Manchester United performance against Arsenal was 'amazing', says Louis van Gaal

The Dutchman saw his side lose 3-0 at the Emirates

Louis van Gaal has described Manchester United's performance against Arsenal as "amazing", expressing his shock at their display in the 3-0 defeat.

Starting the weekend at the top of the Premier League table, the Red Devils were in confident mood heading to the Emirates but within 19 minutes they were 3-0 down and the game was effectively over.

After the match, Van Gaal admitted the performance had come as a shock and blamed his players for giving the likes of opponents Mesut Ozul and Santi Cazorla too much space in midfield.

"I didn't expect that. I was surprised. No performing our game-plan, no will to win," he said.

"We were top of the league so I was surprised – maybe 'amazed' is a better word. When you give a team like Arsenal so much space to play football, you know you shall lose. We have prepared ourselves in that way, to play more compact but not to lose our aggression. It was amazing for me and very disappointing. The players are in an emotional moment because we have lost. We have lost in a way you cannot lose when you are top of the league. You cannot start like that.

"The midfielders, especially Cazorla and Ozil, had too much space and they have the quality to make the most of it. We lost every duel, every second ball. We were not tight on their midfielders, and they can play because they are a fantastic team. We have to do better as a team. The defence starts with the attacker. We have to be more compact against teams like Barcelona, PSG and Arsenal, but with the same aggression."

Manchester United must wait a fortnight before having an opportunity to get their season back on track due to the international break. They will play Everton when the Premier League resumes. Van Gaal fears his squad departing for their international sides will make it tougher to prepare his team for the game.

"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."