Arsenal beat Manchester United this Sunday at Old Trafford, maintaining their firm step in the dispute for the Premier League with Manchester City, their rival at the top of the standings that is one point behind, but still has one less game. The only goal of the afternoon was the work of Leandro Trossard, who is once again important for the gunners, scoring his fourth goal in the last five league games. The match was lackluster in general, but the result is worth the London team to put pressure on Pep Guardiola’s team, which this Tuesday will face its pending duel against Tottenham, prior to the last matchday of next weekend .
Arsenal took to the Old Trafford field with the haste of those who have no time to waste. Mikel Arteta’s team took to the green without holding back intensity and put high pressure on their rival from the opening whistle, recovering the ball in high areas of the pitch. Momentum outweighed precision in those opening minutes and the gunners They were barely able to hurt United in the first quarter of an hour, with a timid shot by Bukayo Saka ending up in the hands of Onana.
The red devils They knew how to take advantage of Arsenal’s losses in those periods of inaccuracy and managed to establish themselves in the enemy’s camp at times. The locals managed to put together good minutes of play, in which they could even have taken the lead on the scoreboard, if it were not for a slip that prevented Rasmus Hojlund from finishing comfortably against David Raya, after a great robbery by Scott McTominay in an area sensitive for gunners.
It would be just when United was more comfortable on the pitch that the action came that completely changed the script of the first half. Casemiro was left hanging after a clearance by Onana and when the ball returned, the Brazilian, lined up as a center back due to the multiple losses, broke the offside of Kai Havertz, who appeared completely alone behind a Jonny Evans who did not understand what was happening. The infiltrated German attacker did not waste the lack of defensive coordination and reached the baseline, then gave the ball to Leandro Trossard who only had to push the ball to open the scoring. A goal, the Belgian winger’s fourth in the last five games, which brought down Erik ten Hag’s team and made Arsenal more comfortable for the rest of the first half.
The second half lacked brilliance, a context that favored the gunners, who focused on managing their advantage. Arteta’s team contained the enthusiasm of a youthful United team with possession, led from the midfield by a defender Kobbie Mainoo, who carried the weight of organizing his team’s game, in the absence, much missed, of the usual field marshal and setter, Bruno Fernandes. On the other side, a consolidated Martin Odegaard dictated the pace at which the game moved. About the end, the gunnersThey came close to ending the match, through a chance from Martinelli and another chance from Declan Rice, but a couple of great interventions from Onana prevented the difference on the scoreboard from being greater.
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