Diogo Dalot’s Manchester United importance shown in key Arsenal moment

Manchester United lost 3-2 to Arsenal on Sunday afternoon, and despite what the result and very late winner might suggest it was not a close contest whatsoever.

Manchester United produced one of if not their most pathetically poor performance of the season, being taught a lesson in football by their rivals from North London. It was a total embarrassment in every possible way and if not for Rapha Varane, Lisandro Martínez and Marcus Rashford then United could easily have lost 5-0.

What does work in United’s favour, albeit an excuse, is that they had multiple important players missing. The biggest of these was Casemiro, Erik ten Hag’s midfield enforcer. It was clear to see Casemiro was missing because United’s midfield was walked through as if it was not even there.

Another very important miss, but one less talked about, is Diogo Dalot who was out with injury. His replacement, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, was one of United’s worst performers on the night, playing a part in both Arsenal’s equaliser for 1-1 and their late winner.

There was one moment shortly before their equaliser which stood out, where Aaron Wan-Bissaka lost the ball under pressure from what was admittedly a very unhelpful pass by David de Gea. This pass led to Arsenal’s corner, and the corner led to their goal. All around, it was a very poor sequence of play by United.

It may seem unfair to criticise the Englishman given the situation the goalkeeper put him in, and it is clear that De Gea needs replacing as soon as possible, but Wan-Bissaka’s composure and decision under pressure is poor, and he is too easily muscled off the ball.

Here, Wan-Bissaka has a couple of options. He could try to move back inside, either playing Varane in the space or trying to work back to De Gea. Or, he could try and play down the line, where the Frenchman is pointing in the image. This would probably be the best option, at worst it comes off Martinelli for a United throw-in and pressure is momentarily relieved. Instead he tries to take Martinelli on directly, despite being just outside his own box.

Arsenal regain possession, win a corner and then from the corner are able to work a goal, where a combination of Wan-Bissaka’s poor positioning and De Gea’s refusal to command his area cost United.

You might be wondering what Dalot has to do with all of this. The Portuguese full-back is integral to how United play out of pressure due to his ability to use both feet effectively, his progressive mindset and his composure on the ball at all angles – Dalot consistently inverts for Ten Hag’s side and does it very well.

These qualities have stood out for United ever since he became a consistent fix in the team last season, and Dalot consistently ranks highly in United’s ball progression metrics. His qualities on the ball saw Dalot receive the ball in his own third against this same team at Old Trafford in September and play through Arsenal’s press, leading to a United goal.

Dalot is not put under as intense pressure here as Wan-Bissaka was. But all the aforementioned qualities of his make such a difference to United that when he is put under intense pressure, he never falters.

United were dominated against Arsenal and a large part of this was down to the lack of Casemiro. But part of it was also United being careless and sloppy in possession, making bad decisions on the ball. Diogo Dalot in this regard was an enormous miss for United, and had he been playing the outcome may not have been different but United’s performance certainly would have been. His tendencies to invert would also have given United an extra body in the midfield, an area they were totally overrun.

Wan-Bissaka’s form post-World Cup has genuinely been good, regardless of what deniers may say, and he has shown improvement in his game. But the Arsenal game was a reminder of just how important Diogo Dalot remains for United, and fans should be hoping that he returns very soon from injury.