Rasmus Hojlund Man United Old Trafford
Man United Old Trafford

Man United have finally stumbled in the Premier League, losing to league leaders Arsenal on Sunday. The 3-2 defeat means Manchester United are now fourth on the table, behind Newcastle United based on goal difference.

United tried to match Arsenal in every aspect at the Emirates Stadium but in the end, the Gunners had more hunger and were the more well-drilled team.

The win was perfectly in tune with how Arsenal have been performing but Man United have actually been praised by Emirates legend Thierry Henry. United’s tactics have been dissected and criticized by many pundits but Henry had mostly positive things to say about Ten Hag and his players.

“I am happy that Arsenal won and they deserved to win after the performance in the second half but boy, Manchester United look different under Ten Hag. I will be honest, I am a big fan of Ten Hag. He is the coach I recommended to Laporta at Barcelona after Ronald Koeman was sacked. He is a genius,” Henry said(h/t The Boot Room).

“Today, we saw a team with three years development vs a team with six months. Also, a team with a full week of rest against a team with two days rest, and still Manchester United went toe to toe, which was surprising.

“I thought Arsenal would be all over United from kick-off and United’s players would sit back. I was wrong. United in fact had better control in the first half. You give Ten Hag one more year and back him in the market, then United will be a force to reckon with.

“No disrespect to Sir Alex, but if Ten Hag gets it right at United, they will play more attractive football than under Alex Ferguson.”

This was the fifth league defeat for Man United this season and even though this loss would have hurt but Erik ten Hag wouldn’t be too disappointed at the end of it.

United were in a great run of form so they had to stumble eventually and thankfully, the loss came at the hands of the best team in England. Losing to a mid-table team would have been a bit of a shocker for Man United but Sunday’s result was very much in tune with the script because everyone had their money on Arsenal.

Also, this 3-2 defeat will be a great reality check for Man United because they are still playing in every tournament. Their fixture list is packed and a loss to Arsenal would and should ignite their passion even more.

These three points will be a great confidence booster for Arsenal because they still maintain the gap at the top of the table. However, it’s not the end of the world for Man United because they are still one of the favourites to finish in the top four. This was their original plan before the season began and if they can achieve that along with one silverware then this will be deemed a very successful season for ETH.