Manchester United hosted Arsenal at Old Trafford in another high-stakes Premier League clash, considering both sides needed a victory.
Arsenal required all three points to ensure the Premier League is decided on the final day of the season while a triumph for United would go a long way in cementing the side’s ambitions of clinching European football.
Erik ten Hag started Andre Onana in goal with a defensive four of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Casemiro, Jonny Evans and Diogo Dalot ahead of the Cameroonian.
Kobbie Mainoo and Sofyan Amrabat formed the pivot with Scott McTominay the most advanced midfielder in the starting XI. Rasmus Hojlund led the line with Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo on either side of him.
Here are three things we learned from Manchester United’s 1-0 loss against Arsenal.
Casemiro finished at United
Casemiro is one of the many players who should be axed by United during the summer transfer window and he showed again in the Arsenal game why he should be one of the first names out the door.
Amidst United’s injury crisis in the defensive department, the Brazilian has filled in at centre-back but it’s a role he’s spectacularly failed in.
He was badly exposed and embarrassed at Selhurst Park last week and the same thing happened again vs. the Gunners.
Casemiro played a big part in Arsenal’s opening goal in the 20th minute. A ball was put inside the box by Kai Havertz, prompting an alert Leandro Trossard to make a darting run into the near post before putting it into the back of the net.
However, the goal could have been easily avoided. Most of Ten Hag’s men pushed up the pitch in an attempt to play Havertz offside. However, Casemiro – who has been accused of losing one or two yards of pace – was lazy in getting up the pitch and played the German forward onside.
Casemiro could have also blocked Havertz’s cross but in keeping up with how his season has panned out, he failed to do so and allowed Trossard to bury his effort.
Wayne Rooney, who was on Sky Sports said about Trossard’s opening strike, “Casemiro has to get up the pitch.”
Roy Keane even went ahead to question Casemiro’s professionalism as he remarked, “Casemiro has to sprint out. I don’t know what he was doing. He doesn’t even need to make a silly angle for the goalkeeper.”
“You don’t have to be 100 per cent sprinting, but get up the pitch! This game is hard enough, you have to do the basics right and he hasn’t done the basics right. An experienced player gets up the pitch.”
It’s these kinds of instances that have plagued Casemiro all season and highlight why United should do everything in their power to part ways with the 32-year-old and bring in an upgrade. He’s past his best now and is increasingly becoming a liability to the team.
Ten Hag’s snubbing of Amad more puzzling than ever before
Amad was arguably one of United’s better performers across both halves.
He did well in his favoured right flank and provided the threat United have been sorely missing on that flank of the pitch.
The Ivorian kept the ball well, maintained possession and recycled it whenever required. Seemingly aware of the danger he posed, Arsenal sometimes double-teamed against him to keep him at bay.
Amad consistently seized the opportunity to take on his opponent and penetrate the box, showcasing remarkable versatility by attacking from both the inside and outside. In contrast, Antony has frequently shown a tendency to favour the outer flank, persistently opting to cut in on his left foot instead of exploiting the advantageous option of hitting the byline.
To put into context how brilliant Amad was, he completed more dribbles (3) than the entire Arsenal team combined (2) in the first half.
Amad’s display made it even more puzzling why Ten Hag hasn’t handed him significantly more minutes this season. The former Sunderland loanee clearly has the skill set to play the brand of football the Dutchman wants to implement at the club.
Unfortunately for Amad, he limped off in the 68th minute as he appeared to have sustained an injury. Before that, he hit the floor in pain and signalled to the bench that he couldn’t continue.
He was replaced by Antony who saw off the rest of the match.
Too little too late for Ten Hag
United were not hammered as everyone expected. In fact, the Red Devils competed and gave a decent account of themselves considering how events have panned out this season.
One cannot help but think that if Ten Hag had resorted to the kind of shape and tactics he employed against Arsenal, maybe United would have found some more joy and would perhaps be competing for a top-four finish.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS associates were present at Old Trafford to watch the team and while they may have taken some positives from the display, it may already be too late for Ten Hag.
The defeat at the hands of Arsenal means that United are almost certainly set to miss out on Europa League football unless they can somehow manage to beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final at Wembley later this month.
Want to be the first to hear breaking Man United news? For carefully selected, crucial updates, join our WhatsApp channel: https://bit.ly/United-Breaking-News.
