Three positives Manchester United fans can take from Arsenal loss

Manchester United suffered their first loss in almost two months as Erik ten Hag’s men were defeated by Arsenal 3-2 on Sunday evening.

The fixture was certainly one of the best games of the season for any neutral watching, full of wonderful goals, brilliant football and a last-minute winner by Eddie Nketiah.

Marcus Rashford opened the scoring with a fantastic 25-yard strike coupled with a trademark nutmeg on Thomas Partey, however an Nketiah equalier and Bukayo Saka curler saw Arsenal take the lead.

Lisandro Martinez answered for Manchester United at around the 65 minute mark, however it was Arsenal who struck the knockout blow at the death to take all three points.

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The result is certainly that of heartbreak for Manchester United fans, who have now suffered point-losing last minute goals in back to back games against Crystal Palace and Arsenal, however there are certainly positives to take from the match, despite the loss.

1) The change is evident

The progress and change Manchester United has gone under in the last 12 months is clear to see. At this point last season, Manchester United were going through a period of rather tragic results – losing 1-0 to Wolves, drawing 2-2 with Aston Villa, being knocked out of the FA Cup by Middlesborough on penalties and out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid.

The club were also dominated 4-1 by Manchester City, held to a 0-0 draw by Watford and relied on a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick in order to defeat Tottenham 3-2 in March. In contrast, United now look a much more stable team, with a much more identifiable way of playing and belief in the team.

Despite not having Anthony Martial, Casemiro, or Diogo Dalot for the fixture, United forced Arsenal into having to push harder than they ever have in order to claim victory, with an argument that had Erik ten Hag been able to play these three players, United could have come away with all three points at the Emirates on Sunday evening.

The progress United have shown in the last 12 months and especially so far under Erik ten Hag is remarkable – and if comparing United’s progress to Arsenal’s, it has to be remembered that Arsenal are now into their fourth year of their rebuild; Erik ten Hag has only been at United for eight months.

2) United are on track to complete their goals

Casting the mind back to the start of the season, even before the losses to Brighton and Brentford which had United sitting at the bottom of the table, there was a general consensus as to what would constitute a good season for Erik ten Hag: qualifying for the Champions League, challenging for (and hopefully winning) at least one cup trophy, and re-establishing an identifiable way of playing.

Fast-forward to now, and United are well on track to check off all three of these targets.

As mentioned before, the Manchester United squad are creating a much more sustainable method of playing football, with an increasing amount of confidence on the ball, clear instructions being carried out, and this will only get stronger as Erik ten Hag continues to work on his squad and made new additions.

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United are on track to finish the season with 74 points – but considering that 13 points were dropped in the first half of the season in games where United could or should have won, it is not out of reach for United to finish the season with 80+ points – a very respectable total that would almost certainly guarantee Champions League qualification.

Finally, United’s next fixture is the first of a two-legged semi-final in the Carabao Cup against Nottingham Forest, with Ten Hag’s side being the only ‘big six’ side left in the competition. Coupled with the fact that United are still in the FA Cup (although it is early days in the competition), Ten Hag has the perfect opportunity to claim silverware in his first season at the club.

3) The next steps are obvious

Sometimes, when a team isn’t performing to it’s maximum capacity, it is hard to pinpoint exactly what needs to improve for the squad to evolve to the next level. However, this is not the case for United – the next steps that need to be taken in order for the squad to level up are very obvious.

United are in dire need of more significant squad depth, with the losses of just a few key players showing exactly how little Erik ten Hag has to work with if his main starting XI are not all completely available.

Questions were also raised last night as to the (lack of) competence David de Gea and Scott McTominay have within the style of football that Erik ten Hag wants to commit to, showing the clear need for a goalkeeper who is more confident off his line and with the ball at his feet, as well as a midfielder who can intercept and progress play.

There is also an obvious need to upgrade to a first-team striker who can be a reliable source of goals and threat both in behind and in link-up play, as well as sufficient depth for Diogo Dalot long term, which was demonstrated in the loss.

Overall, despite the lack of three points or even one point, there are certainly positives things to take from the loss – with Erik ten Hag’s plan and goals running smoothly and on track once context is applied to the bigger picture of Manchester United and it’s future direction.