Games such as Manchester United’s 2-0 defeat at the home of Premier League challengers Arsenal are frequently decided on the tightest of margins.
A set-piece goal here, a set-piece goal there, that was enough for Mikel ‘Pulis’ Arteta’s corner-kick kings to secure a victory on a night in which they produced an XG from open play of less than one.
Yet, Manchester United still very nearly beat Arsenal at their own game just past the hour mark. Shortly after Jurrien Timber gave The Gunners the lead – the former Ajax defender heavily linked with Man United before heading to North London – Arteta needed David Raya to be at his very best to claw away a soaring Matthijs de Ligt header.
De Ligt has already showcased his strengths from dead-ball situations. De Ligt opened the scoring in the 3-0 win at Southampton earlier in the campaign.
And, post-match, Ruben Amorim could not help but wonder how differently things might have turned out had Raya’s wingspan been a few inches less.
Ruben Amorim, Head Coach of Manchester United, speaks with Matthijs de Ligt of Manchester United as he applauds the fans after the Premier League m...
Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
Matthijs de Ligt denied as Arsenal beat Manchester United
“We were competing during the game,” Amorim says, speaking at his post-match press conference. “If Matthijs can score at that moment, the momentum would be different. But we tried to play.
“They are a very organised team and it is very hard to score when they have the advantage.”
Arsenal were without Gabriel Magalhaes at the Emirates; The Brazil international with four goals from set-pieces this season.
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But, even with Gabriel unavailable, the home team simply had too much for a rather diminutive Manchester United side. William Saliba diverted the match clinching goal into the net from almost on the goalline late on.
Ruben Amorim highlights Arsenal’s set-piece threat
“We already knew that it would be a tough game,” Amorim adds, suffering his first defeat as Man United boss in his fourth match in charge. “I think the corners changed the game, the set-pieces.
“Then, we lost the momentum. We tried everything then to control the game again. You feel it in the first half, in the environment of the stadium, that we were causing problems. We need to improve in a lot of areas of our game, but we were controlling the game.
“They are very good because they have a lot of time working on [set-pieces]. They have big players for that, so it is a strategy, and we had two weeks to work on that. We tried to do [stop Arsenal] but we know every team in the Premier League is suffering with set-pieces.
“It was a shame because we were not playing very well but also Arsenal was not playing very well.”
The good news, of course, is that Manchester United played with a control and an organisation so often lacking in the Erik ten Hag era. From open play, the Red Devils limited Arsenal to half-chances while Leny Yoro made a very impressive debut off the bench in the second-half.
The lack of threat at the other end – Rasmus Hojlund, Alejandro Garnacho and Mason Mount struggling to influence proceedings as the front three – will be a cause for concern. But, still, plenty to build upon and plenty of positives.
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