The Gunners will take the title race to the final day of the season after edging Manchester United 1-0 on Sunday. They earned their 27th victory in the Premier League, breaking the club record for most wins in a single season. Arsenal had 11 shots, 1 big chance and 1.71 xG to 14 shots, 0 big chance and 0.64 xG for the Red Devils, according to Opta.
Photo credit: Premier League
Arteta made no change to the side that defeated Bournemouth the previous weekend. Despite a full week of rest, the Gunners didn’t play at their best. The passing in the final third wasn’t quick enough mostly because of a lack of movement. Mental fatigue certainly played a role since Arteta is reluctant to rotate his team.
The Red Devils couldn’t capitalize on Arsenal’s off day. The hosts barely threatened with speculative shots from the edge of the box and hoped to find the net with a potential moment of magic from Garnacho. Of course, Manchester United lacked quite a few regular starters, but it’s still a feat to win at Old Trafford. In the past 10 years, the Gunners had only won once in that stadium. That was in November 2020 when Arteta still played a back three and Saka was deployed as a left wingback.
Arsenal started the game on the front foot, camping in the Red Devils’ half. Saka even tested Onana with an angled strike in the 4th minute. But some casualness from Partey killed the momentum. Partey tried to dribble in the defensive third and was robbed by McTominay in the 5th minute. The ball fell to Hojlund, who blazed over the bar. The Gunners had another shaky moment in the 10th when Rice made an inaccurate back pass to Tomiyasu, forcing Raya to come off his line and clear the danger.
Sloppy plays
Somehow, the Gunners regained their composure and the control of the game. They scored by pressing high up the pitch in the 21st. Havertz closed down Onana, who punted the ball down the pitch. Saliba headed the ball to White, who found Havertz along the touchline. Havertz toyed with Evans before squaring the ball back to Trossard, who beat Onana from close range. Havertz was played onside by Casemiro, who lacked the defensive awareness to play Havertz offside.
That goal should have opened the floodgates. But Arsenal suddenly became passive, focusing on protecting that slim lead. That approach didn’t work a couple of seasons ago. But the Gunners have the best defense in the league now, and we all know the magical stat: they have always come away with the 3 points when they lead at halftime this season.
In his post-match news conference, Arteta made it clear that it wasn’t part of the plan to play passively after the goal. “We started to play too safe, not respecting any structure and knowing our purpose, and I didn’t like it,” Arteta said. Sometimes, players subconsciously override the manager’s instructions and manage the game by themselves because of factors like mental fatigue.
The Gunners had to wait until the 65th for their first shot on target after the goal. Odegaard cut inside to hit a tame effort that didn’t trouble Onana. Arsenal nearly helped Manchester United get back in the game with some sloppy plays in the second half. Saka and White got confused by a run from Dalot in the 61st and neither Saka nor White tracked Garnacho, who curled a shot wide.
The Red Devils finally had their first shot on target in the 68th when Casemiro fired a long-range strike straight at Raya. Then Tomiyasu had a lapse of concentration in the 72nd. White made a pass to Tomiyasu, who made the mistake of waiting for the ball to reach his feet. Antony got in front of Tomiyasu and intercepted the ball only to drag a shot straight at Raya. Manchester United capitalized on another sloppy moment to hit Arsenal on the fast break in the 77th. The Red Devils had a 4v4 situation after Saka gave the ball away, but Garnacho could only fire into the side-netting.
Havertz finishing the season strong
Realizing that his team was sitting deep and waiting for counterattacking opportunities, Arteta replaced Trossard with Martinelli in the 66th. Martinelli got his chance in the 79th when he cut inside Wan-Bissaka to fire a powerful strike that Onana tipped over the bar. Arteta had to make another substitution after Saka picked up an injury while crashing out of bounds. Jesus replaced Saka in the 82nd and ended up performing defensive duties.
The Gunners had a couple of chances to double the lead in the closing minutes. Onana palmed away a curling shot from Rice in the 83rd. Then Rice was in the same situation as Havertz for the opening goal but lacked accuracy with his pass in the 89th, playing the ball behind Jesus. Arteta shut up shop by replacing Partey and Odegaard with Kiwior and Jorginho in stoppage time.
Leading the line, Havertz had only one opportunity to shine but he made the most of it by providing the assist for Trossard. Havertz also set up Odegaard for a low shot in the 65th. The Gunners pretty much used Havertz as a target man. He won 5 of 15 aerial duels, according to whoscored.com. Havertz raised his Premier League tally to 19 goal involvements (12 goals, 7 assists) this season. The Germany international is definitely finishing the season strong with 5 goal involvements in the last 4 games.
Trossard is another Gunner who is finishing the season strong. He has notched 4 goals in the last 5 games. Trossard scored the winner with his only shot of the game, raising his Premier League tally to 13 goal involvements (12 goals, 1 assist) this season. The interesting thing about Trossard is that he’s like a shape-shifter. He had 1 goal and 10 assists for Arsenal last season because the team needed someone who could create chances. His output is completely different this season because the team needed someone who could compensate for the poor scoring form of Jesus and Martinelli.
A long season for Odegaard
Besides his clinical finishing, Trossard also created a chance for Saka in the 56th and made a dribbling run in the build-up to Odegaard’s chance in the 65th. The icing on the cake was his impressive work-rate with 9 defensive actions (3 tackles, 1 block, 2 interceptions, 3 recoveries) in 68 minutes compared to 8 defensive actions for Saka in 84 minutes and 6 defensive actions for Havertz in 99 minutes, according to fbref.com.
Trossard was replaced by Martinelli, who made an impact in the final third with 1 shot on target and 1 key pass. However, Martinelli’s decision-making is still an issue. He had only 1 successful dribble out of 5, which is a poor return compared to Saka, who had 3 successful dribbles out of 5, according to whoscored.com. Even Manchester wingers Garnacho and Diallo had a better success rate than Martinelli.
On the right wing, Saka had 1 of 2 shots on target and led all players with 3 key passes. He started tiring in the second half. Saka got booked for a poor challenge on Amrabat in the 71st and had a turnover which led to a scoring chance for Garnacho in the 77th. The England winger had a few scratches on his legs after Amrabat shoved him out of bounds in the 80th. The pain was bad enough for Saka to request a substitution.
In midfield, Odegaard hit a tired shot in the 65th and created chances for Saka in the 4th and Martinelli in the 79th. Odegaard didn’t have a bad game, but he performed slightly below his usual standards. The Norway playmaker had 3 turnovers compared to 1 each for Rice and Partey, according to whoscored.com. His passing accuracy of 81.3% was also average compared to 90.3% for Rice and 92.5% for Partey.
It has been a long season for Odegaard, who has played nearly 4,000 minutes for the club in all competitions this season. Saliba, Magalhaes, Rice and White are the only Gunners who have played more than 4,000 minutes. Last season, Odegaard only played about 3,400 minutes.
White’s generosity on the pitch
Rice performed like a diesel engine, looking anonymous in the first half before coming to life in the second half. The England midfielder nearly repeated the trick he pulled off against Bournemouth. Rice had an effort blocked in the 55th before curling a shot that Onana saved in the 83rd. His offensive output has been impressive this season. Yet, Rice still has room to improve, especially in his passing game. He lacked accuracy while playing out from the back in the 10th and missed his final ball for Jesus in the 89th.
In the role of the holding midfielder, Partey had a shaky performance. He had a turnover in the defensive third that put his team in danger in the 5th minute and conceded a corner with a poor touch in the 40th. Partey contributed very little to his team’s ball progression with just 4 progressive passes, the same number as Rice, according to fbref.com.
At the back, White limited the damage in his duel with Garnacho. The English rightback was so busy with Garnacho that he led the Gunners with 12 defensive actions (2 tackles, 4 blocks, 2 interceptions, 4 recoveries). White was dribbled past 5 times, the most for any player according to whoscored.com. But Garnacho never managed to get or create a big chance. There are only 2 moments that White poorly handled. Knowing that Garnacho likes to cut inside onto his favored right foot, White made the mistake of leaving a too big gap near the by-line in the 43rd. Then White failed to stay with Garnacho in the 61st as Dalot made an overlapping run.
Arsenal fans love White because he’s so generous in his efforts. White managed to balance his defensive duties and his attacking contributions. He played the long ball to Havertz in the build-up to the goal, sent a cross-shot wide in the 28th and teed up Rice for a shot in the 55th. White also made 6 progressive passes, tied with Odegaard for the most.
Saliba’s flawless reading of the game
On the opposite flank, Tomiyasu produced a low-key performance. He had a lapse of concentration in the 72nd that could have been costly. Tomiyasu mostly focused on his defensive tasks and contributed very little offensively with just 1 progressive pass. He still won 71.4% of his duels, according to the club’s website. The Japan defender occasionally drifted infield to act like an inverted fullback but couldn’t provide the silky passing skills of a Zinchenko.
In the heart of the defense, Saliba and Magalhaes showed why they are the best centerback pairing in England and why the Gunners lead the league with 18 clean sheets. Saliba was the only defender who won 100% of his duels. His reading of the game was flawless. He blocked a shot from Garnacho in the 42nd and robbed the Argentina winger inside the area in the 58th. Saliba even played a role in the goal by heading the ball to White.
Protected by such a strong backline, Raya had very little work to do. He made 2 routine saves, stopping a long-range strike from Casemiro in the 68th and catching a tame shot from Antony in the 72nd. Raya helped alleviate the pressure by coming off his line for crosses. The Spanish goalkeeper spilled a corner in the 8th minute before palming away a cross from Garnacho in the 43rd and collecting a cross from Dalot in stoppage time. His distribution was a mixed bag. He had a passing accuracy of 67.4% from 46 passes compared to 79.4% from 34 passes for Onana. Raya sent a long pass out of play in the 36th.
The Gunners will play their last game of the season at the Emirates stadium against Everton on May 19. Even if the Citizens win their game in hand against Tottenham on Tuesday, they’ll only have a 2-point lead over Arsenal before the final round of fixtures. The Gunners may not have their fate in their hands, but they will still have a shot at the title. At the start of the season, any Arsenal supporter would have signed up for such a possibility.