Arsenal gifts undermine attacking display as United make the right calls | Jonathan Wilson

Despite creating numerous chances at the Emirates, Arsène Wenger’s side came off second best once again and showed that they remain unstable at the back

For 79 minutes on Saturday, Arsenal were superb. In that spell, they had 32 shots to Manchester United’s five. They pummelled a team noted for its organisation, creating chance after chance. As Arsène Wenger underlined afterwards, they hammered them on the xG. They forced David de Gea into a Premier League record 14 saves. The problem was that by the time they began that spell, they were 2-0 down.

There is an entire chapter in Alex Ferguson’s last but one book devoted to Wenger and how predictable he found Arsenal, how easy they were to counter-attack. Wenger claimed last week that his switch to a back three had helped alleviate that, offering greater defensive stability.

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