‘I have to say’: Danny Murphy says he actually has to credit one Arsenal man after Manchester United win

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Danny Murphy has suggested that Mikel Arteta deserves praise for reverting to the Arsenal defence which brought them so much success last season, for Sunday’s clash with Manchester United.

Murphy was speaking on Rio Ferdinand’s YouTube channel after the Gunners made a real statement with a dramatic last-gasp win at the Emirates at the weekend.

Mikel Arteta, perhaps surprisingly, has a bit of a point to prove this season. Arsenal did incredibly to compete for the Premier League title last year. But there has been a bit of frustration amongst fans at the start of this campaign.

Arsenal have spent plenty of money in the market over the last couple of years. But they have not always looked the most convincing at the start of this season.

Murphy praises Arteta after team selection for Arsenal win

At times, it appears that Arteta has tried to potentially be a little too clever with his tactics. And one of those contentious moves has been moving Thomas Partey to right-back and leaving Gabriel Magalhaes on the bench.

It did not appear to be a decision which paid off for Arsenal – despite their unbeaten start. But the Gunners lined up with a much more familiar defence against Manchester United.

Partey missed out due to injury. And that meant that Ben White moved over to the right and Gabriel came in.

Of course, some will question whether Arteta would have made that call had Partey been available. But Murphy believes that the Arsenal boss should get some praise for potentially holding his hands up.

“I have to say, just moving on from United, because we were talking about the game, it was a really good performance, and credit Arteta actually,” he told Rio Ferdinand’s YouTube channel.

“A lot of people were going, ‘oh, he’s bowed to the fans, going back to the normal back four’. Great management’s sometimes understanding when you got the last one wrong.”

It will be interesting to see how Arsenal line up after the international break. There is speculation that David Raya could replace Aaron Ramsdale. And it was a big call to leave Gabriel out for the first few games.

Arsenal did not have it all their own way against Manchester United. But it is perhaps telling that that game marked the first time this season they have really looked like potential title contenders.