Ten Hag washed out at Man Utd as Arsenal expose ‘laughable’ Casemiro defending

The storm clouds gathered over Old Trafford – but the sun still shines on Arsenal’s title hopes.

Leandro Trossard’s first half strike earned Arsenal the win that took them back to the top of the table. Which means the destination of the title will go down to the final afternoon of this thrilling season.

A final afternoon that could see Mikel Arteta‘s men crowned champions for the first time since 2004, should the unthinkable happen and Manchester City slip up. But also one that will mean little to Manchester United – and cannot come quick enough for a team in freefall.

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Trossard’s strike was the 82nd goal United had conceded this season in all competitions, the most since 1971. This used to be the most explosive fixture in English football.

But these days the only thing likely to blow up appears to be Erik Ten Hag‘s chances of saving his job. On paper, the game looked like a total mismatch.

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Arsenal had lost one league game since New Year’s Eve, and were in with a genuine chance of winning their first title in two decades. United, on the other hand, had tasted victory once in the last nine games all competitions since the start of last month, and had descended into a shambles of a team bringing shame on the shirt.

While Arsenal names an unchanged side, Ten Hag started this clash with a right back at left back and Casemiro in central defence again alongside 36-year-old Jonny Evans. Amad Diallo made his first league start of the season on the wing, while Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford were nowhere to be seen. What could possibly go wrong?

The game started with a siege on United’a goal – but it was the hosts who should have gone ahead when Thomas Partey was careless and gave a chance to Rasmus Hojlund, who failed to hit the target. Alejandro Garnacho then fired over the top.

Ten Hag had insisted in his programme notes there was “fight” in his squad, and perhaps he was right. Wrong.

Ten Hag’s confidence looked misplaced at best – and deluded at worst – when Arsenal strolled into the lead inside 20 minutes. Ben White picked out a lurking Kai Havertz in acres of space down the right, who waltzed to the byline before picking out Trossard, who had the simplest of finishes.

Casemiro had played Havertz onside in the first place, then failed to track back to cover the run of Trossard. It was laughable, so no wonder Arsenal fan and comedian Matt Lucas was smiling to himself in the posh seats.

White almost doubled Arsenal’s lead – and it looked like a damage limitation exercise for United. Aaron Wan-Bissaka blocked Declan Rice’s goal bound shot, while Garnacho shot wide at the opposite end.

Garnacho was starting to trouble Arsenal, who appeared happy to sit on their slender lead to make like difficult for themselves. But Andre Onana had to deny substitute Gabriel Martinelli with a superb save, then found another one to keep out Rice’s effort.

But it all felt a bit flat, as the thunder and lightening arrived to provide most of the entertainment – not to mention leave Ten Hag looking washed out in his linen suit. It was as if United had dragged Arteta’s men down to their level.

Yet despite this, Arsenal still won.

MANCHESTER UNITED (4-2-3-1): Onana 6; Dalot 7, Casemiro 4, Evans 6 (Kambwala 75), Wan-Bissaka 6 (Forson 87); Mainoo 8, Amrabat 6 (Eriksen 87); Garnacho 7, McTominay 6, Diallo 7 (Antony 69, 6); Hojlund 6 (Wheatley 87).

ARSENAL (4-3-3): Raya 7; White 9, Saliba 8, Gabriel 7, Tomiyasu 7; Odegaard 8 (Jorginho 90), Partey 7 (Kiwior 90), Rice 6; Saka 7 (Jesus 82), Havertz 7, Trossard 8 (Martinelli 66, 7).

Referee: Paul Tierney 7

MOM: Ben White – Rock solid at the back