The moment that decided the situation
In the context of not overwhelming the opponent, even many situations of losing direction in tactics when a striker could not reach his ears, Man United scored the opening goal from a long shot outside the penalty area with the left foot of captain Bruno Fernandes. Bruno's goal came as a surprise that MUTV commentators were confused about what was happening.
The "Red Devils" scored to increase the score to 2-0 was no less surprising. Few people thought that in a simple ball-catching situation, Gabriel would make a primary mistake for Jadon Sancho to exploit and run a circuit to Aaron Ramsdale's goal. The English striker launched a powerful shot that sent the net of his compatriots apart. This style of play is not uncommon in Sancho and the striker himself was somewhat surprised after scoring against Arsenal.
After those two goals, Man United played Arsenal in both game and mentality, in complete contrast to the previous forced situation. This gives Erik ten Hag a positive signal as his players are fully capable of solving the deadlock with just one leg swing.
Performance of the new recruits
Mason Mount continues to start for Manchester United for the third consecutive match. He played steadily in the first 45 minutes, without many breakthroughs, but in return, the resilience in physical strength helped the "Red Devils" rookie control the midfield well, making the defense somewhat avoid pressure. At the end of the match, Sofascore gave Mount 6.6 points, which was also for Arsenal new signing Declan Rice.
In this match, Rice did not play outstandingly and could not escape the pressing like his forte. Facing Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo on the other side of the front line, the £105 million star was somewhat confused. Although he did not make a personal mistake, his shyness prevented Rice from making a breakthrough. The lack of steam is also clearly felt from the former West Ham captain. Rice had a match to forget and began to feel the weight of the "most expensive English player in history" label.
Meanwhile, Jurrien Timber and Kai Havertz had more unforgettable days than Rice. Havertz failed to create any breakthrough opportunities and Timber dropped out of position many times but without teammates to support, causing Arsenal's defense to fend off on the right wing many times. They were rated 6.1 and 6.3 points respectively by Sofascore for this poor performance.
Erik ten Hag and Mikel Arteta's mindset
After the first 45 minutes, like in other friendly matches, Ten Hag replaced almost all of the squad (10/11 people, except for goalkeeper Tom Heaton). Arteta, meanwhile, only brought in Kieran Tierney. It was not until the following minutes that the Spanish captain gradually took over other positions. In total, The Gunners have replaced 8 players, still 2 less than Man United.
The difference between M.U and Arsenal after a series of changes is the number of young players not in the first team on the field. For The Red Devils, they have 4 people including Kobbie Mainoo, Amad Diallo, facundo Pellistri and Omari Forson. Meanwhile, The Gunners have no one who is not in the first team. This shows that, in the match at Metlife Stadium alone, Man United was superior to their opponents in terms of player quality when the stars of the youth team were brought on the field and still helped the team maintain the game.
The season has not yet begun and the friendly matches do not leave too much meaning. However, if this situation continues until the end of the pre-season, Arsenal could face a financial collapse after losing too much money in recent days.
