Manchester United (MU) suffered defeat from Arsenal (2-1) in 90 minutes of normal time at SoFi Stadium, United States (28/7/24). However, both teams continued to carry out penalty tests according to the agreement made between the two teams. In the penalty shootout, MU won 4-3 over Arsenal.
The penalty shootout drama emphasized the theme of the match between the two teams. The theme of the match between the two teams was, indeed, a friendly match. Part of a pre-season tour of the United States.
However, behind the packaging of friendship, of course the two teams competing in the Premier League still maintain their prestige and competitive aspect. Arsenal, who ended the 2023/24 season in second place, fielded their best squad. Arsenal’s best squad is actually supported by the balance and depth of a capable squad.
Likewise with MU. Generally, MU appears with senior players. “Red Devils” coach Erik Ten Hag returned to play L. Yoro, a new defender who was just bought in the current transfer market. Yoro was paired with Harry Maguire. This duet could become Ten Hag’s mainstay next season.Unfortunately, Yoro did not finish the match due to injury problems.
The defeat against Arsenal actually provided the most important lesson for MU in general and especially for Ten Hag for next season. Ten Hag, who has been trusted to become MU coach again in his third season, must give his best next season.
It could be said that there will be no tolerance for Ten Hag if he fails to provide an impressive performance for MU again. Moreover, behind Ten Hag’s trust, MU management also supports Ten Hag’s decision to buy new players.
Therefore, the defeat against Arsenal was a silent alarm for Ten Hag. In the first place, it turns out that it is not easy to build and maintain a solid team game.
Ten Hag needs time for his team’s play to be as consistent and solid as Arsenal did last season in the Premier League.
It is very likely that, with the current rhythm and composition of the squad, Arsenal will remain strong rivals to win the trophy next season.
Arsenal showed a solid performance when playing against MU. This solidarity has actually been built in the last two seasons, where Arsenal have always competed fiercely to become Premier League champions.
This solidarity was built through the appointment of Coach Mikel Arteta, who brought in many new players to really change the face of Arsenal.
Most of the players in the current Arsenal squad are part of Arteta’s purchases in his four seasons as Arsenal coach.
Likewise with the composition of the MU squad. Only Marcus Rashford, A. Wan-Bissaka and Harry Maguire came from the coaching era before Ten Hag.
Most of the current MU players were purchases from the Ten Hag era. Several young academy-trained players have also risen to the first team thanks to Ten Hag’s efforts.
However, the competition map in the Premier League is getting tighter. Each team continues to improve. Arsenal, which has almost won the Premier League title in the last two seasons, is still improving and deepening the composition of its squad.
Manchester City, which has appeared stable in the last ten years, has a squad that is exactly the same as in Pep Guardiola’s coaching era. This stability is an important key to Man City’s performance in the Guardiola era.
The defeat against Arsenal was a valuable lesson for MU. Like previous seasons, MU will face quite difficult challenges in order to compete in the Premier League and at the same time win the Premier League trophy.
Therefore, even though the topics of the matches during the pre-season tour are friendly, they are still a benchmark in assessing and reviewing the team’s play.
At least, MU is really taking this pre-season tour to prepare the squad for the upcoming competition.
Perhaps Arsenal’s defeat on their pre-season tour of the US didn’t bother MU fans that much. However, if the defeat occurred in the Premier League competition, Ten Hag and MU players in general would have been ridiculed by supporters.
Rather than suffering reproach and ridicule in official competitions, it would be better to lose to Arsenal in a friendly match as a lesson and reference for preparations for facing the Premier League competition in the 2024/25 season.
ASL
