Man Utd 0-1 Arsenal: Player ratings as Gunners move back into top spot
The Premier League title race will go to the last day of the season after Arsenal beat Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday.
The Gunners have leapfrogged Manchester City back into first place, sitting one point clear of the reigning champions and boasting a slightly superior goal difference.
City will take back top spot with a win at Arsenal’s rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday, but Mikel Arteta’s side have ensured the English crown could still be sitting atop their heads next weekend.
United were blunt back on home soil after being mauled by Crystal Palace on Monday but at least put up a respectable fight amid a new batch of injuries. They remain in eighth place and are an outside shot to qualify for Europe at this point.
How the game unfolded
Arsenal sought to get on the scoresheet early and pressed United from the off. Bukayo Saka stung the gloves of Andre Onana, while an in-swinging corner had to cleared off the line.
An opportunity arose at the other end when Thomas Partey was caught napping in possession and forfeited it to Scott McTominay, but Rasmus Hojlund slipped when trying to hit his strike cleanly.
Despite United starting brightly and actually seeing more of the ball, Arsenal went in front midway through the first half. Casemiro was caught way out of position and Kai Havertz was able to race in down the right and deliver a low cross for Leandro Trossard, who got in front of Aaron Wan-Bissaka and made no mistake from close range.
Ben White then flashed a shot across the face of Onana’s goal as United threatened to collapse again after going one down, but the hosts got to the break without giving up another major chance, though they did not create one more for themselves.
There wasn’t much more quality to shout about from either side in the second half – Declan Rice had a shot blocked and Martin Odegaard’s effort from the edge of the box was easily claimed by Onana as Arsenal continued to play on the break.
United weren’t creating enough openings despite their territorial dominance but went close when Alejandro Garnacho, for once, created a yard of separation from Ben White, only to fire into the side-netting.
Substitute Gabriel Martinelli then forced a fine save out of Onana having been give apt room to run into the United box and pick his spot.
Onana was again on hand to prevent the Gunners going two up when he clawed away a header from teammate Aaron Wan-Bissaka off a corner, before Rice stung the Cameroonian’s goves with a drive from distance.
Arsenal rode out six minutes of added time to take all three precious points back to north London.
Manchester United player ratings (4-2-3-1)
Onana kept Man Utd in the game / PAUL ELLIS/GettyImages
GK: Andre Onana – 6/10 – One of United’s most reliable routes through Arsenal came from Onana’s kicks. Didn’t have a lot to do in way of shot-stopping, which must have made a nice change.
RB: Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 5/10 – Never looked comfortable whenever Trossard or Martinelli were running at him.
CB: Casemiro – 3/10 – Didn’t completely embarrass himself like at Crystal Palace on Monday night, but not maintaining his position at all leading to Trossard’s goal was unforgivable.
CB: Jonny Evans – 6/10 – Unlike Casemiro knew how to play in a high line despite his older age. Came up with some important interceptions on the halfway line.
LB: Diogo Dalot – 5/10 – Drove with the ball into midfield and the channels but didn’t really know what to do with it after that.
CM: Sofyan Amrabat – 4/10 – Tasked with trying to control the game and open it up for United. This ended with a lot of side-to-side passing and his alarming lack of technique being given a platform.
CM: Kobbie Mainoo – 6/10 – Left to drown under pressure at some points though at least managed to get his head up and distribute the ball more effectively than his midfield partner.
RW: Amad Diallo – 5/10 – Put in a mildly threatening performance that Antony would have been proud of, but that’s a low bar to set. Began the day brightly but was soon after swarmed by multiple Arsenal defenders to not afford him freedom to operate.
AM: Scott McTominay – 5/10 – Pushed up alongside Hojlund when Arsenal had the ball. The Gunners’ defenders didn’t allow him to simply run at them or crash the box at will.
LW: Alejandro Garnacho – 4/10 – Like Amrabat saw a lot of the ball and ultimately failed to do enough with it. Was only able to carve a couple of openings but even then took them poorly.
CF: Rasmus Hojlund – 4/10 – Spent far too long trying to bully Gabriel and Saliba that he almost forgot to make himself an outlet. Hooked late on for academy graduate Wheatley with minutes remaining when United were chasing a goal.
Substitutes
SUB: Antony (69′ for Amad) – 5/10
SUB: Willy Kambwala (75′ for Evans) – 5/10
SUB: Omari Forson (88′ for Wan-Bissaka) – N/A
SUB: Ethan Wheatley (88′ for Hojlund) – N/A
SUB: Christian Eriksen (88′ for Amrabat) – N/A
Subs not used: Altay Bayindir (GK), Harry Amass, Habeeb Ogunneye, Toby Collyer
Manager
Erik ten Hag – 5/10 – Not a bad performance considering the state of his squad and the level of opposition, but United just didn’t threaten at all.
Arsenal player ratings (4-3-3)
The rain didn’t dampen Arsenal’s spirits / Michael Regan/GettyImages
GK: David Raya – 6/10 – Lost control of a cross early doors but was flawless in collecting them there on in.
RB: Ben White – 8/10 – Either muzzled Garnacho or left him the space to barely trouble Arsenal. Came up with the pass that led to Havertz’s assist for Trossard.
CB: William Saliba – 9/10 – Oustanding. Another perfect performance at the back when his side needed one.
CB: Gabriel Magalhaes – 8/10 – Likewise was imperious throughout and was usually the centre-back to deal with Hojlund’s futile attempt at a shove-off.
LB: Takehiro Tomiyasu – 6/10 – On skates at times when isolated with Amad, though this was not often enough for it to be a worry for Arsenal.
CM: Thomas Partey – 4/10 – Everyone in the midfield battle should have left the pitch feeling ashamed of themselves because of how awfully they played, but none more so than Partey, who stuck out like a sore thumb technically and mentally.
CM: Declan Rice – 5/10 – Sloppy in possession but was strangely one of Arsenal’s most threatening weapons in the final third.
CM: Martin Odegaard – 5/10 – Sunk into the background of the game and never took control of it, despite United’s disadvantages.
RW: Bukayo Saka – 5/10 – Worked hard to help White in the defensive third but was silenced fairly easily after his bright beginning.
CF: Kai Havertz – 7/10 – Another goal involvement for the reinvigorated forward. Should probably have done more to hold the ball up to ease the pressure as the match wore on but this didn’t come back to bite him.
LW: Leandro Trossard – 8/10 – Came up huge with another goal in a big game. Gave United something to think about with his quick feet and movement in behind.
Substitutes
SUB: Gabriel Martinelli (66′ for Trossard) – 7/10
SUB: Gabriel Jesus (82′ for Saka) – 5/10
SUB: Jakub Kiwior (90′ for Partey) – N/A
SUB: Jorginho (90′ for Odegaard) – N/A
Subs not used: Aaron Ramsdale (GK), Oleksandr Zinchenko, Emile Smith Rowe, Fabio Vieira, Eddie Nketiah
Manager
Mikel Arteta – 6/10 – Arsenal showed way too much respect to United, but he was able to rely on his defenders stifling their hosts. The title goes to the wire.
Player of the match – William Saliba (Arsenal)
Source: 90mins
