Arsenal must beware the perils of anti-football after succumbing to Man United magic

Arsenal ’s first home loss of the season came with a sense of poetic justice. Two outright worldies had proved the difference between another Gunners victory via set piece debauchery, and defeat. Anti-football was beaten by its antithesis: joga bonito.

Mikel Arteta ’s side were the architects of their own downfall against a Manchester United side in the midst of a revival. Having dominated the first half an hour and taken a deserved lead, albeit through an own goal, the league leaders capitulated in a seven-minute spell that saw Bryan Mbeumo gifted two gilt-edged chances. He took the second one.

“We gave them the goal,” Arteta lamented, whose side were booed at the half-time whistle. “Errors are part of football, very unlike us, but we gave them the goal and hope, and that shifted the energy, because from then to half-time we really struggled.”

Arteta was right; this was unlike the rigid Arsenal we’ve seen this season, the team with the best defence in the league. Their reaction was even more uncharacteristic of a Premier League title-chaser, though. Arsenal were flat from then on, something that hardly changed when falling behind.

Patrick Dorgu’s stunning volley five minutes after the restart “took the breath” out of everyone inside the Emirates, interim United manager Michael Carrick included . Such a shocking blow should have elicited a desired response from Arsenal to regain the advantage, but that was missing.

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Instead of forcing the issue to United’s infamously creaky defence with pace and intensity, Arteta brought on Viktor Gyokeres and Mikel Merino - two target men who aren’t exactly famed for their explosive movement. Gyokeres is rapid once up to speed, but getting up to speed - or his inability thereof - has defined his Arsenal struggles since his £55m summer arrival.

The intention of their introduction was clear; Arteta was once again hedging his bets on the set piece. Arsenal have been the kings of the dead ball this season, with almost 30 percent of goals coming from corners, free-kicks, penalties or long throws. On 10 occasions this term, a win has been decided through one of these mediums.

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His reliance on set plays has made Arteta-ball an often tedious watch, but this game is a results business. And these old-school methods, once the pillar of lower-mid-table tactics, had helped propel the Gunners to seven points clear at the top of the league going into this weekend.

The next 20 minutes of action thus drew far more groans from the Arsenal faithful than roars of encouragement, but all would have been once again forgiven if Arteta’s philosophy paid dividends.

That looked to be the case when with their eighth corner of the game, Bukayo Saka put the ball on top of Senne Lammens and the crowd of Arsenal bodies that surrounded him. The Belgian goalkeeper ineffectively flapped at the delivery to spark a goal-mouth scramble before Merino forced it over the line, despite Benjamin Sesko’s best efforts under the crossbar.

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Goals don’t come much uglier but Arsenal had seemingly rescued themselves at least another point thanks to their set piece prowess, and Arteta hoped this would push the league leaders onto another win. “I think we managed to shift the energy, score the second goal and you could feel that everything changed and the game was there to go and win it,” Arteta said.

That’s not what transpired. Three minutes later, another piece of individual brilliance from a Man United player - this time Matheus Cunha - saw Arsenal left on the brink of defeat, their anti-football approach finally failing to pay off.

Commence the emptying of the Emirates. For a team who have established themselves as clear favourites in the title race, the reaction of Arsenal fans highlighted that without results, Arteta’s footballing ideology does not inspire much hope.

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Is an early exodus justified, or just plain petulance from an entitled crowd? Whatever you think, it was indicative of fan frustration that comes with supporting a team that plays like Arsenal. There is no redeeming factor or saving grace to defeat.

It’s this that will spark fear into Arteta, who is bidding to finally end a run of three second-place finishes by delivering a first Premier League title to N7 in over two decades. Favourable circumstances dictate this has to be their year - defending champions Liverpool are far off the pace, Manchester City are in a period of transition and Aston Villa, while putting up a commendable fight, will struggle to still be in the race come the final day. But while sitting pretty at the league’s pinnacle, a blip like this has been overdue - and it could prove hugely damaging to both the club’s title hopes and supporter sentiment.

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Defeat to United leaves Arsenal on a three-game winless streak in England’s top flight. They’d escaped dropped points against Brighton, Everton and Wolves in December; now it feels like the clutch component of Arsenal’s game is beginning to fade.

The gap at the top was eight points 23 days ago; that’s since halved. If Arsenal’s title bid continues to slip, Arteta’s playbook will become more and more maligned. There’s a thin line between deification and degeneration for the Spaniard, and coming weeks could prove pivotal for how he is remembered in north London for years to follow.