Man Utd tactics
Louis van Gaal could not call upon Wayne Rooney (dead leg) and Luke Shaw (facial injury) so the Dutch manager turned to Radamel Falcao and Marcos Rojo as direct replacements.
United set up in a familiar 4-1-4-1 formation with the intention of controlling the game through ball retention before using the left flank to create chances.
Daley Blind dropped into the defensive line to collect the ball and initiate attacks as the sitting midfielder while the full-backs – Rojo and Antonio Valencia – pushed into the offensive half. When that option was not safe, keeper David De Gea had to take long goal-kicks to Marouane Fellaini, as usual.
When Van Gaal’s men had the ball in Arsenal’s half, Juan Mata drifted inside from the right attacking midfield position to join Ander Herrera in working the ball centrally. Ashley Young started on the left flank where he kept the width looking to link up with Rojo and provide crosses into the box.
Fellaini retained his role as the left-central midfielder where he provided a target for long balls while drifting to the back-post when Valencia or Young shaped up to cross. Falcao completed the offensive formation as the centre forward, working across the width of the penalty box.
When out of possession, Van Gaal’s men had to win back the ball early with Fellaini joining Falcao in leading a high pressing approach. Mata and Young backed that up by engaging Arsenal’s full-backs.
In central midfield, Herrera pushed on to press Santi Cazorla while Blind protected the back-four. United’s defenders had to squeeze play by keeping a high line to support the high press.
Arsenal tactics
Arsene Wenger adopted the defensive tactics that he turned to when the Gunners knocked United out of the FA Cup last month. The only significant tactical change from that encounter saw Wenger resisting the temptation to go for a quicker centre forward as he opted for cohesion by keeping Olivier Giroud.
The idea was to defend their half in a compact 4-5-1 formation, with Giroud leading the pressing while Alexis Sanchez and Aaron Ramsey tracked back with United’s full-backs. Mesut Ozil minded Blind, looking to harry the Dutchman whenever he tried to dictate play from the deep.
In central midfield, Francis Coquelin was tasked to deal with Fellaini while Cazorla defended as the extra defensive midfielder, providing cover to the defenders. Given that Coquelin is significantly shorter than Fellaini, Per Mertesacker frequently pushed into midfield to compete with Fellaini in order to limit the Belgian’s influence from aerial balls.
When the Gunners had the ball, they had the option to quickly pick off the hosts on the break. Giroud peeled off the left side of Phil Jones to get on the end of clipped balls over the top while also freeing up room for Ozil through the middle. Sanchez also backed those quick transitional plays by making diagonal runs inside from the left flank.
When the Gunners had good possession then they had to cautiously commit forward with Cazorla picking moments when he could join the attacking midfielders while the full-backs restricted their runs mostly to the middle third.
Key tactical changes
United led at half-time and even though Van Gaal’s men looked shaky at the back, the Gunners failed to exploit that with their counter-attacks. That compelled Wenger to take the shackles off and let his side adopt more patient attacks.
That change helped Arsenal as the north Londoners looked the most dangerous side in the second-half. In the last 20 minutes, Wenger pushed for an equaliser by introducing Theo Walcott as a right attacking midfielder to add a threat in behind United’s high defensive line. Ramsey tucked in-field to join Jack Wilshere as the central midfielders.
Arsenal got the goal they needed in the last 10 minutes and they looked more likely to nick a winner. Wenger chose to settle for a point by sacrificing Sanchez for Mathieu Flamini. The Gunners switched to a 4-3-3 with Flamini, Wilshere and Ramsey as the sitting midfielders while Ozil pulled out to complete the game as a left midfielder.
United, on the other hand, only made direct changes while keeping their 4-1-4-1 formation. Eventually the result seemed just about right even though Van Gaal’s men can feel slightly disappointed because they dominated for a longer period.
