It has been some time since my last post. I was away for my cousin's wedding two weekends ago and I am preparing for my engagement this Saturday (perfect timing as its the international weekend).
Since my last post, Manchester United have beaten Ipswich Town to qualify for the 4th Round of the League Cup. I didn't watch the match as it wasn't shown "live" here in Singapore but I heard Andreas Pereira was the pick of the bunch. I was surprised to see a strong line-up selected by Louis Van Gaal. Pereira became the first player this season to score directly from a free-kick.
United then had a home game against Sunderland in the league and I caught that match amidst the wedding festivities in my cousin's place in Seremban. First half United were irritating. They kept misplacing passes in the final third and got crosses wrong. Lee Cattermole was a thorn in our sight, breaking up play very well. He was also aided by passes going straight to him. United got the first goal through the first good move of the half which came in stoppage time of the first half. Memphis opened the scoring and it was a crucial goal. Had United not scored that, it would have got tensed the longer the score stayed at 0-0. The first goal settled some nerves and allowed us to play comfortably to win 3-0 and go top for the first time in a long time. It was nice to see us top of the table after so long but I know there's a long way to go in the season.
United were then in Champions League action. Champions League was back in the Theatre Of Dreams but United got off a dismal start, torn apart so easily in defence to allow Wolfsburg to score and take the lead. United to their credit, kept their composure and grew into the game. They got a deserved equaliser from the penalty spot through Juan Mata who then set up Chris Smalling for the winning goal in the second half with a sublime flick. Smalling deserves praise as well for the finish which would be something a striker would be proud of let alone a centre back. United then stopped playing and invited Wolfsburg to attack causing some unnecessary stress and nail-biting moments for the fans but United held on to record our first Champions League of the season.
Finally, last night, the big match against Arsenal. Encounters against Arsenal have lost its intensity since Arsenal stop seriously challenging for the title and stop winning titles. I personally don't feel the intensity and threat from Arsenal as I did years ago when Arsenal challenged us seriously for the title. Moreover, United have had an upper hand over them in recent years and that has just added to the confidence when facing Arsenal. The tension and fear of losing this match was gone. I wasn't over-confident though because I know Arsenal remain a strong team and can beat us if we don't perform. I remember as well that we were lucky to beat them last season at the Emirates.
United had a nightmare start. It was game over in the first 20 minutes. Anything Arsenal touched turned to gold. Any shot on target was a goal. United started the game too slowly. It was almost like the players forgot to come out and play. They were still in the changing room. United had started slowly against Southampton but rode their luck to come back into the game. They did the same against Wolfsburg. This time, they were hit hard by a whirlwind.
At kickoff I understood the rationale behind starting with Michael Carrick and Bastian Schweinsteiger in centre midfield and I still don't have any criticism to play them both together. What United lacked was the intensity to match Arsenal and compactness in its shape. Arsenal were given too much room to operate and almost do as they please. United were second in every duel. They lost every battle and were embarrassingly out-classed on the day. There was a better response from United in the last 15 minutes of the first half and in the second half but that could also be because Arsenal took their foot off the pedal a little bit. If Anthony Martial's effort before half-time had gone in, things might turn out differently. Football is made up of episodes. That miss just proved that it's not our day. The day belonged to Arsenal and credit to them for the way they played and managed the game.
It is probably a good wake up call for United because they can't go on chasing leads and starting slowly in matches. Eventually it catches up with you like it did yesterday. In England, matches are played at high speed and starting slow or playing slowly catches you out. The play and start to matches has to be faster.
Van Gaal has to learn to rotate the side more between playing in England and Europe. He has only rotated the central midfield pairing constantly during the season. The rest, more or less, remain the same. He has to find a permanent solution for the long-term absence of Luke Shaw at left back. Everyone had a poor game with the exception of Martial or substitutes Maraoune Fellaini, Antonio Valencia and James Wilson (in a short cameo appearance). Matteo Darmian had his worst game since he joined United. How much of that was down to fatigue? I am not sure. Alexis Sanchez is a tough player to face for any defender on any day and Darmian faced him when he was on fire while Darmian was bamboozled and running on close to empty in the fuel tank.
Wayne Rooney's disappointing form continues. It is particularly disappointing that he seems to have lost the aggression and intensity he had when he was younger. I had expected him to rush back into defence to help out, belted someone and had a go at his team-mates to wake them up. The writing was on the wall from kickoff or at least from the first goal conceded but yet he hardly responded.
I am also disappointed with Carrick and Schweinsteiger who were expected to be leaders on the pitch with all their experience. They should have dictated everyone around them to stay compact at the start to counter Arsenal's explosive start before keeping possession and launching attacks. Chris Smalling could have seen everything in front of him and he should have dictated everyone in front of him to stay compact too. He should have pulled players into position and shouted his lungs out to wake players up.
It was a very disappointing performance. However, United weren't champions last week and are not relegated this week. The manager, coaching staff and players got to learn from this lesson and move on quickly. Unfortunately there's an international weekend upon us and we can only hope the international players in the team come back without injuries and with renewed confidence. There's not much time to dwell on the disappointment. Next is a tough one away to Everton at Goodison Park where we have lost in the past 3 seasons.
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