Anonymous Attack Condemns Arsenal at Old Trafford

The Gunners travelled to Old Trafford to take on a wavering United team. With new interim manager Rangnick not yet available, Arsenal was lucky to only be facing Carrick… or were they?

Mikel Arteta – 4

I’m not quite sure what the Spaniard was thinking. Aubameyang and Odegaard had ghosted against last placed Newcastle, so what does he do? Starts them both. Lacazette has been in brilliant form as a somewhat false 9. So what does he do? Benches him. Elneny hadn’t started a game all season. So what does he do? Starts him. I was beyond confused. Deciding to take Smith-Rowe off for Saka was a very confusing choice as well. He had a shocker.

Aaron Ramsdale – 6.5

He had a much quieter game than of late. The only big moment he had was denying a Ronaldo near-post shot. Other than that, he couldn’t do much about the goals.

Nuno Tavares – 5

Don’t get me wrong, he was everywhere. On the other hand though, for someone who had the ball so much, what did he have to show for it? A couple good crosses. Although he has a lot of raw potential I expect to see Tierney back in the starting line-up against Everton.

Gabriel – 6

Gabriel did what he could for the most part. Ronaldo is Ronaldo for a reason – he is always going to score goals.

Ben White – 6

Ben White also did what he could. It was encouraging to see him trying to push the ball up the pitch and break through the lines. He even played an amazing long ball to Aubameyang who failed to score.

Takehiro Tomiyasu – 7

Tomiyasu probably had one of the better games out of the defence. Rashford couldn’t do anything on him all day.

Emile Smith-Rowe – 5.5

Another quiet game for the Smith. With an inability to keep possession in the final third, he was unable to make a proper impact. I don’t really understand while he was brought off as I thought he would’ve done much better than Odegaard in that position. His goal was... uhhh... 'interesting', to say the least.

Thomas Partey – 4

Awful. Just awful. The worst thing is, he wasn’t even the worst on the pitch. He had a trampoline for a touch. He failed to shut down the through ball in behind the full back which was deadly for United throughout the whole game. Upon focusing more on him though, it was apparent that he was so so so lazy. There were countless times where if he would take a step to the side he would create an option to break the lines but he just stood there. Unacceptable.

Mohammed Elneny – 6

Even though I would’ve liked to have seen Sambi on the pitch, Elneny had a decent game. He did what he could to break up United possession and control the play.

Gabriel Martinelli – 7.5

He was possibly the only real positive on the pitch. He was lively, he made runs in behind and he was always looking to attack and take the game to the United defence. He finished with a deserved assist and posed the challenge to Arteta to find somewhere for him to be played, because at the end of the day, he needs to be on the pitch.

Martin Odegaard – 5

He ghosted the whole game. Yes, his finish from the top of the box was quite a good one, but you can’t play well for just 3 seconds. He couldn’t really keep possession well, lacked the hold-up play that Lacazette has and couldn’t make an impact. That foul on Fred to give away the game-winning penalty was just a horrendous decision and shows why he should be playing in the midfield, not the defence.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 3

Oh. My. Days. Ghosted is an understatement. When the team has to clear the ball and play on counter attacks, especially when the two defenders are Magurie and Lindelof, you need to make runs in behind and play to your strengths. Aubameyang barely touched the ball though. Despite it eventually being ruled offside in the future, the fact that he couldn’t score from 6 yards out is woeful. He made one thing clear today. WE MUST SIGN A STRIKER SOON.

SUBSTITUTIONS:

Bukayo Saka – 6.5

Couldn’t really make an impact but looked lively.

Alexandre Lacazette – 6

Couldn’t really make an impact.

Eddie Nketiah – 6

Couldn’t really make an impact.

MAN OF THE MATCH:

Gabriel Martinelli – 7.5

He looked lively and made it 2 goal contributions in 2 games. We need him on the pitch.