Goals from Bryan Mbeumo (£8.2m), Patrick Dorgu (£4.3m) and Matheus Cunha (£8.0m) saw Michael Carrick secure his second consecutive victory on Sunday.
Here are our Scout Notes from Arsenal 2-3 Manchester United.
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MBEUMO THREAT
After their win in the Manchester derby, Carrick fielded exactly the same team against Arsenal on Sunday.
Mbeumo consequently spearheaded the attack again and caused plenty of problems for William Saliba (£6.0m) and Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.9m), capitalising on a mistake by Martin Zubimendi (£5.2m) to equalise in the first half.
Playing with more freedom in Carrick’s 4-2-3-1, Mbeumo has now scored two in two since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
However, in both matches, Mbeumo has been substituted around the 70-minute mark, with Cunha coming on as his replacement, which is a situation to monitor moving forward.
The weeks to come will tell us more, and it could be that Carrick tweaks and adapts his setup depending on the calibre of opposition faced.
Above: Man Utd sit fourth on our Season Ticker over the next six Gameweeks
But confidence is clearly up, and the initial indicators are positive, with United racking up five goals and seven big chances against Manchester City and Arsenal.
Discussing Cunha’s influence as a substitute, which has seen him score and assist in those matches, Carrick said:
“Matheus came on, had a big impact again, like he did last week. I just fancied him to come out of his feet, I really fancied him to score. Again, fantastic finish. Kind of epitomises probably what, as a group, we’ve been like this week. Matheus has not started both games, but he’s had a real big impact. Two huge moments and he totally deserves that winning goal for that, how he’s applied himself all week and I’m absolutely delighted for him.” – Michael Carrick on Matheus Cunha
DORGU INJURY UPDATE
Elsewhere, Dorgu followed up his strike against Man City last week with a superb volley here.
Once again deployed ‘out-of-position’ as a left winger, thereby keeping Cunha on the bench, he received a pass from Bruno Fernandes (£9.4m) to fire home.
Above: Patrick Dorgu’s touch heatmap against Arsenal in Gameweek 23
Dorgu later appeared to sustain an injury, seemingly clutching his hamstring, but Carrick expressed hope that it was merely cramp rather than anything more serious.
“Pat has been a big, big player for us over the last couple of games, in so many ways. Obviously attacking wise he’s scored goals, but I think in terms of the threat and his athleticism and his quality coming in as well and the connections, I think. Defensively, he’s been immense as well down the side with Luke [Shaw] doubling up against two teams that ask a lot of questions down the sides. So, it’s a big, big job for him.
“I’m delighted for him, because the goals he’s scoring they’re very different goals but he’s put so much into the performances, it’s nice to see him smiling and happy. He obviously came off with, hopefully, a little bit of cramp. Hopefully it’s nothing worse, but he ended up coming off and it just shows what he put into the performance, and hopefully he’s not too bad. At this stage it’s hard to tell, so we’ll just have to wait and see. For sure, we’re hoping it’s not too bad.” – Michael Carrick on Patrick Dorgu
As for Fernandes, he’s now produced an assist in three successive Gameweeks, amassing 22 points.
ARSENAL NOT AT THEIR BEST
Arsenal have now dropped points against Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Man Utd recently.
Mikel Arteta made four changes to the team that beat Inter Milan in midweek, with Piero Hincapie (£5.2m) back from injury at left-back and Gabriel Jesus (£6.4m) preferred up top after his brace in Italy.
But Arsenal clearly weren’t at their best, and apart from set-pieces, found it difficult to create.
The first goal came when Bukayo Saka (£10.1m) – who spent the final 15 minutes on the left wing – delivered a clipped ball to Martin Odegaard (£7.8m), who sliced his effort towards goal. With Jurrien Timber (£6.3m) in close proximity, the ball bounced off Lisandro Martinez (£4.8m) and into the net.
Substitute Mikel Merino (£5.5m) added the second from yet another dead-ball situation.
In light of this loss, the upcoming match against Leeds United at Elland Road in Gameweek 24 perhaps doesn’t feel quite so straightforward as before.
However, a dead rubber against Kairat Almaty does at least precede it on Wednesday, providing Arteta with an opportunity to rotate his squad.
Elsewhere, Declan Rice (£7.4m) nearly reached the defensive contribution (DefCon) threshold, with 10, while also registering three shots and four created chances.
Above: Declan Rice created a match-high four chances (CC) in Gameweek 23
