Jak Netting

It’s another day and another stop on Arsenal’s pre-season tour of the United States of America. This evening saw the Gunners face Erik Ten Hag’s Manchester United in what was the 3rd fixture of pre-season for both sides. It will be Arsenal’s biggest test so far, as their opposition have yet to concede a single goal in their previous 2 games. They also received a boost this week after completing the signing of Inter Milan goalkeeper André Onana, who replaces the recently released David De Gea. Arsenal will be full of confidence themselves, however, having beaten the MLS All-Stars with an impressive 5-0 scoreline – showing that they certainly aren’t afraid to shoot. It represented a good chance for some of the wider Arsenal squad to try and give Mikel Arteta a selection headache, while the regular starters and new signings can continue their preparations for the 2023/24 season. With the history of the two sides, and combined 9-9 scoreline over their last 4 encounters, one thing was for sure – this would be a friendly in name only.

First Half Lineups

ARSENAL | Ramsdale, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Tomiyasu, Rice, Havertz, Ødegaard, Saka, Nkeitah, Martinelli.

ARSENAL BENCH | Hein (GK), Rúnarsson (GK), Tierney, Holding, White, Kiwior, Trusty, Partey, Jorginho, Smith Rowe, Trossard, Vieira, Marquinhos, Cozier-Duberry, Jesus, Balogun.

Tonight’s game saw Mikel Arteta make 6 changes to the side that beat the MLS All-Stars 5-0 on Thursday morning, including first starts for new signings Jurriën Timber and Declan Rice. It also represented a first start of pre-season for starlet Gabriel Martinelli – who scored 15 goals in 36 games last season. Eddie Nketiah was also given another chance to impress after being given the nod over Gabriel Jesus and Folarin Balogun.

MANCHESTER UNITED | Heaton, Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Shaw, Mainoo, Mount, Fernandes, Garnacho, Antony, Sancho.

MANCHESTER UNITED BENCH | Bishop (GK), Vítek (GK), Dalot, Fernandez, Lindelöf, Maguire, Williams, Amad, Casemiro, Eriksen, Gore, Hannibal, McTominay, Pellistri, Van de Beek, Forson, Rashford.

Manchester United lined up without a recognised striker with Anthony Martial still injured and their pursuit of Atalanta’s Rasmus Højlund ongoing. Tom Heaton started between the sticks with new signing André Onana having only just arrived at United’s training camp in the last couple of days. Elsewhere youngster Kobbie Mainoo was given a start ahead of what is widely expected to be a breakout year for the 18-year-old. It has to be said, looking at United’s bench, that squad depth seems to be something of an ill-afforded luxury at the moment for Erik Ten Hag.

First Half

Manchester United got the game underway about 8 minutes or so late, but Arsenal almost immediately won the ball back in the opposition half. It became immediately apparent that the quality of the pitch was… to put it politely… abysmal. The ball wasn’t bouncing properly and lumps of turf were visibly poking out of the surface – not ideal conditions for pre-season. Arsenal started off the better side and were dominating possession in the opening stages of the game, but couldn’t find an opening early on. Antony had a great chance to give United the lead in the 5th minute but it was a poor attempt at a finish and he dragged it wide. The game felt quite open until Bukayo Saka made a great run into the box in the 11th minute, playing it across the face of goal to a lurking Gabriel Martinelli – who was denied not once but twice at close range by Tom Heaton, but he really should have done better with his second shot. Raphael Varane was lucky to survive a scare a few minutes later after an Eddie Nketiah cross deflected off of his shin into the thankful arms of Heaton – denying a likely own goal. Luke Shaw thought he was going to set up a teammate in the box but his cross was comfortably blocked by Jurrien Timber – much to the delight of his new fans. It has to be said that up to this point, Alejandro Garnacho had been completely absent in the game – a disappointment given the flair and excitement he usually offers. Around the 20th minute it became noticeable that the game’s intensity had increased with fouls flying in across the pitch. United had been very effective in the build-up but equally wasteful in the final third up until the 29th minute when Bruno Fernandes sent a testing effort to the far bottom corner after receiving the ball from Mainoo on the edge of the box. It should be been a comfortable save for Ramsdale but he couldn’t get a strong enough hand on it and it bobbled into the net to open the scoring.

Arsenal thought that they had found an almost immediate response to going 1-0 down as Eddie Nketiah was seemingly played through 1-on-1, but a superb tackle by Luke Shaw ended the threat. And it went from bad to worse for the Gunners as 2 minutes later, in the 37th minute, Gabriel mis-kicked the ball in midfield – putting Jadon Sancho clean through on goal, and he blasted it past Ramsdale at his near post. Gabriel was undoubtedly at fault for the goal but I felt as though Ramsdale could have done better once again too. For the rest of the half Arsenal looked completely lost and it was just attack after attack for United – and they continually played down Arsenal’s left, exposing Tomiyasu who never seemed comfortable in his new role. Just before the half was bought to an end Martinez was booked for a truly cynical challenge on Saka where he clearly had no desire to get the ball, which sparked a flare-up between the two sides. Shortly after, the whistle went to close the half.

Half Time | Arsenal 0-2 Manchester United

Overall, Arsenal certainly started the half as the better and, had Martinelli finished his chance, it could have been a completely different outcome. As it was though, Arsenal’s dominance quickly evaporated and they looked very, very poor compared to in their recent games. The second half certainly presented an opportunity for Arsenal to right some wrongs and for players to prove their worth – while Ten Hag’s side would look to continue to exert their dominance.

Second Half Lineups

ARSENAL | Ramsdale, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Tierney, Rice, Havertz, Ødegaard, Saka, Nkeitah, Martinelli.

OFF | Tomiyasu.

ON | Tierney.

MANCHESTER UNITED | Heaton, Dalot, Maguire, Lindelöf, Williams, Casemiro, McTominay, Eriksen, Amad, Forson, Rashford.

OFF | Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Shaw, Mainoo, Mount, Fernandes, Garnacho, Antony, Sancho.

ON | Dalot, Maguire, Lindelöf, Williams, Casemiro, McTominay, Eriksen, Amad, Forson, Rashford.

Second Half

The second half began with immediately renewed pressure from United, and it led to some sloppiness again from Gabriel but luckily, on this occasion, they weren’t punished for it – perhaps a lucky escape. United were well on top in terms of both chances and possession early in the second half, much like the end of the first half. On the 52nd minute Arsenal won a free kick and it was played through to Nketiah in behind the defence but his effort 1-on-1 with Heaton was well off target. A short while later it was a sore sight for United fans as talented youngster Amad went down injured, seemingly an issue with his left ankle. He received treatment and continued receiving it on the sideline as the game resumed but was soon forced to make way for. Pellistri. At the same time Arteta looked to his bench as Jesus, Partey and White made replaced Martinelli, Rice and Timber. From around the 60th minute onwards Arsenal had seemed to be growing more into the game, but there was still little if any sign of a break-through for the Gunners. Rashford looked certain to score as he received the ball from a cross, faced with an open goal, but he kicked at the ground as the ball went out for a goal kick. He’ll be glad in the knowledge that he had strayed offside though, meaning it wouldn’t have counted anyway.

Just moments later Havertz had a free header a meter out from the goal but could only put it over the bar, a good chance squandered after an inch-perfect cross from captain Ødegaard. On the 71st minute, Arteta once again looked to the bench as Trossard, Smith-Rowe, Vieira and Jorginho replaced Saliba, Nketiah, Saka and Havertz. Harry Maguire then experimented with a career in wrestling as he bodied Ødegaard but, to my shock, the Manchester United commentator actually laughed while he was down in pain – a real sour moment. With Arsenal completely unable to create anything half meaningful and United seemingly taking their foot off the gas, the game petered out to a dull conclusion, with the only highlight of the last 15 minutes some infighting between a group of Arsenal fans in the stadium – and after this performance I can’t say I blame them for letting off some steam. As the referee whistled to bring the game to an end, we eagerly awaited a super meaningful and emotional penalty shootout… Don’t ask, I don’t know why.

Full Time | Arsenal 0-2 Manchester United

It was a slightly improved performance by Arsenal in the second half but that isn’t saying much, and there were still an abundance of issues that will need addressing. I’ve no doubt Arteta will insist that the game serves as valuable minutes for players and is not significant in terms of the result – but it will certainly spark some degree of concern, at least in the short term. As for Manchester United, it was a complete demolition job and even a fully rotated second half team were able to shut out the Premier League runner ups – even if they weren’t able to add to their own score. It means that United are still yet to concede in pre-season, a stat that they will hope to prolong well into the season. The game also represented a record attendance for a club football (‘soccer’) game at the MetLife stadium with 82,262 fans watching on from the stands. United will be deeply concerned by the images of Amad Diallo leaving the stadium on crutches after going off injured – a real blow following such a successful loan spell with Sunderland last season.

Penalty Shootout | Arsenal 3-5 Manchester United

Manchester United | Casemiro – Dalot – Lindelöf – Rashford – Eriksen

Arsenal | Ødegaard – Trossard – Vieira – Jorginho

After Fabio Vieira’s miss, which saw the ball almost land in the Hudson river, Manchester United won the penalty shootout. Vieira hasn’t had a good 12 months and the nerves were clear for everyone to see before he even picked up the ball – a disappointing end to the night for him and his confidence. In all fairness, United were superb with their penalties – I still don’t see the point in doing this, but whatever floats your boat I guess… it doesn’t hurt anyone.

Looking Ahead

Arsenal have one stop left on their pre-season tour of the United States, which sees them face European giants Barcelona at the So-Fi Stadium in Los Angeles during the early hours of Thursday morning. The game could face some jeopardy as Barcelona cancelled last night’s scheduled friendly with Juventus due to widespread illness within their squad – but Arsenal are confident that their game will still go ahead as planned. From there, Arsenal return home where they face AS Monaco at home in the Emirates Cup, 3 days before taking on Manchester City in the Community Shield – the 2023/24 season opener. Clearly Arsenal still have work to do but if anybody has earned the time to enact his plan – it’s Mikel Arteta.