Manchester United 1-1 Arsenal: What Were The Main Talking Points As The Gunners Watch Their Title Dreams Take A Final Blow?

While Arsenal might have come from behind as they snatched a 1-1 stalemate away at Manchester United on Sunday afternoon, Mikel Arteta’s side watched their fading Premier League title dreams take a final blow.

Although chances might have come at a real premium during the first-half, it was United skipper Bruno Fernandnes who opened the scoring seconds before the interval as they Portuguese star converted a controversial free-kick.

While England international Declan Rice might have swept home in the final 15 minutes, the Gunners will know that they were fortunate to leave Old Trafford with a single point to show for their troubles.

Along with pulling off a wonderful stop to deny Joshua Zirkzee, David Raya then produced a remarkable miraculous double stop to keep out Fernandes in the final moments.

Knowing that only a win would be good enough to keep any kind of late title charge alive, Arsenal end the weekend’s fixtures sat 15 points adrift of runaway leaders Liverpool.

As for Manchester United, although the Red Devils might take plenty of positives away from Sunday’s performance, they are still firmly stuck in the bottom-half of the Premier League table.

With the two historic rivals settling for a single point on Sunday afternoon, we have taken a look at the main talking points from Old Trafford.

Arsenal’s title dreams are officially over

Getting Sunday’s trip to Old Trafford underway chasing a remarkable 16-point deficit to runaway leaders Liverpool, Arsenal were already aware that they were seeking a major miracle in the race to claim a first Premier League crown since 2004.

Dropping more points against their historic rivals here, it is fair to say that Arteta’s squad would have now accepted that their title dreams are over for another year.

Crashing out of the EFL Cup last month following a 4-0 aggregate defeat against Newcastle, Arteta clearly cut a hugely frustrated figure during the post-match media duties.

Despite storming their way to a sensational 7-1 romp away at Dutch outfit PSV earlier in the week as they put one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals, they have failed to notched just a single win from any of their previous five domestic appearances across all competitions.

Now firmly placing all of their eggs in the European basket, the Gunners will be bracing themselves for even more scrutiny over the coming days.

United rue a missed opportunity

While Manchester United might take a string of positives away from a largely impressive performance on Sunday afternoon, there is no doubt that Ruben Amorim’s camp will rue a real missed opportunity at Old Trafford.

Despite feeling unfortunate not to have claimed maximum points here, the former Sporting Lisbon boss has seen his squad muster just a single win from any of their previous six appearances across all competitions.

Coming under real scrutiny earlier in the month as they watched their FA Cup adventure come to an end at home against Fulham, United have also landed just a sole Premier League victory since the end of January.

Still sat in 14th-place and breaking a string of unwanted records this season, the English giants have also failed to find any kind of defensive stability.

Including their late collapse on Sunday afternoon, United have remarkably registered just a single clean sheet at Old Trafford since a 4-0 romp against Everton on December 1st.

Attacking issues continue to hurt the Gunners

While Arsenal might have welcomed back Gabriel Martinelli ahead of schedule this weekend, the Gunners have a real attacking crisis on their hands in north London.

With attacking talisman Bukayo Saka not making a single appearance since undergoing hamstring surgery over the festive period, both Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus have been ruled out for the remainder of the season.

Shockingly failing to bring in a new number nine during the January transfer window, the Gunners have certainly failed to find much domestic fluidity in the final third.

Despite storming their way to that remarkable 7-1 romp away at PSV in midweek, Arsenal have failed to notch more than a single strike in four of their previous five domestic appearances.

Match Report

Manchester United: Onana, de Ligt, Lindelof, Yoro, Mazraoui, Dalot, Fernandes, Casemiro, Garnacho, Eriksen, Zirkzee

Subs: Heaven, Collyer, Hojlund

Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Partey, Rice, Odegaard, Trossard, Nwaneri, Merino

Subs: Lewis-Skelly, Tierney, Martinelli

Goals: Manchester United: Fernandes (45+2’) – Arsenal: Rice (74’)

Yellow Cards: Trossard

Red Cards: N/A

Referee: Anthony Taylor