Manchester United vs Arsenal: Player ratings as Eriksen teams up with Rashford to end Gunners’ perfect start

Manchester United 3-1 Arsenal (Antony ’35, Rashford ’66, ’75| Saka ’60)

Erik ten Hag, like all managers before him, has been busy trying to instil his own footballing philosophy at Manchester United.

Playing on the front foot, with an energy severely missing in action last season, is at the forefront of his plans, but it appears the new-look United, back heading in the right direction after securing their fourth successive league win on Sunday against Arsenal for the first time in 17 months, adhere to another more simple ritual, too: keep calm and pass to Christian Eriksen.

Despite spending over £200m on a raft of talent in the transfer window, Eriksen could well represent the best bit of business United have done for many, many years, especially if he can put in more displays of control and sumptuous class like the one that helped put the Gunners to the sword.

Much has been made of Arsenal’s midfield improvement this season. Martin Odegaard has taken the responsibility of being captain in his stride to lead by example, helped by the experienced head of Granit Xhaka, who has made his peace with fans to become a key figure once again.

But, while Arsenal and Odegaard especially had their moments at Old Trafford, in a game that could have gone the other way had the visitors taken their chances, Eriksen’s calm head proved the difference maker.

Such an influence is just the panacea United needed, with chaos having reigned supreme in the past few years as managers came and went in their failed attempts to restore the club to their former grandeur.

After being forced to endure Scott McTominay and Fred as a midfield pair for over three years, Eriksen represents the freshest of air breaths.

For so long, United have craved a player capable of controlling games, dictating the tempo and picking out passes to unlock defences from deep. Some of the pickouts from Eriksen against Arsenal were reminiscent of Paul Scholes in the latter years of his career, when the legs had started to fail him.

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With a resurrected Marcus Rashford having rediscovered his mojo, Jadon Sancho back to something like the potency he offered at Borussia Dortmund, and new signing Antony keen to impress, Eriksen had his targets against Arsenal, picking them out time and again from any point on the pitch.

There is just an intelligence to his game few possess, which is why the last three United managers have tried to sign him. Pep Guardiola would call it pausa, a facet he insists his players adopt. It is taking that extra few seconds to let the play evolve, thus creating a whole new array of spaces. Most players would pick the obvious pass, one that top defenders can read more often than not.

By taking those extra few seconds, a player of Eriksen’s ability can then pick out runs like those of Rashford’s or Bruno Fernandes, giving United a whole new attacking weapon all together.

He could have had the dream start to the match, arriving right on cue early on but volleyed just wide. But it was he creative efforts that helped edge a tight contest against top of the table Arsenal.

No player completed more passes for United. No player produced more passes in the final third than the Dane. No home player created more chances than Eriksen’s three in the contest, while he even led the way with crosses. No box was left unchecked.

After everything he has been through, he had no business bursting onto a throughball over the top 15 minutes from the end of a bruising contest that his side were on the back foot in for long periods, but for Eriksen to then keep his composure and square the perfect pass across for Rashford to put the game to bed was just the reward his performance warranted.

Moving Rashford out wide in the second half to accommodate Cristiano Ronaldo was a crucial tweak to settle the contest, with his penetrative runs inside proving the difference to unlocking Arsenal. Previously, however, United did not possess a player capable of picking those runs out. Not any more.

“We put him deeper on the pitch, in a (number) six role, and he has a lot of freedom and we tell him the spaces he has to be – he can decide game for you,” Ten Hag eulogised after the match. “He can switch play, he can pass between the lines, he can make a final pass and can make an attack to score a goal.

“He can improve on his defending, but he played an exceptional game once again for us. Now we are going in the right direction, we must continue on this path.”

That path looks a hell of a lot less treacherous with Eriksen guiding the way.

Manchester United player ratings

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Arsenal player ratings

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