7 Things We Learned About Them After 8

A Premier League player recently said top-flight football in England is like a chess game. At Old Trafford on Sunday, Manchester United proved they"re the grandmasters after a historic 8-2 annihilation of Arsenal.

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And lượt thích a chess grandmaster, Sir Alex Ferguson"s strategy was spot on, with his obedient mercenaries carrying out his every command with callous perfection.

Hat-trick hero Wayne Rooney played lượt thích a king, as did Nani, Ashley Young, Tom Cleverley, Chris Smalling và virtually all of the United team, who were seemingly trying their best lớn out-do rivals Manchester City, after they beat Tottenham Hotspur, 5-1, earlier in the day. 

In a trò chơi that will go down as one of the greatest in Premier League history, here"s how Manchester United obliterated Arsenal, 8-2, & left the Gunners looking like complete amateurs.

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Supply Lines Cut Off
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On a day where the Manchester United attack got almost all of the praise, the key to lớn their victory started from the back.

Any time Arsenal got forward, Phil Jones, Jonny Evans and Co. Remained rigidly disciplined, man-marking the Robin Van Persie, Theo Walcott, etc. And cutting off supply in the final third, leaving the Gunners with virtually no options.

The defence man-marked while the closing down came from Anderson và the midfield.

It was a tactic that worked almost to lớn perfection, with the Gunners blazing six shots wide and seeing another six blocked, as the likes of Tomas Rosicky & Andrei Arshavin were frequently forced lớn try their luck from a distance.

It was a perfect way to lớn stifle Arsenal, a team who much prefer tiki-taka football, absorbing pressure from defenders before finding an opening.

But unfortunately for Arsene Wenger, et al, the door was firmly slammed shut at Old Trafford.


Play It Around, Then Hit the Long Ball
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Whenever the ball was in Manchester United"s own third, rarely did goalkeeper David De Gea or his defence clear it up-field quickly.

United often played the ball around the backline or lớn a midfielder lượt thích Anderson dropping deep, settling the pace down and waiting for a winger or striker to make a defence-splitting run before playing a long ball over the top.

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The patient build-up followed by a quick pass frequently caught Arsenal"s defence unawares, as proved by United"s third goal for example when Ashley Young was found with a long ball, leaving Carl Jenkinson lagging behind và ultimately conceding the free-kick that led to Wayne Rooney"s first goal.

It was another tactic perfectly executed by United, who showed how long balls should be played, và one that was very well thought-out by Sir Alex, as it completely negated Arsenal"s stronger presence in central midfield. 


Alternating Attacking Full-Backs
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Part of what made Manchester United so good in defence & attack against Arsenal was Sir Alex Ferguson"s brilliant utilisation of his full-backs.

When United attacked from the right, Chris Smalling was given license lớn get forward, while Patrice Evra would remain firmly in defence, & vice versa when United attacked from the left.

Not only that, but when a fullback did roam up the pitch, the winger on that flank would cut inside and địa chỉ more presence in the penalty area, dragging the opposition full-back out of position and disorientating their defence, as proved by Danny Welbeck"s opener for the Red Devils.

It was a clever move by the manager, giving United extra options in the final third & enough cover in their own third, & was carried out perfectly by Smalling & Evra.


Keeping It on the Wing
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Virtually all of Manchester United"s attacks came from the wing against Arsenal. 

While United are a team who naturally focus on wing play anyway, Sir Alex seemed khổng lồ order his players not lớn attack through the middle at all, despite the Gunners" inexperienced central midfield.

In the end, it was a stroke of genius. Ngắn gọn xúc tích would say that United should play it through the middle và give young Francis Coquelin as hard a time as possible.

But, by playing the ball past him và making him a virtual spectator, United were more dangerous in attack.

They focused their play where they outnumbered Arsenal, i.e. On the wings, meaning they could get forward quicker, drag opponents out of position, and therefore xuất hiện up central gaps in the final third for the strikers & in-cutting wingers khổng lồ exploit, with Ashley Young"s sensational first goal a prime example. 


Attacking Freedom
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And lastly, possibly the most crucial tactic which made Manchester United such a free-scoring side against Arsenal was the freedom up front granted by Sir Alex Ferguson.

Unlike Arsenal, who tried to keep to lớn their tiki-taka style philosophy, United were allowed to vày what they wanted in the final third, with a mixture of long shots, runs past the last defender and intricate give-and-go plays.

It most certainly paid dividends, & was the reason why the Red Devils" won the free-kicks & penalties which led to Rooney"s goals, và why Young was able to lớn score two beautiful long-range strikes, as well as being the reason why Nani and Ji-Sung Park split the defence lớn get themselves on the scoresheet too.

Such freedom given by the manager, advocated by Andre Villas-Boas to his Chelsea players, gave United"s attack a sense of unpredictability that Arsenal just couldn"t cope with.

Another clever move by a clever coach, who used his skill và knowledge to lớn outmanoeuvre his opponent.