Dalot: Arsenal has players who are good at set piece

Manchester United defeated Arsenal 3-2 away from home. After the match Diogo Dalot spoke to DAZN after the game.

Dalot stated that the team might have just played the two toughest matches of their Premier League season so far, which is extremely important for the club, the players, and the fans. Regarding the team’s goals, Dalot said they were more efficient, scoring three goals at Arsenal’s home ground was a significant achievement, and this was the biggest difference compared to the first leg against the Gunners. He added that the team knew how dangerous their opponents were on set pieces, but today their defensive work was excellent. As for Merino’s goal, it was like “seven dogs fighting over one bone”—the scramble was incredibly intense.

(Editor’s note: “Seven dogs fighting over one bone” is a Portuguese proverb. Its original Portuguese phrase is “Sete cães a um osso,” which Dalot used to describe the chaotic scramble for the rebound in the penalty area.)

The Portuguese international told DAZN while analyzing the match: “I’ve been through many similar situations before. When we connect  a series of good results together, you can feel that this energy can be positive. We can start a new phase in a more positive way. And the truth is, we might have just played the two toughest matches of this Premier League season. This is actually very important—for the club, for ourselves, for the fans, and for the energy we need to sustain until the end of the season. These are six crucial points toward our objectives. Now we’ll enjoy this victory and prepare for the next match.”

“For about 20 minutes in the first half, we struggled to properly execute our intended tactics when out of possession—they caused us problems—but we responded really well. We kept trying to press high up the pitch, thanks to our forwards, who patiently waited for the opponents to make mistakes (like Mbeumo’s goal).”

“We were fortunate to score, even after conceding—especially after it became 2-2 and the stadium erupted. It’s very hard to stay calm in such an atmosphere, but we remained composed throughout and kept pushing to win the match. Everyone performed brilliantly.”

“Perhaps we were more efficient… Coming to Arsenal’s home ground and scoring three goals is down to us, and that’s the biggest difference from the first leg. We also knew how strong they are on set pieces.”

“We defended well. Merino’s goal… was like ‘seven dogs against one bone,’ and the ball fell to them on a rebound, but we played a very well-executed game.”

“We kept our emotions under control, coming into this difficult stadium amid their title-chasing atmosphere—situations completely different from ours—but we proved that when we perform at our best, we can beat any team.”