33 vs. 8 shots.
15 vs. 4 on target.
"Tactically spot on".
And this is only Arsenal. Not even an elite team.
Jose Mourinho | 2017/18 Assessments | Poll Added
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33 vs. 8 shots.
15 vs. 4 on target.
"Tactically spot on".
And this is only Arsenal. Not even an elite team.
Part of our tactic was to soak up pressure defensively, let Arsenal have shots against us, and counter them.33 vs. 8 shots.
15 vs. 4 on target.
"Tactically spot on".
And this is only Arsenal. Not even an elite team.
33 vs. 8 shots.
15 vs. 4 on target.
"Tactically spot on".
And this is only Arsenal. Not even an elite team.
Jose Mourinho said that we must attack with 11 men and defend with 11 men. The first two goals came from good defending from the front, the third goal came from a fantastic counter attack which was one of many in the game.
MANY of Arsenal's shots were not dangerous, they were from areas where you cannot beat De Gea.
33 vs. 8 shots.
15 vs. 4 on target.
"Tactically spot on".
And this is only Arsenal. Not even an elite team.
" Only Arsenal" ? Is every team we're going to beat will be considered shite ?
Arsenal had 100% record at home before we had met them.
I shall expand for you.
He is basically a bit disappointed that Jose got Rooney out of our club. From that point onwards, Jose is public enemy No.1.
It doesn't help that Rooney recently scored a hat-trick, for the first time in several years.
Tad pessimistic there. Mourinho is fine with sitting back and letting other teams stack up half chance after half chance.33 vs. 8 shots.
15 vs. 4 on target.
"Tactically spot on".
And this is only Arsenal. Not even an elite team.
Our counter attacking game is getting lethal but I do think our defenders are slightly overrated on here. They are each good for a mistake or two in high pressure moments and thus can't be asked to soak up pressure against the better teams. Still a step in the right direction for a team that's not yet the finished article
33 vs. 8 shots.
15 vs. 4 on target.
"Tactically spot on".
And this is only Arsenal. Not even an elite team.
Arsenal are a much better attacking team than us and we were away from home. I agree, spot on tactics and a big 3 points. We finished 6th, 5th, 4th and 7th over the last 4 years - saying we shouldn't set up this way against an Arsenal team unbeaten at home is truly naive.
Let them have the possession, let them take a load of long shots (which massively inflates that stat) and use our pace and power to break on them at pace when we can. The two times our defense switched off and misjudged the offside trap we were caught out - one was the goal and the other was the double save.
No they aren't overrated. We missed our 2 best CBS and played with a defender who was just back from a 7 months long term injury and a defender who is still settling for the league.
For all the talk of their 33 shots and De Gea’s superhuman resistance, I can only think of 3 saves off hand that I wouldn’t expect any old keeper to make. 2 of them in the same phase of play, and the other from the falling thigh of his own player. So while Arsenal dominated us possession wise, it’s not like they were carving us open at will. It wasn’t like the Pompey game in 08 or anything. Lingard on his own had as many clear cut chances as them.
It’s also not like this kind of result is an anomalous one either. If Arsenal regularly steamrolled the big teams but came unusually unstuck here, you could plausibly argue it was a fortuitous one off, but they don’t. They’re notorious for being tactically naive and vulnerable against the big sides. We alone have won this fixture in a similar fashion (even by the very same scoreline!) several times before, so in full context, i can definitely see why some are viewing it as a successful implementation of a tried and trusted tactic, as opposed to a mere jammy smash and grab. Theres form and precedent for that. More than there is for Wenger’s Arsenal tactically besting a José Mourinho/Manchester United side.
Our performance is probably being a tad overrated in some quarters, but then so is Arsenal’s shot count and unrewarded superiority. Both us and Jose have done this enough times against them to deserve the BOD, IMO.
It’s also not like this kind of result is an anomalous one either. If Arsenal regularly steamrolled the big teams but came unusually unstuck here, you could plausibly argue it was a fortuitous one off, but they don’t. They’re notorious for being tactically naive and vulnerable against the big sides. We alone have won this fixture in a similar fashion (even by the very same scoreline!) several times before, so in full context, i can definitely see why some are viewing it as a successful implementation of a tried and trusted tactic, as opposed to a mere jammy smash and grab. Theres form and precedent for that. More than there is for Wenger’s Arsenal tactically besting a José Mourinho/Manchester United side.
Our performance is probably being a tad overrated in some quarters, but then so is Arsenal’s shot count and unrewarded superiority. Both us and Jose have done this enough times against them to deserve the BOD, IMO.
It's almost as if people here wouldn't take a 1-3 away win against Arsenal before the game.
I'm just glad Mourinho has finally reacted to our poor record against the Top 7, he put out a positive side with intent to attack Arsenal. No messing about with a 3 man midfield, we were on it from the first minute and reaped the rewards. It's nice to rack a couple of away wins back-to-back, even sweeter that it was Arsenal we beat.
I'm just glad Mourinho has finally reacted to our poor record against the Top 7, he put out a positive side with intent to attack Arsenal. No messing about with a 3 man midfield, we were on it from the first minute and reaped the rewards. It's nice to rack a couple of away wins back-to-back, even sweeter that it was Arsenal we beat.
This time, he got his players properly ready and we played with the right intensity from the very first minute. Something we had not been doing enough this season
Yeah, very noticeable against Newcastle and Brighton who started game well and created good chances within first 5 mins of the game.
Between our second and third goals, we looked anything but solid and compact. We were all over the place, getting overrun in midfield and battered. Thank feck for De Gea and Arsenal's poor finishing.
It was a really fun game, I enjoyed it a lot but let's not pretend we were in control or that it was some kind of defensive masterclass.
Yeah, Arsenal are tactically naive and the blueprint for beating is exposing their high line and destroying them on the counter. That is certainly true and we did that.
Arsenal don't regularly steamroll big teams but they do get it together every once in a while when they manage to score first and their momentum carries them on; like how they annihilated Chelsea last season. This is the danger when you're letting them play. And boy, we were letting them play once we went 2-0 up. Understandable to an extent, as that is supposed to be a comfortable scoreline against a shell-shocked home team but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a higher degree of control at that point.
Compare this game to how we played against them in the CL semi-final in 2009. We were 2-0 up after 11 minutes there - and went on to absolutely kill their game. They didn't have a sniff until Fletcher's red card, basically. So while I'd agree Mourinho was executing the usual blueprint for beating Arsenal, it was very far from a perfect execution of said blueprint. We were relying a little too much on poor finishing from Arsenal, as opposed to solid defending from ourselves. The real positive is that we always looked dangerous on the counter, something that wasn't the case at either Anfield or Stamford Bridge.
33 vs. 8 shots.
15 vs. 4 on target.
"Tactically spot on".
And this is only Arsenal. Not even an elite team.
That's because we scored two quick goals and had no reason to attack. If that game had been close, the stats wouldn't have looked like that at all.
The fact that we created a clear cut chance immediately after conceding and scored soon after shows that it was planned. We hit them twice in the opening 15 minutes, absorbed pressure and when our lead was in any sort of danger, we went and killed off the game. Perfect performance.
Come ON. There is really no need to dress everything up as measured and calculated. This can be very annoying from football fans. It was really far from perfect.
We had every reason NOT to let Arsenal create chance after chance after chance in the first half and early on in the second. Yeah, our counter-attacking was great but we didn't do a very good job of absorbing pressure. We made way too many defensive mistakes and Arsenal were playing through our midfield as if it wasn't there.
It was a fun game with some great counter-attacking and I enjoy watching De Gea defying physics as much as anyone. But it wasn't anywhere near a perfect performance.
Well let's agree to disagree. If you allow a team like Arsenal to attack they will create goal scoring opportunities, their attacks basically created our second and third goal which we were able to score because they threw too many men forward.
I think if we went gung ho and kept investing our resources in attack after going 2-0 up, we would have ended up losing 5-3.
It's also worth noting that Arsenal are/were pretty strong at home this season (7 wins at home this season until our match) and I think they've also had 13 home wins and 1 draw (against City) on the bounce counting from that loss they've had against Watford.
What is also ignored is Arsenal's home form. They won 12 out of last 12 league games, scoring 30 plus goals and conceding just 5. We have scored 3 in 1 game alone. Arsenal away is never easy game, we came away with 3 points which is most important.
Also if the game was 1-0 or 0-0, don't think Arsenal would have gone for all out attack. When the second goal was scored and Mustafi was subbed for more attacking player, Arsenal had nothing to lose. They went all out attack and created numerous chances.
Also if the game was 1-0 or 0-0, don't think Arsenal would have gone for all out attack. When the second goal was scored and Mustafi was subbed for more attacking player, Arsenal had nothing to lose. They went all out attack and created numerous chances.
Which is exactly why you shouldn't invite so much pressure from a team like them.
I'm not suggesting we should have gone gung-ho, I'm suggesting we should have had better control of the midfield and should have defended better. For a perfect performance at Arsenal, refer to the CL semi-final in 2009. That was a perfect performance. This was a fun but chaotic one.
33 vs. 8 shots.
15 vs. 4 on target.
"Tactically spot on".
And this is only Arsenal. Not even an elite team.
"Only Arsenal" - just the team on a 12-match winning run at home, playing at home, having also dispatched Spurs with ease. "Only Arsenal" with a blistering attack and having finished ahead of us for a bunch of seasons running now - including last time around. We played away, without our top 2 defenders (Bailly, Jones) and took a quick 2-goal lead. Not sure why this should not be considered the ultimate away win! Fergie did such stuff repeatedly and was considered a genius for such an approach.
If we'd been closing down their players in our part of the pitch properly (this is where we missed Bailly and Jones) we'd probably have won a lot more comfortably. Same for the 3-4 brilliant counters that we blew with poor touches (mainly from Lukaku and one from Martial). All in all, I was very happy with this. If it weren't for the Pogba red, I'd be gagging to get at City! As it is, I'm cautiously optimistic, specially since Herrera probably looked as good as he has all season once he came on. If he can keep it tidy and be disciplined, I think we can beat this City side. It's at home, we have our tails up and should nick this, specially given how City has basically been relying on late-late winners of late.
This victory felt like turning back the clock to the days we've got to Arsenal, defend deep and catch them cold on the counter. It was so similar to what we used to do to them I have expected to see Ji Sung Park out there!
Jose got it spot on. Did we hang on at times? Yes. Did we have to rely on De Gea? Yes. However, we could afford to because we have the right personnel to surrender the ball and hit them on the break.
The manager's approach was totally right.
Its a fine line sometimes, had we not got the result on Saturday Jose would be getting slated for his tactics. Arsenal were the better team and battered us in parts but fortunately we've got Dave between the sticks who won us the game.
I thought we were poor in defence and invited too much pressure and we shouldnt be so heavily reliant on DDG. The important thing is the 3 points but on a different day it could have been a very different outcome.
I thought we were poor in defence and invited too much pressure and we shouldnt be so heavily reliant on DDG. The important thing is the 3 points but on a different day it could have been a very different outcome.
This victory felt like turning back the clock to the days we've got to Arsenal, defend deep and catch them cold on the counter. It was so similar to what we used to do to them I have expected to see Ji Sung Park out there!
Jose got it spot on. Did we hang on at times? Yes. Did we have to rely on De Gea? Yes. However, we could afford to because we have the right personnel to surrender the ball and hit them on the break.
The manager's approach was totally right.
Absolutely! This was just missing the factor of a solid Rio-Vida at the back instead of the still-getting-to-grips Lingard, still-recovering-full-sharpness Rojo and good-but-not-great Smalling. As for Ji, well, Lingard is a good comparison! Always shows up for the big games, tireless worker and never gives anything less than his all. I have totally changed my opinion on the lad from "ship out" to "decent Cup player in the squad" to "essential squad player" now. Benefits of a local lad from the academy. Never cribs and will always be someone Jose can call upon to do this job.
As for de Gea, yep. We relied on him and we've relied on vdS and Schmeichel before! We beat on pool and the likes for having c**p keepers. Why beat up our manager for having a great one? He is, after all, a part of the team. It's like saying all the wins where Ronaldo won it for us with a moment of magic were not to Fergie's credit! (Or hark back to "that" Scholes goal which knocked out Barca!)
Who cares if they have 33 shots on goal, it's not like DDG ever concedes goals anyway. Let them come and hit them on the counter
Yeah, that’s probably fair.
Very good post. I was on the side who is overrating our performance probably, but then again I was extremely pleased how threatening we were on the counter, just looking at the sheer speed of execution and some brilliant interplay between the players. We clearly went for the kill and we deserve it. In part because of De Gea, but definitely also because of our general play and set up.
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Agreed.
If you have a world class goalkeeper you can rely on why would you not bank on that? It'd be like having Messi and playing long balls instead of passes into feet.
We had a gameplan and we executed it. Simple as. Yeah that relied on us defending deep and manfully but we have the players to do so. How can it be the wrong approach when we win by two clear goals?
Anyone who criticises Jose after the weekend for 'luck' must also think its 'luck' we haven't lost at home in over a year.
Excellent post and especially the bit about De Gea's performance being over-rated by a margin. He made 3 excellent saves but the rest were genuinely standard.
Also we genuinely looked scoring everytime we were on the counter.
The manager is shite because he didn't steam roll Arsenal at the emirates. Sack him now.
Agreed.
Also this using stats to cite the fact we were comprehensively outplayed and deserved to lose is misleading.
Arsenal will always outplay the opposition unless they're facing a top possession side, especially at home but that was our strategy and always has been.. rope a dope. Let them come at us in waves, soak up the pressure and counter. Admittedly that was one of the better performances from Arsenal, and they created more obvious goalscoring opportunities against us than we would usually expect and especially so considering we had 5 at the back and managed by Jose Mourinho.. nevertheless, tactically we were IMO the superior side, playing with the greater match know-how and it showed in the result.. we gambled on them being bottlers despite enjoying lion share of possession and so it proved.
Past two performances have been pretty swashbuckling by our recent standards and to do that away from home.. hopefully Jose has conquered the 'away' issue and he seems to have found that balance between attack and defence we have been crying out for.
City game is a tough one to call especially now that we don't have Pogba, but feel Jose has definitely picked up his own game the past few weeks.. there is a decisiveness to his selections and tactics.. and it is showing in the team too, much more purpose on the ball.. players seem to know where everyone is going to be on the pitch. The 3-5-2.. is quite a crude formation in an attacking sense, it isn't as difficult to coach patterns of play with it in comparison to a 4-3-3.. but it suits the set of players we have and I think it suits Jose too at the moment.
Shouldn't be seeing too many complaints at the moment, we're doing really well past few games.
People need to stop telling others that they don't deserve to support United. It's pathetic.
On topic: The more I look at the game the more it looks well-planned.
On topic: The more I look at the game the more it looks well-planned.
Who cares if it wasn’t perfect? We won which is all that matters.
City were not perfect against West Ham either, and they are looking unstoppable so far, with a few lucky games here and there.
Who cares if they have 33 shots on goal, it's not like DDG ever concedes goals anyway. Let them come and hit them on the counter
Your comment is probably tongue in cheek, but he did concede against Arsenal.
It is, but I'm still in disbelief over his insane performance
It is, but I'm still in disbelief over his insane performance
Haha i think we all are, he was sensational. He should be cast as Superman in the next DC movie.
Yeah, that's fair. Some very jittery clearances that undermined the set up and invited pressure.
It’s pointless banging on about statistics. We won the game 3-1.
The fact that we went 0-2 up after 10mins obviously makes a huge difference to the way the game plays out
The fact that we went 0-2 up after 10mins obviously makes a huge difference to the way the game plays out
Apparently perfect is the standard we have to judge Jose and the players on.
People want us to play great attacking football but to never concede possession or let the opponent have a shot.
It doesn't matter that Arsenal at 2-0 down threw everything forward, we should be able to nullify them completely
It's funny what a bit of common sense can do
Arsenal would not have had that 30 minute spell where they were good if they weren't caught with their pants down. And we would have not defended like we did, if we didnt catch Arsenal with their pants down.
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