Jonathan Wilson on OGS’ issues.
OGS is not happy.
That’s all for today’s blog. I’ll leave you with Jamie Jackson’s match report - goodnight.
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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang speaks “It’s a very big win. It’s been a very tough night but I’m really happy because the team did very well. It’s been a long time since we won here so it’s a great night. [Did you feel like you were in control of the game?] Yes, definitely. We spoke about it at half-time – we knew we had to score and we did. Mikel is bringing something very nice and everyone wants to follow his way. It was good to win tonight.”
“Putting Pogba in this team is like playing cards and swapping a Jack or a Queen card for a 4 or a 5,” says Stuart Lambert. “Why play a worse hand? He gives away the ball more than any midfielder. He gives away penalties because he’s bad at tackling. He doesn’t track back. He barely gets forward. I have never understood and will never understand the ludicrous hype. He is an average player that we.are playing ahead of VDB.”
I’d argue there is hardly anyone in the world with the same combination of strength and skill, but he doesn’t have the necessary bronca or concentration to be a top player - never mind a top, top one. He’s 27 now and it’s clearly not going to happen. The problem is that nobody will buy him, and there is this peculiar received wisdom that he has to be a regular starter. He should be a squad player, not least because he responds far better to the stick than the carrot. Although he was decent against Leipzig, I can’t really fathom why he is playing against of van de Beek.
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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s second-half penalty settled the match. It was a nightmare for the hapless Paul Pogba, who needlessly fouled Hector Bellerin. United were poor - Arsenal’s hyper-aggressive start caught them on the hop, and they never really recovered. But Arsenal were terrific, especially their new signings Thomas Partey and Gabriel.
Let’s not get carried away about Partey. After all, he’s got only three strengths: winning the ball, carrying it and passing it. I’m not sure there’s a better midfielder of his type in the world.
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Full time: Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal
Peep peep! For the first time in 5,159 days, Arsenal win a Premier League match at Old Trafford! It’s a famous scoreline for them on this ground. And while this won’t be quite as famous as the wins of 1990, 1998 and 2002, it’s a big landmark for an emerging team. Not least because the victory was thoroughly deserved.
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90+3 min A tame long-range shot from Matic is comfortably held by Leno.
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90+1 min Rashford runs at Gabriel and wins a corner. He takes it himself but it’s a poor one; Nketiah heads clear at the near post.
90+1 min Four minutes of added time. This would be a huge win for Arsenal.
90 min Rashford is fouled by Maitland-Niles 40 yards from goal. Shaw wafts the free-kick into the area and Mustafi heads clear.
89 min Arsenal have parked the bus now. They’ve earned the right to do so, in fairness.
87 min And now Shkodran Mustafi has come on for Aubameyang, who is booked for taking too long to leave the field.
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86 min Ainsley Maitland-Niles comes on for Arsenal to replace Willian.
85 min: Elneny hits his own post! He didn’t know much about it. The influential van de Beek got round the back on the right and hammered a first-time cross towards the near post, where Elneny stuck out a leg and deflected the ball onto the near post. In fact replays show the ball hit Elneny and then Leno on the side of the head before deflecting onto the post.
84 min Matic plays a neat one-two with van de Beek in the area, and Gabriel comes across to make a vital last-ditch challenge.
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82 min Arsenal are sitting deeper now but they still look very comfortable defensively. They’ve been excellent today, with and especially without the ball.
81 min “By my maths 75% of all penalties against United have been conceded by Pogba,” says Rajiv. “Regardless of attacking intent even defensively swapping van de Beek for Pogba was a safer option.”
I think Pogba is the single biggest problem for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer; I don’t understand what he is supposed to bring to the team. But blaming him for 75 per cent of the penalties conceded throughout Manchester United’s history is a bit much.
79 min That Maguire header hit Tierney on the back. Nothing to see here.
79 min Rashford’s long-range shot hits his teammate McTominay and flies over the bar.
78 min Maguire appeals unsuccessfully for a penalty when his header hits an Arsenal player. It looked like there might be have been an upstretched arm, though we haven’t seen a replay yet.
77 min “As a neutral observer of this fixture,” begins Matt Dony, “I never imagined I’d be longing for the halcyon days of John O’Shea.”
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76 min Eddie Nketiah replaces Lacazette, who has worked extremely hard up front.
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75 min “I’m sure this point has been made previously but unless you build the team, tactics and personnel around Paul Pogba, there’s very little point in selecting him,” says Stephen Carr.
75 min A double change for United: Edinson Cavani and Donny van de Beek replaces Mason Greenwood and... Bruno Fernandes. That’s more than a little surprising, especially as Pogba is still on the pitch.
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74 min Gabriel, who has already been booked, fouls Greenwood near the byline. That could easily have been a second yellow card, probably should have been.
72 min Arsenal’s last league victory at Old Trafford was in September 2006, though they did win here in that FA Cup quarter-final in 2015.
71 min Greenwood is booked for a lunging tackle on Lacazette. He won the ball but was penalised for his follow through.
71 min “United look like they’re feeling a bit sorry for themselves, for all that we’ve lifted it a bit this half,” says Christopher Faherty. “Can’t score the kind of goal we want to score, ie. a break into space against an undermanned defence. This isn’t a problem we’re going to stop facing anytime soon.”
Having van de Beek and Fernandes on the pitch at the same time might help.
70 min It was such a needless penalty to give away. Bellerin came on the blindside of Pogba, who kicked his foot and knocked him over.
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GOAL! Man Utd 0-1 Arsenal (Aubameyang 69 pen)
Aubameyang scores emphatically! He sent de Gea the wrong way and slapped the ball into the bottom right corner.
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68 min: Penalty to Arsenal! A stupid tackle from Pogba on Bellerin has been rightly penalised by Mike Dean.
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67 min “Lacazette’s USP - if not goals - is receiving the ball, holding it, turning, laying it off and running into the danger area,” says Charles Antaki. “In this game he’s not really managing the first, so the others are moot. Time for a change?”
Quite possibly. I’m sure Nketiah will come on if it stays like this.
65 min A fine challenge from Gabriel on Pogba sets Arsenal on the counter-attack. Eventually Tierney hammers a cross that is punched away by de Gea. It reaches Elneny, who slaps a shot over the from 22 yards.
62 min Nothing much to report in the last few minutes. United are making the first change, with Nemanja Matic replacing Fred in midfield.
58 min A fierce long-range drive from Partey is well held above his head by de Gea. That’s Arsenal’s first shot on target I think.
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55 min Bellerin shoves over Pogba, who has been more influential since half-time. The free-kick is 25 yards out on the left wing. Shaw swings it deep towards Maguire, who plants a header back across goal and just wide. I’m not sure whether he was going for goal or trying to put it back into a dangerous area.
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53 min Pogba beats Partey with a nice piece of skill on the left and hammers a cross that is headed away by Holding at the near post.
52 min: Chance for Arsenal! Fred dithers in midfield, which allows Lacazette to pick up a loose ball and run at a backpedalling defence. He plays a short pass into the D for Aubameyang, who opens his body and sweeps a trademark shot just wide of the far post.
50 min “If I have a complaint against Ole it’s that he waits too long to make a change,” says Ben Walls. “When you wrote he’d make a change at half time I bet money he wouldn’t.”
He has at least made a tactical change, and United have been much better at the start of the second half. But I agree with you that substitutions aren’t his strong point.
48 min Tierney misjudges a crossfield pass, which allows Greenwood to collect and move into the area from the right. He can’t find an angle for the shot and eventually tees up Wan-Bissaka, whose cross-shot deflects over the bar.
48 min United have switched to a 4-2-3-1: Pogba left, Greenwood right, Fernandes behind Rashford.
47 min “Deaths where dementia was a factor rose by 175% in women over 85 between 2002 and 2015, and 250% for men,” adds Jake Noble. “It’s partly due to the increase in diagnosis rates for dementia, and partly due to the increased numbers of people reaching old age.”
47 min “I’m no expert, but I read somewhere that as the old killers are becoming less prevalent (from mining or from asbestos working for example) and therapies work better on diabetes, cancer and stroke, people live long enough for diseases like dementia to get a grip,” says Gary Naylor. “Public health stats are always rather tricky to interpret, I understand, from people much cleverer than me.”
46 min Peep peep! United begin the second half, with no changes on either side.
“Are you watching the same match as the Sky commentators?” says Martin Lancon. “At least Utd had a shot on target.”
They did, it’s true, but there’s another stat that tells a better story of the half in my exceptionally humble opinion. At one stage Arsenal had played 31 passes in the final third to United’s three.
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Half-time reading
Half time: Man Utd 0-0 Arsenal
Peep peep! Mike Dean plays precisely no seconds of added time before blowing for half-time. An aggressive Arsenal were much the better team and should really be ahead. Willian hit the bar and Bukayo Saka missed an excellent headed chance just before the interval. A jittery United need to change the formation, the players or both. Arsenal just need to score a goal.
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45 min “Readers may be interested in this link,” says Gary Naylor. “Things don’t look too good I’m afraid.”
Was dementia as big a problem for players of previous generations? Or was there something different about football/footballs in the 1960s?
44 min Saka misses an excellent chance, heading tamely over the bar from eight yards after a cross from Bellerin. It was a free header, with Lindelof and Wan-Bissaka leaving him to each other.
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42 min Fred dumps a long pass into the area. Holding heads it straight up in the air towards Rashford, who miscontrols it onto his bicep and his penalised for handball. He was facing away from goal anyway, so it wasn’t exactly a clear chance.
40 min I’m sure Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will make a change at half-time. Donny van de Beek for the anonymous Pogba is one option, although he might bring on Cavani and go to a front three.
39 min: Willian hits the bar! Lindelof was at fault this time, losing the ball to Lacazette just outside the area on the United left. Lacazette gave the ball to Willian, who played a slick one-two with Aubameyang and cracked a rising left-footed drive that hit the top of the bar.
37 min Lindelof gets another very important touch, diverting Aubameyang’s low cross away from Lacazette, who was already in the act of shooting. The chance came when Wan-Bissaka missed an attempted header from Bellerin’s cross, which allowed it to reach Aubameyang.
36 min Rashford and Greenwood have swapped again, which is a bit odd as they looked much better the other way.
35 min Willian floats an interesting cross towards Aubameyang beyond the far post. The stretching Lindelof gets a slight but important touch on the ball and Aubameyang pokes it well wide on the stretch.
34 min The game is more even now. The yellow cards for Gabriel and Holding means they can’t be quite as aggressive with United’s forwards.
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33 min “Is there another referee who more predictably lets one team tactically foul as much as they want before pulling out the cards as soon as the opposing team finally joins in on the act?” asks Jonathan. “Once Mike Dean let Holding and Willian off, I would have laid any money I have on him booking the first United player to commit a foul.”
A lot of them do that. It’s either human nature or blatantly anti-United bias.
31 min Thomas Partey has dominated the midfield in the first half hour. There aren’t many moments to mention, just sustained excellence in winning, carrying and passing the football. He is the opposite of a highlights player - a details player, and the best Arsenal have had in that position for 15 years.
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28 min “Everyone says five members of the 1966 England team have been diagnosed with dementia, which is true, but Peter Bonetti also had dementia and died,” says Claire McConnell. “He did not play in the final but he was in the squad so I think his name should be included and the total raised to six.”
Fair point - I was only referring to the first XI, for no particular reason, but you’re right to mention him.
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27 min Gabriel is booked for pulling back Rashford, who turned him neatly on the halfway line. United have looked much more dangerous since Rashford moved to the right and Greenwood to the left.
25 min Holding, who should have been booked earlier, is booked now for a foul on Pogba. In other news, it’s pelting down at Old Trafford.
24 min Willian’s inswinger is cleared acrobatically at the near post by Pogba. Good defending, that.
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23 min Wan-Bissaka gives the ball to Saka and then fouls him. Arsenal have a free-kick just outside the area on the left wing...
22 min Fred is booked for a tactical foul on Willian.
21 min: Good save from Leno! United create the first half-chance. Rashford, in the inside-right channel, curls an ingenious low pass around Holding to find Greenwood on the left side of the area. He takes the shot first-time from a tight angle and Leno kicks it behind for a corner.
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19 min United are being bullied by Arsenal, which may impact Roy Keane’s blood pressure levels when he discusses the game at half-time. They haven’t created anything of note but they’ve been much the better team.
16 min “I’ve got a sudden hankering for raspberry ripple ice cream...” says Matt Dony. “Advertising works!”
15 min Rashford is down again, this time after an accidental elbow to the back of the head from Holding. He’s okay.
14 min Willian plays in the overlapping Bellerin, who slides a fast low cross that just evades the stretching Aubameyang at the far post.
13 min It’s all Arsenal at the moment. The intensity of their play is making it hard for United to get out.
11 min Arsenal win another corner, their third of the match. Maguire does well to head it away and then Saka’s long-range shot is blocked by the referee Mike Dean.
11 min Partey intercepts a poor pass from Fred, then nutmegs Fred and sets off on the break. Eventually Saka’s low cross is blocked after a good pass through to him from ... Partey. He is such an impressive player; I’m amazed more clubs weren’t in for him.
9 min United are starting to ease their way into the game, having been a bit surprised by the aggression of Arsenal’s early pressing.
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8 min Rashford nutmegs Holding, who sends him flying and is lucky not to be booked.
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7 min Arsenal, who have made a really fast start, win the first corner on the left. It’s a poor one from Willian and Fernandes heads clear.
6 min Rashford is holding his back after a robust tackle from Gabriel. He took the ball and then followed through into Rashford’s rump.
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4 min Arsenal have made a bright start, with plenty of possession in the United half.
2 min United have started with Greenwood on the right and Rashford left, which is a surprise in this system. Fred is the deepest midfielder with McTominay to the right.
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1 min Peep peep! Arsenal kick off from right to left. United are wearing their usual red strip; Arsenal are in their bloody away kit.
The players emerge on a windy afternoon at Old Trafford. There will be a minute’s silence before the game, both for Remembrance Day and the magnificent Norbert Peter Stiles.
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“Apologies to Tony Soprano,” says Niall Mullen, “but remember when these two teams got involved in a 21-man donnybrook and both were docked points? That was almost exactly 30 years ago this week. Shouldn’t there be some sort of commemoration today? Maybe Anders Limpar and Dennis Irwin kicking each other ceremoniously in the shins?”
My favourite quote about that ding-dong was from Nigel Winterburn. It was along the lines of, “I was on the floor, they were kicking me in the back and fair play because it was competitive.”
It’s been a poignant few days at Old Trafford, with the death of Nobby Stiles and now confirmation that Sir Bobby Charlton has been diagnosed with dementia. He’s the fifth member of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning side to suffer with dementia, which is pretty troubling.
Pre-match reading
Team news
There are no surprises in either team, with various star players returning after being rested in the week. I won’t list them all; you’re a resourceful lot.
It looks like a diamond midfield for United and the usual 3-4-3 for Arsenal. The contest between Saka and Wan-Bissaka should be fun.
Man Utd (4-D-2) de Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; McTominay; Fred, Pogba; Fernandes; Rashford, Greenwood.
Substitutes: Henderson, Williams, Tuanzebe, Mata, Matic, van de Beek, Cavani.
Arsenal (3-4-3) Leno; Holding, Gabriel, Tierney; Bellerin, Elneny, Partey, Saka; Willian, Lacazette, Aubameyang.
Substitutes: Runarsson, Mustafi, Ceballos, Maitland-Niles, Xhaka, Pepe, Nketiah.
Referee Mike Dean.
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to Manchester United v Arsenal, a fixture that lives unashamedly in the there and then. Whenever these teams meet, we get a new montage or a feature on the good old days of Keane and Vieira; when men were men and threw pizzas at each other. It’s becoming a bit embarrassing. Not because that rivalry is overhyped – it was the greatest in English football history – but because it was so long ago. It’s like putting a picture from 2005 on your dating profile.
The problem is that this grand old fixture has let itself go a bit. Most of the games in the last decade have been forgettable. There was the 8-2 in 2011, a decent FA Cup quarter-final in 2015, Marcus Rashford’s famous league debut in 2016 and a pulsating game at the Emirates a year later, but not much else. And none of the matches were a means of determining the best team in England.
Today’s game won’t do that either: it’s 15th v 12th in the table. There are mitigating circumstances for those low positions, though, and both teams have made obvious progress in 2020. Both are also better in attack than defence, so maybe we’ll get an overdue classic. If United and Arsenal can’t produce a high-scoring game this season, they never will.
Kick off 4.30pm.
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