was eventually sacked. This is consistent with his inability to adapt, even when better options are presented to him.
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Five minutes after the restart, Dolgu’s stunning volley hit the underside of Raya’s crossbar, putting an exclamation mark on Amorim’s mistake. While Arsenal were easily broken by Dolgu and Fernandes combining, it would be unfair to blame defensive deficiencies for such a stunning effort. Arsenal didn’t help themselves, but it couldn’t be stopped.
Patrick Dorgu turns around to celebrate after scoring (Manchester United via Getty Imag)
For the rest of the game, Dolgu often found himself the furthest United player on the pitch. He was allowed to relinquish his defensive duties and Carrick realized that the opposition half was where he belonged. Until he’s forced off through injury – the Red Devils will be praying it’s not too serious.
Set pieces seemed to save Arsenal again when, in the 84th minute, Mikel Merino forced the ball over the line after a goal-mouth scramble, despite Benjamin Sesko’s best efforts on the goal line. It was their 15th set piece in England’s top flight this season. Avoiding defeat will be a huge relief for the league leaders, who came under fresh pressure from Aston Villa following their victory over Newcastle earlier in the day and were not particularly threatened after falling behind.
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But three minutes later there was individual brilliance from Matheus Cunha, who found himself curling in space to seal the Gunners’ first home defeat of the season after three Arsenal players were fouled but failed to stop Kobe Mainu.
Matheus Cunha sealed the win with another fine goal for the visitors (Reuters)
“We’re going to win the league,” the away players sang cheerfully throughout the game. They might be a little ahead of their time. But with Arsenal’s lead at the top of the table reduced to four points, seeds of doubt may have been sown over the Gunners’ ability to achieve the elusive feat.
