A fresh start, a red card and a team simply too honest? SIX ups and downs from Sheffield United's 2-1 defeat to Arsenal

But, in keeping with most of United's games so far this season, the scoreline didn't tell the full story as Arsenal could have been reduced to 10 men after just two minutes of the game, before two goals in three minutes put them in control.

Our man Danny Hall offers six talking points from The Emirates.

When is a red not a red?

Not long after John Egan saw red for fouling Ollie Watkins at Villa, David Luiz avoided the same fate despite dragging back Oli Burke by his shirt as he looked to get to the ball before Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno.

Both decisions were made despite the referee not looking at his touchline monitor, and Luiz was a very lucky boy to escape seeing red in just the second minute of the game.

It's difficult not to imagine that that would have changed the course of the game, if United had a man advantage for 88 minutes, and it's another example of the things that Wilder believes aren't going his side's way at the minute.

Moments of quality

So often in this division Premier League games turn in an instant through moments of quality, and so it proved here. First United were cut open by a brilliant move down the right from Arsenal, before an individual goal from £72m Nicholas Pepe doubled Arsenal's lead.

United's challenge is coming up with such moments of their own, and McGoldrick's goal - cutting in onto his left foot and curling a fine finish past Leno - was a good start. On a personal level that's his second goal of the season - a mark he didn't reach for United until June of the last campaign.

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em...

While United have been on the rough end of some refereeing decisions lately, it's tempting to wonder if they are simply too honest a team. Here, Burke could have strengthened the case for Luiz to see red by going down, and when Dani Ceballos appeared to catch John Lundstram in the penalty area the midfielder's first instinct was to stay on his feet.

In many ways it's an admirable stance. Being in the Premier League has showcased so many good things but also some pretty rubbish ones as well, including a level of play-acting, diving and - let's call it what it is - cheating, to basically con referees and attempt to get an advantage. No-one, least of all me, wants to see United plunge to those depths - but maybe becoming a little more streetwise could work to their advantage in the long run.

A fresh start

When a journalist made the point that United have now lost their last seven Premier League games, stretching back to the end of last season, Wilder was quick to make the point that what happened before the break does not matter now, and the run is four games and four games only.

However long the run may be, the numbers don't make pleasant reading but United's performances have still deserved, on average, a lot more. Here, they were defensively stoic for an hour and even after going 2-0 down in such a short space of time, did not throw in the towel and get done three, four or five.

Such optimism will not last if United's winless run stretches much further. But the signs are there that Wilder's men are not too far away from turning the tide.

Shapeshifters?

It would be a bold step to tear up the formation that took United from the bottom of League One to the brink of Europe in three years, but the game at the Emirates, and Jack O'Connell's injury, has called for renewed suggestions amongst sections of the United fanbase that a change of shape could be in order.

I'm not so sure it's the time to abandon the three-at-the-back just yet, but it was noticeable at The Emirates that Jack Robinson and Chris Basham, United's two outside centre-halves, couldn't get forward as often as we saw last season.

At this stage last campaign United were a joy to watch going forward, with O'Connell and Basham marauding forward at will and causing opponents headaches with their overloads. For whatever reason, United haven't quite been able to recapture that attacking verve on a consistent basis - but abandoning the shape seems a little like throwing the baby out with the bathwater to me...

Come back Ollie?

One particular change that could be made, ahead of the meeting with his former side Fulham after the international break, is the recall of Ollie Norwood to the base of United's midfield, which would free up Sander Berge to return to the right central-midfield role he was just starting to make his own.

Lundstram, despite many fans' opinions to the contrary, and Osborn have let no-one down during their stints in the side, but the Norwood-Berge-Fleck triumvirate is still United's strongest midfield in my book - providing, of course, that two-thirds of that trio return from international duty unscathed..

Thank you for reading this article, one of dozens we publish every single day to provide you with the best, most up-to-date and most informative coverage of YOUR club. This depth of Blades coverage costs, so to help us maintain the high-quality reporting that you are used to from the football team at The Star, please consider taking out a subscription to our new discounted sports-only package. You'll find all the details HERE. Your support is much appreciated. Chris Holt, Football Editor