Manchester United 1-2 Arsenal: Five thoughts

1. Welbeck

The reaction this morning has focused on Welbeck scoring the match-winner and the sight of his replacement in United's attack, Falcao, rotting uselessly on the bench. Ignoring the fact that Danny had an average game, when it mattered he was there to capitalise on a horrible error from Valencia and score the winner for his new team. Really, in what was a very tight game, it was exactly the sort of thing that was going to separate the two teams. And given how nervous United have appeared in defense this season, it was almost inevitably going to be United that would be on the end of it.

A lot has also been made of his celebration - something I personally have no issues with at all. He is a Manchester United fan and loved playing for 'his' team, yet when the new manager made his thoughts on him and his future at United clear, there was only one option and that was to leave. I hope United fans have nothing but respect for him, and those who booed when he was subbed off only did so out of frustration.

2. Di Maria

If it wasn't for his affiliation with United, Welbeck's goal would come second to Di Maria's sending off as the main talking point of the night. It was an utterly ridiculous incident, fueled by pent-up frustration at having just been yellow-carded for diving. He had been having one of his better game's for United - the assist for Rooney's goal in the first half was outstanding - but at such a crucial point of the game, with the team desperate for an equaliser, he lost his cool and with his sending off all but sealed United's fate. Inexcusable.

3. De Gea

"De Gea, yet again, was magnificent for United and had it not been for him they would have conceded at least [add appropriate number of world-class save De Gea made here] more goals..."

This sentence seems to have formed the template of virtually every post-match Manchester United review this season. As much as it pleases me to have arguably the best 'keeper in the world playing for us, our over-reliance on him to perform miraculous saves every game is not a game plan we can rely on to win us games.

In addition to De Gea, another word that is commonly associated with United and our relatively strong position in the league this season is 'luck'. Last night however, neither De Gea nor luck could prevent Welbeck from scoring from Valencia's loose ball - which begs the question: has our luck finally run out, and will we start becoming punished more severely for our defensive frailties?

4. Falcao

Didn't play a single minute of the game...and that's exactly why he gets a mention in this post. LVG's game plan and 'philosophy' is starting to seriously grate on United fans as we see our team, week in week out, fail to perform to the level that we have to come to expect of this team. In addition to that, we have a world class striker - albeit a striker that has done little to prove his worth since his loan move - sitting on the bench and being overlooked even though we are in desperate need of a goal. For the second game running United, with the clock ticking, were facing the reality of a poor result and yet our striker in reserve is ignored. The manager has yet to offer a logical explanation for this, however needless to say it has left the fans baffled and disappointed at his management and decision making.

5. In Summary...

It was certainly a better performance from United, however as per usual we were unable to create enough chances to seriously be in contention for winning the game. It is a shame that a fairly decent United performance will go down as a another poor one thanks to two errors in judgement (Valencia's mistake and Di Maria's reaction that lead to the sending off), however in defense of Arsenal once they scored the second they never seriously looked like conceding again...where as United definitely did*.





*De Gea, yet again, was magnificent for United and had it not been for him they would have conceded at least two more goals...