After the 8-2 milestone, MU just learned what it means to dominate Arsenal

Cunha had an explosive game despite not scoring.

In fact, it was MU who dominated the game. They controlled the ball up to 61%, launched 2.5 times more shots than their opponents (22-9). If it weren't for the miraculous saves from Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba and especially two great reflexes from David Raya, the victory would have belonged to the home team.

At that time, newspapers around the world were probably unanimous in praising the beginning of the “Ruben Amorim revolution”: an explosive, spirited, and revitalizing attacking performance that opened the way for the “Red Devils”. Results cannot be the only measure. A single moment of Arsenal’s specialty cannot overshadow a promising 90 minutes from the team under Amorim.

MU's new style of play and the mark of the new recruit

The most striking aspect of the way United operate is the frequency with which Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount make long passes, looking to release the ball wide to the winger or drop it down for Bryan Mbeumo to run onto.

Not only passing long, MU players also boldly held the ball and broke through many times, moving the ball forward to expand the space of the match. This image is quite similar to Amorim's Sporting before: ball control interspersed with lightning-fast counter-attacks from the three-man attack.

Mbeumo's off-the-ball movement and Matheus Cunha's ability to carry the ball were key. The duo had a total of nine shots, with Cunha completing four successful dribbles - more than any other player on the pitch.

Mbeumo had a memorable match.

Coach Amorim affirmed after the match: "Players like Cunha or Mbeumo only need one moment to make the whole stadium explode. The most important thing is that we did not play boringly."

Indeed, thanks to their new signings, MU created 22 shots against Arsenal - the second highest number Arsenal have faced in the Premier League since the start of the 2022/23 season. This is also the first time since the legendary 8-2 victory in August 2011 that the "Red Devils" have had so many shots against Arsenal in this tournament.

The problem is, too many times MU brought the ball down to the end of the field, but the penalty area was completely empty. However, this problem also has an answer ahead. That is, Benjamin Sesko is still waiting to integrate.

As the new No. 9 settles in (Sesko had a difficult game coming on against Arsenal’s deep defence), perhaps United will translate this fast, direct style of attacking down the flanks into goals and ultimately wins. However, there is no guarantee that this new strategy will work in the long term, with Arsenal repeatedly exploiting the vast spaces in midfield to counter-attack.

Had Arsenal passed the ball more accurately, Amorim might have paid the price for such a “go all or die” approach.

Arsenal disjointed because of Gyokeres or because of MU's midfield?

Mikel Arteta knows how lucky his team are. “We have to be humble about the way we won,” the Spaniard admitted. But he has reason to be relieved: the win has taken some of the pressure off Viktor Gyokeres.

The Swedish striker was completely lackluster: no shots, no assists, just 4 successful passes. This was the first time since leaving Coventry City that Gyokeres failed to take a single shot.

It’s not exactly accurate to say he was “invisible,” because Gyokeres’s movement along the last line of defense distorted Arsenal’s play. But that also showed that MU’s defense did a good job of isolating and neutralizing Amorim’s former student.

United’s style of play forces Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka to take more risks rather than patiently passing the ball to gain control. And control is what Arteta craves. Rarely, if ever, have Arsenal lost control so much in his era.

Gyokeres was shut down by Casemiro.

Arsenal's pass completion rate was just 75% - their lowest in the Premier League since a 2-2 draw with Man City in September 2024, when they had to play the entire second half with 10 men. It's hard to imagine Casemiro and Fernandes disrupting their opponents' rhythm that much.

It can be seen that on the opening day of the season, only MU's new players helped the team improve tactically. As for Arsenal, they became more disjointed because of the new faces.

Source: https://znews.vn/sau-dau-moc-8-2-mu-moi-biet-the-nao-la-ap-dao-arsenal-post1577874.html