Manchester United duo praised for “really clever” hidden moment vs Arsenal, Rúben Amorim’s influence was clear

Two Manchester United players have been praised for a “really clever” moment against Arsenal, and Rúben Amorim’s influence in the moment is clear.

Manchester United and Arsenal played out a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford on Sunday, as Bruno Fernandes’ stunning free-kick was matched by Declan Rice’s second-half strike in a tightly contested Premier League clash.

The game started cautiously, with Arsenal controlling possession in the opening exchanges but struggling to break down United’s defence. Despite the visitors’ early dominance, it was Fernandes who put the hosts ahead just before half-time, curling a brilliant free-kick past David Raya.

United were forced into a change at the break, with Ayden Heaven replacing the injured Leny Yoro. The first real opportunity of the second half fell to Noussair Mazraoui, but Raya produced a spectacular save to keep Arsenal in the game.

Joshua Zirkzee then came close to doubling United’s lead, only to be denied once again by the Arsenal goalkeeper. Moments later, Rice struck from distance, rifling a powerful effort beyond André Onana to bring the Gunners level.

Rúben Amorim responded by introducing Rasmus Højlund and Toby Collyer for the final 15 minutes, as United pushed for a winner. They thought they had found it deep into stoppage time when Fernandes had a golden chance, but Raya pulled off a brilliant double save to secure a point for Arsenal.

Two United players praised for hidden moment

While Fernandes has been handed a lot of praise for his brilliant free kick, it’s been highlighted that two other United players played a crucial role in the goal.

Speaking on Sky Sports after the game, former Premier League midfielder Jamie Redknapp wanted to highlight a small moment from Zirkzee and Casemiro that blocked Raya’s view, allowing Fernandes to place the ball perfectly beyond the Spanish international.

“Now we’ll look at Zirkzee and Casemiro, and what they do is really clever,” Redknapp started to explain as slow-motion footage of the free-kick played.

“If you can see there, the keeper can see, he’s just got a nice gap, peek through that gap, little gap, and that’s exactly what you want, because then you can see, once that ball gets kicked, the trajectory, so you might be able to get a look at it, about two yards once it’s gone, as he struck it, but as then, as he gets closer to the ball, just watch what Casemiro and Zirkzee do.

“They take Thomas Partey across, now all of a sudden that gap has gone, so the next time that he’s going to see the ball, is once it’s just about gone over the wall, now you have absolutely no chance by then, with that trajectory and that top spin that he’s got on it, of getting anywhere near it.

“That’s why it’s actually quite smart from whoever devised that free kick, because it’s closed the gap up, and then you have no chance because the keeper can only react because he’s not sure if he’s going to get whipped into the other corner, or whipped past there.

“I think it’s a really great free kick, from a match night point of view, from Casemiro and Zirkzee, but also the execution.”

Amorim’s influence in his moment is clear

In the last few months, Amorim has been keen to explain that he feels his players need to start learning the darker arts of football to give them more advantages during hidden moments of the game.

This little idea from Zirkzee and Casemiro is exactly what Amorim is talking about when he mentions gaining advantages when the club are the underdogs.

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Casemiro is a well versed player in understanding how the game is really played, and Zirkzee has already shown himself to be a quick learner during his opening few months at the club, and there is no doubt that this was a planned idea.

Amorim and his set-piece lieutenant Carlos Fernandes have been working on set pieces behind the scenes of late, and many of United’s recent goals have come from those situations.

The side were very weak at them earlier in the season, with the club conceding corners almost every single week around the turn of the year, but credit must be given for the side’s improvement in this area.

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