Manchester United were on the losing side against Arsenal on Sunday morning, here are five things we learned.
Rasmus Hojlund thought he had the dream start to pre-season when he scored early against Arsenal, but it wasn’t to be as he very soon after departed with an injury.
The Manchester United striker’s absence was felt, and Arsenal then came back to win 2-1 in LA. Hojlund was joined in taking an early bath by Leny Yoro who also picked up an injury.
Despite this, there were numerous positive factors to take from the game with some nice football being played early on.
Here are the five things we’ve learned from the game.
Toby Collyer is a diamond in the making
If there’s one player who stood out in this match, it was the emerging midfield maestro Toby Collyer, as he added another impressive performance to his growing catalogue.
Erik ten Hag saw the talent Collyer had, and we should’ve all trusted him because already it’s hard to imagine a scenario where Collyer isn’t featuring weekly for United this season.
He dominated Martin Odegaard and looked like one of the most composed players on the pitch. A standout performance, we’re sure he will start again against Real Betis.
Mason Mount is taking his chance and it’ll benefit Bruno Fernandes
Before a ball had been kicked this summer, we wrote that pre-season would be pivotal for Mason Mount and clearly he felt the same because he’s been very impressive thus far.
Against Arsenal, he was arguably at his best and should’ve had an assist with Amad Diallo failing to convert a chance. Mount looked super quick and sharp in the match which bodes well for the season ahead.
For Bruno Fernandes, this will be excellent news as it means that finally there is someone to share minutes with the club captain.
Squad depth remains a problem for United
While deep down everyone knew that the squad was still very weak, the past few weeks pulled wool over our eyes. But this isn’t the case anymore with the squad below the starting XI here not being up to scratch.
In particular, the second-string senior players aren’t at the level required in order to challenge the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City.
When Yoro went off, there wasn’t a single option remotely close to his profile or quality. This just highlights that Ineos have plenty of work last to do this summer.
Harry Amass belongs in the first-team
Another success story from the game was Harry Amass at left-back with the 17-year-old looking like he belonged there.
On the ball, Amass is so good to watch with his dribbling and pressure-evading runs too good for his senior opponents to handle.
He was unfortunate to have seen Gabriel Jesus score given the Brazilian was more than likely offside, but all-in-all he had a great game and we imagine his role in the first team this season is secured.
Clear improvements in structure since last season
Last season, the way the team was set up was ridiculous and almost always ended horribly for United.
But against Arsenal, there were clear changes which are improvements in the team’s structure with and without the ball.
The midfield is no longer empty with a disciplined pairing there and then on the ball, the defensive line is very high which lessens the chance of the gaps we saw last season.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
