Onana is a problem for Ten Hag
Erik ten Hag can point to injuries and this is clearly not his strong suit, with Manchester United trying to find a temporary solution at left-back. But the appetite for excuses at Old Trafford diminishes when the manager’s goalkeeper creates so much uncertainty.
He was not well supported by his defense in Tuesday’s 3-2 Champions League defeat to Galatasaray. Diogo Dalot could have done better for the first goal, Victor Lindelof was caught out of position for the second and Raphael Varane was nowhere to be seen for the third. Sofyan Amrabat had a hard time in the second half.
But while doubts about Dalot and Lindelof are not new and Amrabat plays out of position on the left, Onana would be the goalkeeper to help usher in a new era at Manchester United. possess.
He has already been involved in some hairy incidents. Against Galatasaray he might have been more assertive for Wilfried Zaha’s goal and in the second half there was another unfortunate attempt to collect a cross. That seemed to affect his self-confidence.
It wasn’t long after that his poor passing out from the back led directly to Casemiro being sent off, changing the momentum of the match. If David De Gea had made such a mistake, it would have been taken as evidence of his inability to play with his feet.
Onana can do it, he has shown that ability, something Ten Hag was happy to emphasize at the press conference after the match. But the United boss is dealing with it now and needs his big players to get results. His goalkeeper failed to do so and it proved costly.
Adam Bate
Hojlund a shining light for struggling Man Utd
If there is one positive to take from Manchester United’s latest disappointment, it is the performance of Rasmus Hojlund.
The twenty-year-old was the shining light on another gloomy evening for Erik ten Hag’s team. United miss a number 9 like him. Strength, power, determination, excellent hold-up play and clinical finishing, Hojlund put in an impressive individual show at Old Trafford.
Hojlund, signed from Atalanta for £72million this summer, was in the right place to head in Marcus Rashford’s cross early in the match and then ran inside his own half before applying a delicate finish to put United behind to put the rest back in the lead. He also saw another controlled stroke rightly disallowed for offside.
The Denmark international became the youngest player to score in his first two Champions League appearances since Erling Haaland and followed Dimitar Berbatov, Romelu Lukaku and Wayne Rooney in finding the net at least three times in his first two Champions League games for United.
Hojlund played with more maturity beyond his years against Galatasaray and if his side could defend well, this match would have been all about him. His future looks bright, even if United’s does not.
Then Sansom
Arsenal need Saka and Martinelli back
Almost everyone else can be replaced: Arsenal cannot afford to lose Bukayo Saka to injury.
Exactly why the English winger is so indispensable to Arsenal was evident from their defeat at Lens. As soon as Saka was released, the Gunners had a puncture.
Saka is the player with the most one-on-ones in the Premier League this season. He ruthlessly explores those individual full-back duels, averaging fourteen per Premier League match.
But on Tuesday evening his replacement, Fabio Vieira, attempted to get around his man just once.
On the other hand, it’s the same: Gabriel Martinelli has similar numbers to Saka. Leandro Trossard is an adequate replacement for the Brazilian, but Sunday’s visit to Manchester City requires more than just enough.
Mikel Arteta knows it too. “The two wingers we are missing give us a lot of threat,” he said after the defeat to Lens. “And it’s different from other qualities we have in the team.”
It seems Arsenal’s hopes of beating Man City on Sunday could be determined by the team news…
Sam Blitz
Individual mistakes cost Arsenal
No Champions League match is easy, especially when you’re away from home. You hear that every year and Arsenal found that out the hard way against Lens in the Stade Bollaert-Delelis.
As the French side played their first home Champions League game in more than two decades, the atmosphere was hostile and raucous, but Arsenal did well to weather the early Lens storm before taking the lead through Gabriel Jesus’ goal .
The Gunners had complete control of the match and kept the home fans quiet. That was until David Raya’s loose pass brought Lens back into the game through Adrien Thomasson’s good finish.
Asked what he can do to help his side avoid costly mistakes, Arteta said: “We want to stop everything and create big opportunities for the team to win the game. But mistakes are part of it and mistakes happen all the time in football, every time again.” Within three or four seconds a mistake happens, yours or the opponent’s, and we have to adapt to that.”
In the end, it proved very costly as Lens staged a stunning comeback to hand Mikel Arteta’s side their first defeat of the season after Elye Wahi’s winning goal. An individual error also cost Arsenal in the north London derby when Jorginho was caught in possession for Heung-min Son’s equalizer, saving Spurs a point at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners, who have not found the fluidity of last season so far this season, cannot afford to make mistakes. They will know they need a near-perfect performance when league leaders Man City come to town on Sunday.
Oliver Yew