6 highlights from Arsenal's comeback win over Man Utd

Gabriel's impressive return, Arsenal's habit of starting slowly, controversial decisions by referee Anthony Taylor, bright signals from Ramus Hojlund... were the highlights of the big match at Emirates last weekend.

Gabriel's return . The Brazilian centre-back was on the bench for the first three games of the season, but was named in the starting lineup against Man Utd. In this match, coach Mikel Arteta used the familiar defence from last season, with the central defenders William Saliba - Gabriel and Ben White - Oleksandr Zinchenko sharing the wings.

Playing confidently and cunningly, Gabriel made his mark in many situations that could be considered turning points. Typically, in the 88th minute, when the score was 1-1, the Brazilian center-back stopped, causing substitute Alejandro Garnacho to fall into an offside position before shooting past Aaron Ramsdale. Thanks to his high IQ handling, Man Utd was denied a goal. In the sixth minute of injury time, Gabriel also fought with Jonny Evans in the penalty area, allowing teammate Declan Rice to free up his shot in the penalty area. The ball hit Evans himself, changed direction, and defeated goalkeeper Andre Onana to raise the score to 2-1 for Arsenal.

Gabriel in a tackle to block Man Utd's Antony. Photo: PA

Arsenal's bad starting habits . When drawing 2-2 with Fulham in round 3 on August 6, Arsenal conceded a goal in the 55th second. In the Premier League, that was the third match in the last 10 home matches that they conceded a goal in the first minute. Against Man Utd last weekend, despite conceding a goal later, in the 27th minute, Arsenal continued to struggle at the beginning of the match. Although Martin Odegaard quickly equalized, creating an overwhelming game with a series of opportunities created, Mikel Arteta's team only settled the match thanks to a breakthrough in extra time.

Kai Havertz's lack of luck. Against Man Utd, the German player missed the ball from less than 10 meters away and made a bad pass in the middle of the field, allowing Man Utd to counterattack and open the score in the 27th minute.

Havertz's rare highlight was his run, receiving the ball and rushing into the Man Utd penalty area in the 59th minute. He fell after being hit by Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Referee Anthony Taylor awarded Arsenal a penalty, but then reversed his decision when he went to the sidelines to review the video. In the 77th minute, Havertz had to make way for Fabio Vieira.

Havertz in a missed shot at the beginning of the match. Photo: Reuters — Havertz in a missed shot at the beginning of the match. Photo: *Reuters*

After the match, coach Mikel Arteta expressed sympathy for Havertz when comparing his student's difficult start at Emirates Stadium to the time he met his wife Lorena Bernal - Miss Spain in 1999.

Havertz joined Arsenal this summer for a total fee of 83 million USD, earning the highest weekly salary at the club (around 265,000 USD). However, the German player has yet to score or assist, despite being given the opportunity to start all five official matches by coach Mikel Arteta (one Community Shield and four Premier League matches).

Referee Anthony Taylor was controversial. He twice cautioned goalkeeper Andre Onana for time-wasting, and showed him a yellow card for a third offence in the 67th minute. However, in a touchline clash, Taylor only showed Victor Lindelof a yellow card despite the Swedish defender's boot almost touching Eddie Nketiah's nose. Similarly, Bukayo Saka only received a yellow card despite kicking Bruno Fernandes in the ankle. According to Sport Mail , Taylor could have issued a red card in both situations.

After the match, coach Erik ten Hag also criticized the refereeing team and VAR for three wrong decisions. The Dutch coach said that Man Utd deserved a penalty because Rasmus Hojlund was fouled by Gabriel in the 87th minute, Alejandro Garnacho was not offside and scored a valid goal in the 88th minute, and Declan Rice's goal to make it 2-1 should have been disallowed because center-back Evans was fouled in the penalty area.

Positive signals from Hojlund. The $94 million striker had an impressive first 25 minutes in a Man Utd shirt, constantly accelerating to find positions, exploiting gaps and creating walls for his teammates. The most impressive situation came in the 88th minute, when Hojlund backheeled the ball for Casemiro to pass the ball to Garancho, who ran down and scored against Arsenal.

With the arrival of Hojlund, Marcus Rashford was returned to the left wing position. Here, the English striker can develop situations of acceleration, turning into the middle and shooting with his right foot, as he did against the "Gunners" in this match.

Hojlund's entry into the field created new vitality for Man Utd's attack. Photo: PA

Question marks in Man Utd's defense. With Raphael Varane injured, Lisandro Martinez having problems and Victor Lindelof showing signs of fatigue, Ten Hag was forced to use the central defender duo Harry Maguire - the player who was just stripped of the captaincy and put on the transfer market, and Jonny Evans - who is 35 years old and returned to Man Utd on a short-term contract - at the end of the match.

Man Utd cannot solve this by pouring money into the transfer market, and can only hope that key central defenders return after the break to make room for the national team.

Hong Duy

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