Five things we learnt as Man United impress in 1-1 draw with Arsenal | OneFootball

Manchester United welcomed Arsenal to Old Trafford in a crunch clash in the Premier League.

Andre Onana started in goal with Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Victor Lindelof forming the back three in a rare start for the Swede.

Diogo Dalot started at left wing-back again due to Patrick Dorgu’s suspension and Noussair Mazraoui at right wing back.

Casemiro was given a start in the middle of the park alongside Bruno Fernandes.

Christian Eriksen, Alejandro Garnacho and Joshua Zirkzee started upfront.

Here are five things we learnt from the match.

Bruno Fernandes conjures up his magic again

The Red Devils had very little go their way in the first half as the visitors dominated the majority of the ball.

Captain Fernandes hardly seemed to get a kick as the Arsenal midfield dictated the play.

Nonetheless, the Portuguese international needs little opportunity to hurt other teams and he did exactly that with a stupendous free kick to give United a half-time lead.

The United captain did exactly the same a couple of weeks ago when he scored another outstanding free kick effort against Everton that helped drag his side to a draw at Goodison Park.

He has really stepped up since Amad Diallo’s long-term injury and remains the beating heart of anything this team does well in attack.

Andre Onana’s kicking goes from bad to worse

Before moving to Manchester in 2023, Onana was widely regarded as one of the best ball playing keepers in the world.

Such was his prowess on the deck, that Pep Guardiola told his Manchester City players not to bother pressing him in the 2023 Champions League final.

Sadly, United fans have rarely seen the goalkeeper show any of these skills that he possesses.

He has been incredibly error-prone lately but his kicking has also taken a massive downturn.

Today was another example where long balls frequently sailed out of play and he put his defenders under pressure with some poorly chosen passes.

The Cameroonian did make a couple of important late stops in United’s 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad that could prove pivotal in the tie but it is becoming harder and harder to understand what he brings to the team.

United look better defending deeper

Ruben Amorim’s long-term plan is clearly to make United a strong attacking team who want to dominate their opponents.

Nonetheless, with the plethora of injuries and multitude of players in the squad who don’t fit his game model, the team has often looked better in a low block since he has come in as manager.

Most of Amorim’s more positive results have come against bigger teams, where the back five can become a strength to plug holes.

They finally gave in after 74 minutes when Declan Rice equalised with a fine strike from range but it is perhaps a model moving forward in the short-term to try and gain success in the Europa League where all that matters is winning.

Once the manager has time to work on the training ground in the summer and have more options back from the treatment table or via the transfer market, he can try and focus more on his true footballing ideals.

United punished again for poor finishing

The Red Devils have hardly created many chances this season but they have been guilty of being wasteful in the few they have generated.

United had two massive chances from Mazraoui and Zirkzee in the second half to double their lead after sweeping counter-attacking moves, but both failed to capitalise from close range, although Raya also deserves some credit for some great reflex saves.

Instead of giving themselves a cushion, there was a familiar sinking feeling around Old Trafford as Arsenal grabbed an equaliser after being let off the hook by United’s wastefulness in front of goal.

This was characterised perfectly when Casemiro won the ball high up the pitch and presented Rasmus Hojlund with a chance one-on-one with David Raya but he failed to even get a shot off as Rice won the ball back due to the Dane’s hesitation in the worst possible moment.

Moving forward, the Red Devils will need to improve their shot conversion immensely if they are to achieve anything in the league or cup competitions.

Ayden Heaven impresses against former side

Much of the news stories talked about the potential of Chido Obi facing his former team, but it was Heaven who got the chance when he replaced Leny Yoro at the half.

The 18 year old put in an impressive performance full of youth and courage.

He perhaps got a bit lucky with a possible handball but he won numerous tackles and had a lovely moment with the Old Trafford crowd when he cheered them on after making a strong challenge to kill Arsenal’s momentum.

He was good on the ball and even had the confidence to carry it forward in a performance full of promise.

Heaven may just get the chance to impress again depending on the fitness of Yoro ahead of Thursday’s season-defining match versus Real Sociedad.

Featured image Michael Regan via Getty Images

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