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Paul Pogba explains what tactically surprised him about Arsenal
that Arsenal surprised him and Bruno Fernandes tactically during Sunday’s clash against Manchester United, claiming he did not expect the Gunners midfield to go man for man.
Pogba, Fernandes, Nemanja Matic and Scott McTominay formed a diamond as they look to pack the midfield and surpass the two-man Arsenal line of Thomas Partey and Mo Elneny. But despite the numerical advantage, Arsenal’s midfield won.
Partey enjoyed his best performance for Arsenal since joining the club from Atletico Madrid – while many have claimed that Egyptian Elneny enjoyed his best game in an Arsenal shirt, after returning from a loan spell at Besiktas.
Mikel Arteta and Arsenal’s tactics shocked Pogba and Man United, and the 2018 World Cup winner admitted that he and Fernandes did not think Arsenal would go man for man – and criticised himself and his teammates for failing to overcome that.
“We didn’t expect to be man for man, me and Bruno,” “We can adapt, we can find a solution, but we didn’t. Details made the win for Arsenal. They had a good shape and waited for us to make mistakes. We have to do better.”
TBR’s view – Elneny-Partey partnership can take Arsenal to top four
When Elneny left Arsenal to join Besiktas, many predicted the former Basel man to leave the Gunners on a permanent basis. He was linked on numerous occasions with a return to Turkey – but has instead defied the odds to reignite his Arsenal career.
Combining the resurgent Elneny with big-name signing Partey completely nullified Manchester United’s midfield on Sunday – and the Gunners will take that as a big positive, and give them huge confidence in their bid to break into the top four.
