Louis van Gaal faces potential crisis as Man Utd players dismayed over Arsenal tactics

The Manchester United walk off the pitch dejected after defeat to Arsenal

MANCHESTER UNITED players were left "dismayed" by the tactics selected by Louis van Gaal, which ultimately resulted in a 3-0 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday.

 

The Gunners scored three goals in 20 minutes as they ripped through United's defence and midfield with pace and precision. 

Summer signing Morgan Schneiderlin was surprisingly left on the bench by Van Gaal while the midfield pairing of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Michael Carrick were left exposed consistently.

 

According to the Times, the Dutch manager was encouraged to adopt the counter attacking tactics which had seen Arsenal win just one of their previous 13 league matches.

But Van Gaal rejected the request in favour of pressing Arsene Wenger's side and they were caught out.

This is the second time this season where there has been a split between Van Gaal and his players.

 

Louis van Gaal has some unhappy players in his squad

Earlier in the month, captain Wayne Rooney and Carrick held talks with the manager over his training methods and the style of football being played.

After the match on Sunday, Van Gaal bemoaned not being able to work with his players due to the international break.

He said: "My biggest concern is that the players are flying out from London because they have to go to their national teams, so we cannot prepare for the match against Everton. 

 

"I have to wait to see if the players are fit enough but also mentally fit enough to play. 

"We cannot train because they are coming back on Wednesday and Thursday, so it is much better to win and then you can prepare the next game. 

"Before the last international break we lost against Swansea City, but we won against Liverpool after it, so we can do it, but today was a shock for me."