The Regista - Arsenal vs Man Utd tactical review: Rice superb; Saka sacrifice; Hojlund promise

Tribalfootball.com's tactics expert Connor Holden examines Arsenal's dramatic victory over Manchester United on Sunday and argues it was a game dominated by one single player...

In the tactical battle between Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and his Manchester United counterpart Erik Ten Hag, it was the Gunners which came out on top, winning 3-1 at the Emirates. And it was one individual who made all the difference for the hosts.

DECLAN RICE

The first key to mention for Arsenal's win is Declan Rice, who was superb. He was the key for the Gunners in this game, contributing to all facets of play.

Rice was everywhere in midfield, breaking up play and allowing Arsenal to sustain pressure in the opposition half. The way Rice covers ground when the ball is in the opposition's half is an elite quality of his, with his ability to shepherd the ball and make it hard for United to play out.

The all important goal from Rice came from a corner, which was won by Arsenal sustaining pressure on the United defence. This then led to Rice scoring, with a well struck half volley (which took a deflection) inside the 18 yard box, towards the near post.

But something else Rice did really well, and this was something Arteta mentioned after the game too, was the way he helped Arsenal weather the storm, in periods of the game where they weren't on top. Rice protected central areas expertly for Arsenal, not allowing United to break through the middle and forcing them to go wide. When he did win the ball back, Rice would control the tempo, and slow the game down for Arsenal in these periods that it was needed.

For me, the performance of Rice was pivotal for Arsenal in both the defensive and attacking phases of play, and of course he scored the goal