Arsenal 3-1 Man Utd: Post-match reaction
Our reporter Michael Plant gives his verdict on Manchester United's 3-1 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
Transcript
00:00 Hello, it's Michael Plant coming to you with a little post-match debrief after Arsenal
00:05 beat Manchester United 3-1 in Sunday's Premier League match. I tend to do these videos either
00:10 outside or inside the stadium after the game, but a few logistical issues yesterday meant
00:15 that I couldn't get round to that. I also recorded a video on the train which didn't
00:19 work out. So this is third time's a charm the following day doing a little post-match
00:23 debrief, as I say. So it was a disappointing afternoon ultimately for Manchester United
00:27 who did lose 3-1 at the Emirates. I thought it was a game that, I mean I saw a lot of
00:32 reaction on social media saying that people were quite pleased with how United played,
00:35 but I have to be honest I was quite surprised with that. I thought that for long periods
00:37 of the first half United were second best and I thought as we went into the final stages
00:42 it only looked really like Arsenal, who were ever going to go and win the game. I think
00:46 for United there was a real emphasis and desire to try and play it from the back, to try and
00:50 use and put together some passing sequences and really move Arsenal about. That worked
00:55 to a certain extent and I think the number of times United managed to play through Arsenal's
00:58 press was encouraging, but I certainly still think that there's a lot of adaption with
01:02 Andrea Nanna in nets for United and certainly they still haven't got things totally right
01:06 in that aspect. And I think in that regard the concerning thing for ten Hag will be that
01:11 actually United's best moments in the game came from counter-attack moments with Marcus
01:15 Rashford mainly flying down the left. They also had a couple of opportunities with Rasmus
01:19 Hoyland and Alejandro Garnaccio breaking in behind. Rasmus Hoyland, I just mentioned
01:24 him, he did make his Premier League debut, well he made his Manchester United debut for
01:27 the club at the Emirates. Obviously he's had a couple of injury issues since he arrived
01:31 but came off the bench in the latter stages and looked quite encouraging without really
01:36 having, you know, without I suppose doing anything other than running around and making
01:40 himself busy, but he did have some bright moments in his brief cameo appearance. He
01:44 replaced Anthony Martial who there's real concern I think growing up about his level
01:47 of performances, just cannot maintain consistent levels and it's really underwhelming for United.
01:52 You do start to get to the point where you wonder actually whether it is really time
01:57 for United and him to part ways to be honest because it's just not working out for the
02:01 injury prone striker. So it was 3-1 as I say to Arsenal. Marcus Rashford scored early on
02:07 for United, I think it was the 27th minute. Martin Oligar scored after 109 seconds, that
02:12 lead only lasted. So Arsenal responded almost immediately. There weren't many chances
02:16 in the first half actually and United and Arsenal both scored from a few, I think from
02:21 the only shots on target in the first half. Then United I think were a slight little bit
02:25 better in the early stages of the second half and managed to keep Arsenal out and as we
02:30 went into injury time, the crucial moment of the match I suppose that Casemiro plays
02:34 the ball in behind the Arsenal line. Alejandro Garnaciu runs under the ball, takes a touch,
02:40 looks up, sloths the ball, Cooley past Aaron Ramsdale. We all thought in the stadium that
02:45 was it, United had just secured a very important three points but it wasn't because a VAR
02:50 check proved that Alejandro Garnaciu was just marginally offside. It meant the goal
02:55 was disallowed and a couple of minutes later, Arsenal go down the other end and through
02:58 Declan Rice they score themselves to make it 2-1 and again we thought that was the final
03:02 action of note of the game but as United pushed for a third, they pushed lots of players off
03:06 the field, Arsenal took advantage of that and broke and managed to get a third through
03:09 Gabriel Jesus who put Jonny Evans pretty much on his backside as the defender slid in and
03:14 then Gabriel Jesus, Cooley slotted into the far corner. To me, that's been a bit of
03:21 a difficult start for United this season in the Premier League. That's just six points
03:25 from 12 available for the club in the first four games. That's not good enough for Manchester
03:30 United, there's no way of dressing that up. So it's a disappointing start from them
03:35 in that regard. I think as well that the thing that for me is a bit of a concern is that
03:39 we've now played four matches for United and it's four times that certainly you would
03:44 say United haven't played particularly well in any of the games and that is a real concern
03:48 for Ten Hag. I think you can still see that actually there's real signs that he is, he
03:53 had his team from last year and they played a certain way. Now there have been a couple
03:57 of changes in personnel and tactics and now the team are having to almost reset and go
04:02 again and I do wonder if it's going to take them a few weeks to get in gear to be totally
04:06 honest. So that was the game really and then the disappointing thing for United as well
04:10 as they now go into this two week gap for an international break on the back of a disappointing
04:14 result and it is a real concern for the club. Now after the match there was a couple of
04:19 interesting things Ten Hag spoke about, I mean the big one, well I suppose we'll come
04:24 to the big one in a second, but he did just in terms of the game, he did reference that
04:27 he was disappointed with three refereeing decisions. I mentioned that Garnaccio chance,
04:31 he said that he felt that the lines had been incorrectly drawn and that Garnaccio was on
04:35 side. Now Mike Dean who was on Sky Sports Ponditory said that's just simply not the
04:39 case, that's not how the technology works. But I have to be honest from looking at it,
04:43 it did look like it was coming from his shoulders rather than his head which was the kind of
04:48 the deepest part of his body but who knows on that one. Refereeing decisions have been
04:52 under the spotlight a lot in the first couple of weeks of the season and I'm always one
04:55 to defend referees but they've been a bit disappointing if I'm honest. So that was decision
04:59 number one. He also felt that Rasmus Hoyland should have had a penalty when he was pulled
05:02 back by Gabriel. Now actually at the time I didn't really notice it, I noticed it live
05:06 but I didn't make much of it and seeing a couple of replays it does look quite like
05:09 it actually could well have been a penalty to be honest. So again a reason for Ten Hag
05:13 to be unhappy with that one. And then finally he felt there was a foul on Johnny Evans in
05:17 the build up to Declan Rice's goal. It was one I felt that if a free kick would have
05:21 been given at the time I wouldn't have had an issue with it but I don't think it's one
05:23 that should be overturned for VAR, I don't think it was that significant or that key.
05:27 And then finally I suppose the big talking point really that we've come away from in
05:31 Saturday's game is the Jadon Sancho debacle. Eric Ten Hag said the winger wasn't selected
05:38 due to his performances in midweek. Now Sancho, I mean that's a pretty down on thing to say
05:44 about him that he was so underwhelming in training that he felt that he couldn't be
05:48 selected in the side. But Sancho has come out and completely well disagreed with that
05:54 assessment and via social media posts said I think the phrase used was absolutely untrue.
06:00 So I mean that's a big thing for Sancho to come out and say. He said he'd been made a
06:04 scapegoat by Ten Hag. Really, really big story actually that I think is going to emerge then
06:10 over the coming days for this one because I mean for a player to come out and say basically
06:16 no my manager is almost telling lies about me is a big thing to say really. So we'll
06:20 have to see how that one goes and yeah not a huge amount of story. News always over the
06:24 international break so I think people will be certainly looking into that one and see
06:27 what we try to find out in regards to Sancho. But in terms of Manchester United, a disappointing
06:31 result at the Emirates, a disappointing start to the season and it means it could be a very
06:35 long two weeks for Eric Ten Hag.