Bruno Fernandes and Declan Rice were on the scoresheet but neither side was able to find a winner. Check out the best facts and Opta data in our Man Utd vs Arsenal stats page.
Manchester United and Arsenal will both feel they could have won, but had to settle for a 1-1 draw on Sunday at Old Trafford.
Two more points dropped from Arsenal means Liverpool hold a 15-point lead at the top of the Premier League, though the Gunners still have a game in hand.
Mikel Arteta’s side dominated large parts of the contest in his 200th Premier League game in charge, but saw Arsenal fall behind to a Bruno Fernandes free-kick just before half-time.
Declan Rice equalised in the second but the visitors were unable to find a winner, while United arguably had the better chances to win it after the break.
Gabriel Martinelli was back on the bench for Arsenal for the first time since he went off injured in last month’s EFL Cup defeat at Newcastle United.
Arsenal started with the confidence you would expect of a team that won 7-1 in midweek, and Mikel Merino had their first chance when he whipped a shot just wide of the near post in the 10th minute.
The Gunners had the vast majority of the ball, recording 67.4% possession in the first-half, but struggled to create clear-cut chances against a United side who often looked flustered in possession but held their shape well out of it.
Fernandes delighted the home fans in first-half stoppage time, though, as he curled a free-kick past the despairing dive of David Raya to put United ahead against the run of play. The Portugal international became the first Manchester United player to score multiple free-kicks in a Premier League season since Wayne Rooney (3) and Juan Mata (2) in 2013-14.
It also took Fernandes to 109 goal contributions in the Premier League for the club, the 10th-most and moving level with Ruud van Nistelrooy.
For the first time since 1 December, United led a Premier League game at half-time.
Arsenal again were the aggressors at the start of the second-half, but it was United who could and probably should have scored in the 54th minute when a counter-attack saw Noussair Mazraoui have a great chance at the far post, but he hit his volley too close to Raya, who saved well with his feet.
United threatened again when Alejandro Garnacho’s deflected cross was almost touched in cheekily by Joshua Zirkzee, but Raya saved. Having had only two shots in the first half, United had recorded another three in the first 15 minutes of the second as they tried to counter the visitors.
Martinelli was introduced, which seemed to give Arsenal a second win, and they had their equaliser in the 74th minute when a move down the right saw Jurriën Timber lay the ball back to Rice, who placed his first-time shot perfectly past André Onana into the far corner off the inside of the post.
Rice made another telling contribution when Merino gave the ball away sloppily, with the England midfielder making a last-ditch tackle on substitute Rasmus Højlund, who took too long to take his shot, while Gabriel Magalhães also denied the striker moments later with a good challenge.
The last time Manchester United lost a league game at Old Trafford in which they had been leading at half-time, Ruben Amorim hadn’t even been born (7 May 1984, 2-1 vs Ipswich Town) and they were keen to extend that 388-game record.
It was United who should have won it in stoppage time when a cross from the right fell kindly to Fernandes, but he was denied by a superb stop from Raya, who was able to claw the ball off the line after his initial stop, though a point apiece will have still felt like a better result for the hosts as Arsenal’s title challenge faded further.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Man Utd vs Arsenal stats from their Premier League meeting at Old Trafford.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own post-match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Man Utd vs Arsenal: Post-Match Facts
Manchester United are winless in their last six games against Arsenal across all competitions (D2 L4); their longest run without beating them since April 1999 (also a run of six – D2 L4).
Bruno Fernandes has been directly involved in 25+ goals in each of the last three seasons for Manchester United (12 goals, 13 assists this season); one of only three players to have done so for a Premier League club in 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25, along with Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland.
Declan Rice has been directly involved in three goals in five games against Manchester United as an Arsenal player (two goals, one assist); his joint-most against an opponent since joining the Gunners (3 v Crystal Palace and West Ham). They’re also the only side he’s scored more than once against for his current club (2).
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