Wenger will have to wait till next time to get his first ever Premier League win over Jose Mourinho as the age-long search for it continues. It took a comeback at Old Trafford to earn him his 7th draw in 12 top-flight fixtures against the Portuguese, and it is an understatement to say he was lucky to get it.
While United’s 10-year record of not losing to the Gunners at the Theatre of Dreams also stood, they would be left to rue losing 2 points having let the visitors score an equalizer on the 89th minute.
In a game of few chances which saw both sides register just 6 shots on target, here are 3 takeaways.
Giroud should be returned to the starting lineup asap
As earlier highlighted at length here, it’s high time for the France international to return to Arsenal’s starting XI as he has no business on the bench ever since regaining full fitness.
While Sanchez’s goal return in his false 9 role remains incredible, he remains a lethal attacking threat on the wings, and Wenger will do well to revert the Chilean to the flanks and bring Giroud back into his rightful place – in the first team.
At Old Trafford, Arsenal recorded no single shot on target up until the 89th minute, and it came just 16 minutes after Giroud’s introduction as the France international powered a header beyond De Gea’s reach.
Against teams able to defensively stifle the Gunner’s ground and possession football in the final third, they always come short of ideas, and only choosing to play aerially comes to their rescue. The Burnley game is one other reminder.
Apart from being found wanting positionally as a number 9 given his propensity to drop deep and to the wings often and often, aerial balls aren’t Sanchez’s strengths.
Over the time, Giroud has proven it’s his forte, and without it against the Red Devils, they wouldn’t have gotten any point.
Arsenal thrives on the crosses into the box with him on the pitch, and just maybe they would’ve gotten more goals if he had played the whole 90 minutes.
Mata remains Manchester United’s best player
For 85 full minutes, United bossed the midfield and it was solely due to the presence of the Spaniard, who apart from notching a fine goal, was also the best player on the pitch.
His withdrawal – a tactical change that might have paid off if victory was sealed, meant Manchester United couldn’t keep the passes together and starve Arsenal of making anything worthwhile of their possession.
If Mata remained until the final whistle, chances are that Mourinho would be celebrating a deserved 6th EPL win over his enemy.
The Spain international’s pass accuracy was near perfect (89%), while he completed all 3 of his dribbles and only lost 1 of his 4 tackles. He wasn’t only in a great form last night, he has been the club’s best player of the season thus far.
Where would Manchester United and Mourinho be without him?
United didn’t deserve to draw AND Arsenal showed class by getting a point despite a poor showing
The hosts should have taken all 3 points in the bag as they deserved every bit of it.
They recorded 12 shots (5 on target) as opposed to Arsenal’s 5, played 10 corners; 6 more than Arsenal, had 80% pass accuracy to Arsenal’s 78, created 9 chances to Arsenal’s 3 and also made 30 crosses as opposed to Arsenal’s 13.
But despite the Gunner’s general poor performance, they displayed a great attitude, one that showed nothing but class as they snatched a goal at the death. It’s the 3rd time that has happened this season, and it’s simply champions stuff.