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Look away now, Manchester United followers. Erik ten Hag’s workforce are about to journey to a Premier League prime 10 aspect after they face Arsenal on the Emirates on Sunday, and every thing factors to it being one other 90 minutes of away-day distress.

Leaving apart the truth that United have not gained a Premier League recreation on the north London membership since December, 2017 — United have misplaced 4 and drawn one in every of their final 5 visits — their general file towards groups which have completed within the prime 10 of the desk has gone from dangerous to worse since Ten Hag took cost final summer time.

It is true that the previous Ajax coach has restored United to the Champions League, and that he additionally ended the membership’s six-year trophy drought by successful the Carabao Cup. However United’s purpose of turning into life like challengers to Manchester Metropolis’s home dominance might be derailed by Ten Hag’s failure to finish his aspect’s street troubles.

Arsenal, who completed as runners-up below Mikel Arteta final season, appear the most probably to dethrone Metropolis once more this time round, thanks largely to how they’ve mixed sturdy residence kind with equally spectacular outcomes away from the Emirates. Final season, Arsenal gained 5, misplaced three and drew one in every of their away video games towards the highest half of the desk. They scored 22 objectives and conceded 13 in that sequence and though defeats at Metropolis and United — and a 2-2 draw at Liverpool — finally value them the title, they had been a minimum of in a position to maintain a title problem due to factors amassed away from residence.

It’s a completely different story with United, as their grim away-day file of 2021-22 below Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick — when the membership recorded their worst-ever Premier League marketing campaign — really deteriorated below Ten Hag.

In 2021-22, United misplaced six, gained two and drew one in every of their away video games at groups that completed within the prime 10. Worse but, they scored 10 and conceded 22 objectives over that run, with Leicester, Liverpool, Metropolis and Brighton all scoring 4 instances. Final season, United managed only one away win towards prime 10 opponents — a 2-1 victory at Fulham in November when Alejandro Garnacho scored the successful purpose in stoppage time on the finish of the sport.

Apart from a 2-2 draw at Tottenham in April — United even led 2-0 at half-time, solely to concede twice within the second half — Ten Hag’s workforce misplaced the opposite seven video games away to prime 10 opponents, with a 7-0 hammering at Liverpool, a 4-0 defeat at Brentford and 6-3 loss at Metropolis. (United scored 10 and conceded 29 objectives in these video games.)

So what’s the drawback that Ten Hag has been unable to repair? And having misplaced 2-0 at Tottenham already this season, we are able to say that the United supervisor hasn’t fastened it.

The numbers inform you every thing. Final season, they had been outscored at a fee of virtually three objectives to at least one in video games away to the highest 10, whereas the yr earlier than, it was simply over two objectives to at least one.

In the course of the 2020-21 season, United went your entire Premier League season with out struggling an away defeat and by the point they lastly misplaced on the street, 4-2 at Leicester in October 2021, their 29-game unbeaten streak was the all-time file in English soccer, eclipsing the 27-away recreation unbeaten run set by Arsenal’s “Invincibles” in 2003-04.

However by the beginning of 2021-22, Solskjaer had modified the make-up of his workforce by including Cristiano Ronaldo, who made a grand return to the membership after 9 sensible years at Actual Madrid and three tough seasons at Juventus. With Ronaldo in, the harder-working Edinson Cavani and Mason Greenwood dropped out or had been moved to accommodate the celebrity signing, and United misplaced the power to each defend from the entrance and maintain the ball in attacking positions. As a consequence, United turned simpler to play towards, their defensive positions had been extra uncovered and stretched, and a rot that started in 2021 continues to affect the aspect right this moment.

Even with out Ronaldo for a lot of final season, the restricted defensive work-rate from gamers like Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Antony ensured United remained a gentle contact away from Previous Trafford. Ten Hag tried to handle the issue with the January mortgage signing of Wout Weghorst, however whereas the Netherlands ahead by no means lacked for effort, he was nowhere close to the extent United wanted to make a distinction.

This summer time’s £72 million signing of Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta is thought to be a key piece of the jigsaw, however having arrived from the Italian membership with a again drawback, the 20-year-old has but to step onto the pitch for Ten Hag. Sources have instructed ESPN {that a} central consider Ten Hag figuring out Hojlund — even forward of Harry Kane and his distinctive strike fee — was the Denmark worldwide’s incessant work-rate and readiness to press opposition defenders excessive up the pitch.

Ten Hag desires his forwards to duplicate the work-rate of these at Metropolis and Liverpool, however none have been ready to take action as but. Hojlund isn’t but match to do the job he is been signed to tackle, however he will probably be anticipated to do greater than merely rating objectives. Ronaldo did that, as did Rashford final season, however objectives are now not sufficient.

Nonetheless, with out Hojlund at Arsenal on Sunday, the identical outdated issues are prone to hassle United once more. They do not work exhausting sufficient with out the ball within the attacking third and it provides the opposition a free move to push ahead.

It is an apparent flaw, however till Ten Hag’s resolution will get on the pitch, United will wrestle to finish their dismal run away from residence towards the highest groups.