Sheffield United created a massive upset this Monday by defeating Arsenal in the last match of Premier League’s 9th round. The Blades beat the guests at their Bramall Lane with 1-0, inflicting them the first loss since August. The lone scorer in this event was Lys Mousset in the 30th minute.
Chris Wilder’s crew defeated the Gunners who, although wasn’t impressive recently, didn’t lose for the whole two months. After defeating Crystal Palace, and taking one point from Stamford Bridge versus Chelsea, they managed to stay unbeaten against another club from London.
The Blades used one of their rare chances to beat Leno. It was Lys Mousset who scored from a nearby, setting the stands on fire. Though, we need to say that the goal was a product of Arsenal’s sloppy defense, which left the offensive midfielder alone in the heart of the goalkeeper area. Apart from scoring that goal, the French international hasn’t done too much in this match, but he did justify the trust manager has in him.
“Brilliant for him. He is a really popular boy. He took a bit of time to get up to speed, but he had something for us that was a little bit different,” said Sheffield’s Wilder.
After that goal, Arsenal took command of the field and pressured the hosts, who were waiting for the chances to strike from counter-attacks. And there were a few of them, but United’s players didn’t have enough concentration to convert them to goals.
Arsenal, meanwhile, had several excellent chances to level the result, but the Gunners blew all of them.
Even before the home team took the lead, the visitors were dangerous. Nicolas Pepe managed to waste an opportunity, which was harder to miss than score. Following one cross from the left side, the forward from the Ivory Coast sent the ball beside the goal from a few yards away. It caused the fans to taunt Pepe in the next several minutes.
In the latter 45 minutes, Arsenal had 78% of the ball possession but wasn’t able to net. In large measure, it was because of a fantastic Dean Henderson, the goalkeeper of the Blades, whose reactions saved the home team on several occasions. The interesting thing is that United became the first team this season, who kept a clean sheet against the Gunners.
“We have deserved to win a tight game. We knew they would have some chances and have a lot of the ball,” Wilder said. “I thought we got the balance tonight. We had to put in a big performance and get a big result.”
Arsenal has just two wins on the road since the season began, and Unai Emery’s team isn’t convincing when playing away from the Emirates. They are currently sitting at No.5 in the Premiership standings, with 15 points, 10 fewer than the leading Liverpool, and four than City in the second place.
“There was less space in the second half, but we still had three or four chances. We deserved more, but they are a very strong defensive team,” Emery said.
Arsenal now has duties in Europa League, where they host Vitoria from Portugal at home. Sheffield faces West Ham next Saturday in London.
