MU’s second season with Erik ten Hag sitting on the technical bench was not completely convincing, in terms of results as well as gameplay.
MU was lucky to beat Wolves in the opening match of the Premier League. Then there was a comprehensive defeat at Tottenham, the opponent no longer trumped Harry Kane, with a lot of changes.
MU has a difficult trip to Arsenal Stadium.
Most recently, at Old Trafford, the “Red Devils” upstream won a suffocating victory at Nottingham Forest in the opponent’s match leading 2 goals after only the first 4 minutes.
Erik ten Hag’s students have not yet caught up with the new season. He himself did not create tactical stability.
Before the trip to Arsenal Stadium (10:30 p.m. on September 3), the real candidate for the title of English football champion, Ten Hag, is facing many difficult problems.
1. Varane zero problem
In the win over Nottingham, MU had to pay the price when Raphael Varane left the field after the first half. The French player will temporarily leave the field for a while.
Varane is the first scorer of the new season for MU. Against Nottingham, despite playing 45 minutes, he had 55 touches of the ball and made 53 passes with 98.1% accuracy.
The former Real Madrid player is very important in defense, especially making passes to escape the pressure created by the opponent.
Ten Hag had to choose between Victor Lindelof, who played in the second half of Nottingham, or former captain Harry Maguire to partner Lisandro Martinez at the Emirates.
Varane’s injury is a big loss for MU.
2. Left wing problem
MU lost Tyrell Malacia and Luke Shaw – one of the team’s three most relieved players – for a long time. This is the reason why Ten Hag is determined to recruit Marc Cucurella from Chelsea.
Confronting Arsenal this weekend, the role of left-back has become a worry for the Manchester team. Diogo Dalot took the position in the 3rd round match, but did not stand out too much.
Most likely Dalot continues to be the solution to the fight over the weekend. Martinez or a central midfielder will have to constantly keep an eye on the left wing, to avoid the Portuguese player leaving a hole behind.
The direct opponent that Dalot faces is Bukayo Saka, Arsenal’s most dangerous player – authoring 14 goals and 11 assists in the Premier League last season. Therefore, MU’s left wing is getting more attention.
3. Attack performance
After 3 rounds of the Premier League, MU ranked 12th in terms of attack performance. Ten Hag’s army has only 4 goals so far.
Three of the four goals were scored against Nottingham Forest and were all from midfielders (Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes and Eriksen). The remaining goal was scored by Varane.
Ten Hag used 6 attacking players in turn: Marcus Rashford, Antony, Garnacho, Jadon Sancho, Martial and Facundo Pellistri, but no one scored.
Of these, only Rashford has successfully created a goal. MU lost the last 2 matches as a guest at Emirates, receiving 6 goals. Improving the attack plays an important role for the “Red Devils” to think about winning points.
Ngoc Huy | 14:11 August 31, 2023
