Unimpressive but Old Trafford win was just was Arsenal need

Winning at Old Trafford may not prove to be as common as last season, making Arsenal’s result stand out among the title hopefuls

Manchester United's Matheus Cunha (left) and Arsenal's Martin Odegaard in discussion during a stop in play in the Premier League match at Old Trafford. Pic: Nick Potts/PA Wire. 

There was a thought at times in the second part of last season, when the set-piece goals dried up, that Arsenal had become over-reliant on them. And perhaps that was true, but they’re a useful weapon to have. Some games are won by overwhelming opponents through superior technical ability and some games are won by organisation and hard work, by finding a way to score and a way to keep their opponent out. Arsenal’s 1-0 win at Old Trafford on Sunday was definitely one of the latter.

Manchester United do not defend inswinging corners well. Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka both excel at taking inswinging corners. In that sense, the fact that the game was decided by United goalkeeper Altay Bayindir’s flap at a Rice inswinger was entirely to be expected. What was less predictable was the nature of the game that followed as United hit the post and David Raya was called into seven saves. Mikel Arteta, quite reasonably, praised his side’s “character and spirit” while acknowledging they had made “mistakes that are very far from the standards that we normally have.”