Louis van Gaal outsmarted Arsene Wenger to give Manchester United a crucial win
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal’s clever change in formation perplexed Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and gave the Red Devils a crucial victory
Louis van Gaal hasn’t had many moments to crow about this season for Manchester United. His decision to change formations befuddled Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger and gave the Dutchman his best moment of the year.
The United boss abandoned his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation in favor of a 4-1-4-1 against the Gunners and the ramifications of the switch played a crucial role in determining the match’s outcome. Arsenal had no answers for the width created by van Gaal’s bold choice.
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Ironically, the majority of the pre-match chatter revolved around van Gaal’s team selection as opposed to his choice of formation. Social media was lit abuzz with fans hammering van Gaal for selecting a centre back pairing of Daley Blind and Michael Carrick. Many fans believed that weak pairing was enough to hand Arsenal the match before it even began. Those fans were certainly proven wrong.
Even the post-match commentary is missing the mark by focusing on the magical story of Marcus Rushford. The United youngster certainly deserves applause for bursting onto the Premier League scene with two goals in his first league match, but it’s obscured van Gaal’s genius on this occasion.
Regular readers of mine certainly know that I’m not a van Gaal fan by any stretch of the imagination. I often accuse him of making strange choices just to try to look like a genius. In the past he’s done this at the expense of the more obvious, and oftentimes correct, decisions. In this instance, he made a clever choice out of necessity as opposed to pride.
United’s arrogant manager was brilliant with his decision to deploy a 4-1-4-1 formation in this match. The most obvious thing it did for the Red Devils, was to provide an avenue for Morgan Schneiderlin to really influence the match. The French international hasn’t lived up to his reputation for United this season, but he was excellent against the Gunners. He was able to sit back and provide excellent support for the weak centre back pairing that van Gaal was forced to play due to injury. They did give up two goals on the day, but given their obvious weakness at the back that was far from a poor outcome.
Van Gaal’s formation choice also had significant impact on Theo Walcott’s ineffectiveness in the match. Wenger pulled a slight surprise by starting him as a stand alone striker over Olivier Giroud. The speedy Englishman does his best work by finding space out wide, but there wasn’t as much of that with Memphis Depay and Jesse Lingard playing as true wingers on the day. Walcott was exceedingly poor on the day and was ultimately subbed off after just 63 minutes of play.
The formation also provided a significant boost for United’s attacking players. First and foremost, it simplified the match for Rushford. All he needed to do was play alone up top and hope for solid service from the wings. It may seem like a small benefit for a professional attacker, but it helped him go out and play with as little to think about as possible. He repaid that help by scoring twice on the day.
Playing four across the midfield also gave van Gaal the chance to deploy Ander Herrera in his best role. Aside from Rushford, he was the man of the match for United on the day. He ran the midfield and showed the quality that made him such an attractive purchase by United. Francis Coquelin and Aaron Ramsey had no answer for him on behalf of Arsenal.
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Today’s result may just be a momentary respite for Louis van Gaal and Manchester United in what has been a pretty disastrous season at Old Trafford. It’s still worth noting that the manager deserves a ton of credit for out-coaching Arsene Wenger and putting a serious dent in Arsenal’s title hopes.