FIVE ASIDES Premier League: Arsenal 3, United 1
We already know one thing about Erik ten Hag: the man is up for a challenge. The minute he walks into his new job, he’ll be Erik Ten Headaches. Should he start by telling Cristiano Ronaldo that he’s no longer an automatic pick, or stripping Harry Maguire of the captaincy, or trying to rebuild Marcus Rashford’s confidence, or explaining to David de Gea that goalies are now expected to pass, or showing Scott McTominay how to play a through ball, or informing Jadon Sancho that wingers have to cross as well as dribble, or giving Bruno Fernandes a talking-to about petulance, or persuading Alex Telles to do some defending, or asking Aaron-Wan Bissaka if he would mind joining the odd attack, or lecturing the Glazers on how owners are meant to behave?
The instant cliché, as the Liverpool fiasco sank in, was that United were broken. But after the first five minutes today, which were basically just Anfield continued, they didn’t play like that. They may have been brittle and fitful but they showed plenty of fight and creativity. There were signs of life, reasons to hope. They were unlucky with some of the close decisions: a fairer result would have been 2-2 (though an Arsenal fan might have said the same about United’s narrow win in November). According to Sofascore, it was 4-3 to United on big chances, 7-1 on corners, and 14-all on shots. But, crucially, it was 1-0 on penalties when it should have been 1-1. If Fernandes was a calmer and more statesmanlike captain, he would have handed the ball to Ronaldo, who, unlike him, is back on form.
Ronaldo is in danger of becoming a culture war. People are either saying that his 20 goals mean he must have been a good signing, or that United’s troubles mean he must have been a bad one. He’s been both good and bad: good at scoring, apart from a dry spell of the kind that every striker goes through; and bad at running. Today he took his first big chance beautifully, making a left-foot half-volley look easy. And he took his second well too – volleying a ball that had come over his shoulder – except that he was marginally offside, because he was walking back towards the fray. His passing was crisp, but his pressing was still almost non-existent, which meant that Fernandes, Anthony Elanga and Sancho (who all pressed well) got knackered. Ronaldo is too old to put in a proper shift. In a team game, that’s a big problem. Arsenal’s attack was less eminent and less experienced, with a rookie as a spearhead, but it was more joined-up.
United’s goal difference is now +2. Man City’s is +59, Liverpool’s +61: that’s how wide the gulf is. The battle for fourth has become a two-horse race between Arsenal and Spurs. United are in another race, which should also have two horses in it: the scuffle for sixth, against West Ham (who are two points behind with a game in hand). There’s a danger that Wolves will join in too, which could leave United finishing eighth. But then Arsenal did that last season, and the one before, and now they’re on the up again. Ten Hag will make United better – fitter, sharper, more committed, more organised (Ralf Rangnick hasn’t even managed that). But he will need time – to get to know English football, to get used to a big club with too many chiefs, and to work out how to coax the players he inherits back to their best. By choosing him over Mauricio Pochettino, the board have opted for the slow road. I hope they understand that.