Arsenal beat Man Utd as Gabis score and Nwaneri shines

It’s always a good morning after Arsenal have beaten Manchester United, right?

I’m not going to pretend I watched the game live — sleep is precious with a nine-month old baby in the picture — but I’ve caught up with as much as possible this morning. More than anything, I think pre-season wins do just set a tone, they bring a good mood with them. You can write off the defeats but you can’t ignore the buzz of beating an old rival with some really promising performances.

The United team looked slightly more like a first choice XI to me but both teams were just two, three, maybe four players removed from a side that could realistically start a Premier League game in the near future.

A lot of pre-season over-indexing always goes on, and understandably. We all want to figure out as much as humanly possible about the team and figure out how the new season is going to go ahead of time. The success rate on predictions made off the back of games like these is always going to be highly variable! But that doesn’t mean everything should be ignored either.

I think looking at individuals, you know which ones need a good pre-season. If Martin Odegaard or Bukayo Saka struggle, nobody is going to worry about them. If a young player and a player who seemed to be struggling with fitness or confidence last season shines, then maybe they open a door for themselves.

Enter Ethan Nwaneri and Gabriel Jesus.

The pair combined for our equaliser after Rasmus Hojlund but United a goal up and it seems they were the standout players of the first half, if not the entire night. Emile Smith Rowe’s impending exit could open a door for Nwaneri in midfield and it feels significant that he has lined up through the middle of the pitch so far in the US with Fabio Vieira playing out wide.

Between his physique, application, instincts and obvious technical ability, he does look like a player who belongs in the heart of the action, receiving the ball on the turn, always looking forward.

He…

Source link : https://arseblog.com/2024/07/arsenal-beat-man-utd-as-gabis-score-and-nwaneri-shines/

Author : Lewis Ambrose

Publish date : 2024-07-28 07:38:28

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