Had United scored and come away with a point, it would have been no more than they deserved. We got outshot and outplayed. I thought our midfield was going to boss the game, but Amorim's tactics were good enough to neutralize our playmakers. They spread the ball wide and worked on penetrating the penalty area from there, and it nearly paid off several times. Some good goalkeeping and great defending were just enough to preserve our early lead. Speaking of goalkeeping, United's keeper was very poor for the goal. Had Calafiori not nodded the ball across the line from inches out, it would have been an own goal.
Gyokeres had little service, and when he did find some space, he lost the ball. Zubimendi was good. Madueke didn't do much when he came on. I didn't hear Rice's name enough; he was a disappointment. Havertz did fine when he replaced Gyokeres. Odegaard looked like he did last season, which isn't great. I love his energy, but in this game he was not finding good passes and his shooting was sub-par.
But give the Red Devils their due: they played really well. I expect them to fight for a top five spot.
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I did not write about the transfer market. Arsenal bought big, and now they need to sell. There are too many players.
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