Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Man Utd: Failed Statement of Intent Opens Up Title Race

The same questions around Arsenal’s frail psychology were spewed up on Sunday.

Gabriel captured the emotions of Arsenal fans everywhere after Sunday’s defeat. | Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

No amount of drastic substitutions from Mikel Arteta could prevent Arsenal tumbling to a painful 3–2 defeat at the hands of Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.

The Gunners had ceded an early lead to trail 2–1 by the time Arteta made the unusual decision of bringing on four players at once in the 58th minute. Mikel Merino, one of those desperate alterations, briefly vindicated his manager by prodding the Gunners level, only for United to once again take advantage of the frailties which were apparent as soon as Arsenal went in front.

This setback, which extended Arsenal’s winless run in the Premier League to three games, was compounded by triumphs for Manchester City and Aston Villa on the same weekend, leaving the league leaders a slender four points clear at the summit.

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Heroes & Villains

It was not a night to remember for Martín Zubimendi. | tuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

Martín Zubimendi went almost as red as his shirt after making an entirely uncharacteristic error to gift Manchester United their opening goal. So often Arsenal’s orchestrator-in-chief didn’t so much drop his baton as snap it over his knee and stab himself in the midriff with it.

William Saliba’s pass was not the most forgiving, but Zubimendi had numerous options when presented with the ball at his feet deep inside Arsenal’s defensive third towards the end of the first half. He picked the worst one, stabbing a pass into the stride of Bryan Mbeumo who coolly rounded David Raya to cancel out Lisandro Martínez’s own goal.

The Spanish controller did not cover himself in glory for Patrick Dorgu’s stunner, finding himself and Declan Rice pirouetted by a swift exchange of passes before United’s rejuvenated winger spanked United in front. Arteta promptly brought him off the pitch.

Merino threatened to be remedy his former Real Sociedad teammate’s error, bundling the ball over the line from close range to briefly bring the Gunners level amid a typical corner scrum. Yet, that ecstasy was swiftly extinguished by Matheus Cunha’s thumping drive.

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Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Man Utd

Arsenal were not at their best on Sunday. | David Price/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

*Ratings Provided by FotMob*

GK: David Raya—4.7: No chance with any of United’s goals.

RB: Jurriën Timber—5.5: On the one occasion he chased forward, Timber put Martínez off so much he shanked the ball into his own net. Rarely ventured up the pitch thereafter.

CB: William Saliba—5.9: Pushed right up onto Bruno Fernandes when Arsenal didn’t have the ball with mixed success.

CB: Gabriel Magalhães—6.0: When his teammates weren’t actively conspiring against him, Gabriel did alright.

LB: Piero Hincapié—6.2: A welcome return to the starting XI for his work off the ball, it was Hincapié’s cross which eventually led to Arsenal’s opener.

CM: Martin Ødegaard (c)—6.0: An intriguing experiment in how much work an attacking player can do with doing any actual attacking. Trotted off the pitch without taking a shot on target, creating a chance or completing a single dribble.

CM: Martín Zubimendi—5.8: What was he thinking? A question Zubimendi may end up asking himself for many sleepless nights to come.

CM: Declan Rice—7.5: Forever seemed to be one long stride away from the ball.

RW: Bukayo Saka—7.6: Forced both of Arsenal’s goals although won’t be credited with the assist for either.

ST: Gabriel Jesus—6.5: Skittered around the final third with plenty of endeavour but little direction.

LW: Leandro Trossard—6.9: Shimmied and shuffled without much success.

Substitute	Rating (Out of 10)
Ben White (58’ for Hincapié)	6.1
Eberechi Eze (58’ for Ødegaard)	6.1
Mikel Merino (58’ for Zubimendi)	7.6
Victor Gyökeres (58’ for Jesus)	5.8
Noni Madueke (75’ for Trossard)	5.9

Subs not used: Kepa Arrizabalaga (GK), Cristhian Mosquera, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Gabriel Martinelli.

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What The Ratings Tell Us

Mikel Arteta (left) couldn’t get his message across to Martin Ødegaard. | Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

Arteta has been lambasted as a reticent substitute-maker throughout his Arsenal tenure, so often reluctant to scrap the game plan he has spent so many hours painstakingly pouring over. It became readily apparent that change was needed at the Emirates, oddly, as soon as the hosts took the lead.

It was telling that Arteta raged so venomously in his technical box, slapping a closed fist into an open palm like a dictator giving an angry speech, when United speared forward in transition almost immediately after Arsenal had gone ahead through Lisandro Martínez’s own goal. They escaped on that occasion, but the warning wasn’t swiftly heeded.

The visitors deservedly forced their way in front, prompting a proactive approach off the bench which made little difference. Aside from Merino—who did little apart from his bungled goal—Arsenal’s substitutes struggled just as much as the players who started the match.

Boasting a squad which is the envy of Europe is only valuable if the figures that come off the bench help to change the game. The quadruple substitution did nothing to alter the flow of a match which was set from the half-hour mark onwards: Arsenal would threaten from set pieces and little else, while United grew in confidence.

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The Numbers That Explain the Defeat

Faced with a porous Manchester United, Arteta’s side once again couldn’t create in open play. The xG breakdown was telling:

Scenario	Arsenal	Man Utd
Total xG	1.20	0.73
Open-Play xG	0.39	0.73
Set-Piece xG	0.81	0.00

• Arsenal don’t normally concede a goal under any circumstances, let alone one of their own making. That was at least true in the first half of the season. Mbeumo became just the third player to score a Premier League goal directly from a Gunners error this season, following swiftly in the footsteps of Bournemouth’s Evanilson from earlier in January.

• It was Gabriel’s misstep on the south coast when the game was still goalless, yet the fact that Arsenal completely lost their nerve after going in front at the Emirates this weekend will inspire all of football’s amateur psychologists to come out of the woodwork with their turtlenecks and grand diagnoses.

• The Gunners were unbeaten in their previous 24 matches after scoring the game’s opening goal yet, with a seven-point lead in their grip and a triumph over one of their fiercest rivals in sight, they stumbled. There’s a long way to go before the “bottlejob” accusations are justified, but they will be prevalent from here until the end of the season unless Arsenal rediscover the sense of assurance which has faded in recent weeks.

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