Louis van Gaal is credited with making Manchester United dull, yet tight at the back. Yet Arsenal took them apart in a first half in which one would have estimated 15 places between the teams, in Arsenal’s favour. United could not get the ball and, when they did, could do nothing with it.
Arsenal stunned them with their pace and attacking energy, Mesut Ozil the craftsman, Sanchez and Theo Walcott a front-line as formidable as any seen this season.
They settled for three, but could have been five clear. United, with Ashley Young at left back, clearly had some counter-attacking plans of their own. They never got to execute them. When Arsenal are in this mood, containing them is a full-time job. There were 45 minutes gone when United finally got a chance at goal, Anthony Martial shrugging off Per Mertesacker far too easily before turning to shoot and being thwarted by Petr Cech. But there is no correlation – and you’d be a fool and a madman to make one – between selecting a world-class goalkeeper and being rewarded with world-class saves, and picking his inferior and having the ball dropped over your goal-line.