Amorim's men show better form in new season while open-play is headache for Gunners
Arsenal players celebrate on the final whistle of the English Premier League match against Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Arsenal players celebrate on the final whistle of the English Premier League match against Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday.
AFP
Another season, another frustrating afternoon at Old Trafford for United fans. As the final whistle blew and Arsenal celebrated their narrow 1-0 away victory, you couldn’t help but feel United fans’ frustration about key refereeing decisions.
The goal that shouldn’t have been?
Let’s talk about Calafiori’s winner. Sure, Bayindir could have done better — any United fan will tell you that. The big lad should have attacked that corner with more conviction. But the on aspect that’s driving United fans mad is — he was clearly impeded by Saliba in the process.
Watch it back and you’ll see Saliba’s arm restricting Bayindir’s movement just as he’s trying to get a strong punch on the ball. In any other situation, keepers get protection for that kind of interference. They’re supposed to be a protected species in their own six-yard box. Yet VAR didn’t even have a proper look at it.
Also, in the lead-up to that goal, there was chaos in the box that the officials completely ignored. Mount had his shirt pulled, that was clear obstruction — the kind of stuff that usually gets picked up in today’s game where every little contact seems to matter. But then Arsenal fans can argue that Matheus Cunha held on to Zubimendi for too long, which also went unpunished. Being a referee is difficult, but then use the technology wisely.
However, David Raya dealt with a similar situation from a United corner later in the match. He punched it away brilliantly, but crucially, he wasn’t being held back by anyone. That’s the difference. There is no argument about Manchester United needing to upgrade in the goalkeeping department.
Credit where it’s due — Arsenal know what they’re doing from set pieces. They’ve turned it into an art-form under Arteta. Set piece coach Nico Jover is the man behind it. But that’s about all they managed to create all afternoon. From open play, they offered next to nothing. It’s been their pattern for over a season now, and it worked again because the officials let it happen.
Arsenal fans will be happy with the points, but they would want to see more creativity from their team going forward. The new striker Viktor Gyokeres had an awful game and was hooked in the second half without even attempting a shot.
The penalty that wasn’t given
Then there was the incident near the end that summed up the afternoon perfectly. Saliba caught Cunha clearly in the box — the kind of contact that’s been given as penalties in previous seasons. The player went down due to the obvious contact, and yet nothing. Not even a second look from VAR. Football is a contact sport, agreed, but that was contact enough to warrant a penalty, I reckon.
It’s these kind of inconsistencies that drive fans to the edge. One minute they are checking everything, the next they’re ignoring clear fouls in the penalty area!
There were plenty of positives to take from this performance for Ruben Amorim and United fans. They looked sharp, created chances, and showed real fight throughout. For a first game of the season, with players still settling in, it was actually an impressive display.
The team didn’t roll over when things went against them. They kept pushing, kept creating, and on another day with better officiating, they could easily have taken something away from this game. Arsenal manager Arteta will be happy with all three points, but they have to improve their open-play creativity to have a charge at winning the title.