Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard has made a telling admission about Manchester United after Arsenal’s 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium.
Manchester United edged past Arsenal with a dramatic 3–2 victory in their Premier League meeting at the Emirates Stadium.
The visitors began on the back foot as Arsenal dominated possession and eventually took the lead via a United own goal.
However, Michael Carrick’s side responded superbly, with Bryan Mbeumo capitalising on a defensive error to bring United level.
United finished the first half strongly and carried that momentum into the second, where Patrick Dorgu produced a sensational strike to put the Reds ahead.
Arsenal later drew level from a corner, but substitute Matheus Cunha sealed the win with a late goal to complete a thrilling contest.
Ødegaard makes telling admission about United
United struggled early on in this game but the tide changed after Arsenal’s opener and the visitors were the better team for the remainder of the clash.
Carrick’s side were ruthless in transitions and that is something that Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard acknowledged after full-time.
“In the first half, we were the better team,” he told Sky Sports. “Scored the goal and had control of the game but we had a lot of giveaways in the game that created dangerous moments and in the second half the game changed a little bit.
“We know the quality they have when they get the space to run. In the second half, there were a lot of duels they won that gave them the momentum of the game and let them run and we never really managed to get into that rhythm of creating chances.”
United’s transitions are hard to stop
Teams are aware of United’s transitional threat but it is still extremely difficult to stop. That is a good sign for Carrick’s side.
Arsenal were doing well to begin with, winning the second-balls and limiting United’s chances of breaking forward. But that did not last.
United calmed down and started moving the ball better, which created those spaces for the likes of Cunha and Dorgu to take advantage of.
It is telling that Ødegaard mentioned the transitional threat and United need to focus on making the most of that, while improving other aspects of their game, going forwards.
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