After beating Manchester City in the derby match, the last seven days have been a bit of a reality check for Erik Ten Hag’s men. A win at Selhurst Park and Emirates Stadium would have taken Manchester United closer to the top but five points were lost on the road. Let’s take a look at the six positive reasons for Manchester United despite losing to Arsenal at Emirates Stadium....CONTINUE READING
1. Lisandro Martinez is back to his best form. The 24-year-old defender has been eased back into the starting lineup and he looks sharper than any other Manchester United player against Arsenal. His first goal for Manchester United was a bonus for him.
2. Despite losing to Arsenal, Marcus Rashford is still scoring goals for Manchester United. The 25-year-old has now taken his tally to 17 goals and six assists this season. He is not showing any signs of slowing down.
3. A chance for Manchester United to win a silverware is getting closer. A loss in the league might be disappointing but Manchester United can make it up for the fans by booking a place for the finals at Wembley Stadium if they successfully win Nottingham Forest in the two-leg Carabao cup semi-finals. It will be a very big achievement for Erik Ten Hag to win a trophy in his first season as Manchester United manager.
4. Manchester United needs attacking reinforcements and luckily for them, Jadon Sancho is nearing a return to the first team for the first time since October. It will be a huge boost for Manchester United given that they are still in four competitions.
5. Manchester United has now played the top two twice in the league. Manchester City and Arsenal still have to play each other twice in the league.
Despite having played the top two twice, Manchester United is five points ahead of fifth-place Tottenham. If Erik Ten Hag’s men should go on a winning streak again, they might climb up to title contenders one more time.
6. It took 90 minutes for Arsenal to score the winning goal against Manchester United despite the visitors missing some of their key players like Casemiro, Anthony Martial, and Jadon Sancho.
To hold off high-flying Arsenal right to the end shows how improved the Manchester United team is despite the absence of their key players.
