As Arsenal drew and lost more ground on Liverpool to go 15 points behind the leaders, they couldn’t score a second goal against a resilient Man Utd side.
In a game that came to life in the second half, despite some excellent approach play around the box from Arsenal it was the same old story as the Gunners struggled in the final third.
Arsenal dominated the first half but found themselves a goal behind.
Man Utd came back into it in the second half, but Arsenal piling the pressure on eventually paid off through Declan Rice’s excellent strike.
Despite the title being probably out of reach, the rest of the season is still important for Arsenal to build momentum and find attacking patterns without key injuries.
Here are five things we learnt from the game:
1. Lack of cutting edge
The build-up for Arsenal just like against PSV was good, where Arsenal struggled was decision-making in the final third and making the most of spending a lot of time near Man Utd’s area.
For all of the first half and most of the second, Man Utd were happy to let Arsenal have the ball and have 10 men behind the ball as Arsenal passed it side to side.
Many of the shots Arsenal has were from outside the box.
Later on in the game with Garbiel Martinelli on the pitch, Arsenal opted to go wide more often and cross the ball, but it must be said that teams sitting deep against Arsenal throughout the season has been a weak point.
It’s something Arteta has to find a solution to as far too many points have been dropped against teams playing in this manner.
2. Struggled to contain Alejandro Garnacho
The plan from Man Utd was clear, let Arsenal have the ball and attempt to go long to Joshua Zirkzee or get Alejandro Garnacho in behind.
Gary Neville alluded to it early on in commentary but Riccardo Calafiori and then Miles Lewis Skelly when he came on both struggled against the Argentinian.
It’s possible that this was because whenever Garnacho had space to run into, Arsenal had committed lots of men up the pitch.
Particularly in the second half, Garnacho ran at Arsenal’s defence more and Man Utd had more chances in the second half to win the game.
3. No striker killing the amount of goals
Despite thrashing PSV mid week, Arsenal have scored one goal in the last three games.
The Mikel Merino experiment is not a plan that is fruitful more so turned to out of desperation.
The injuries have taken a toll but even when Arsenal dominated possession in the first half, it was tough to see where the goals were coming from.
The title is out of reach but the season is far from over and Arsenal wouldn’t want to get into a position where Nottingham Forest challenge them for 2nd.
Against PSV, the full-backs runs into the half-space caused huge problems, perhaps wary of Man Utd on the counter, Arteta opted for that less against Man Utd.
In order to score more, Arteta may have to turn back to this tactic because the goals have dried up.
4. Excellent Declan Rice Performance
From a goal-saving intervention to stop Hojlund to a fantastic strike to level the game up, Declan Rice was terrific.
Even when tasked with playing further forward as an advanced eight, Rice kept the attack moving and linked up well with Odegaard.
Rice’s level since coming to Arsenal has always been high, so much so that almost no one questions the fee paid for him.
With various injuries hampering Arsenal it’s encouraging to see Rice on form.
5. Title Race is finished
Arsenal have dropped 11 points in the last 9 games.
Coupled with the injuries and the bluntness in attack, the gap between them and Liverpool is now insurmountable.
It is painful that we are in game week 28 and the title race is done. Arteta and the Arsenal team will be devastated that despite the odds being against them they haven’t been able to take it further in a frustrating season.
Arsenal came within in touching distance of a league title in the last two seasons, and have become one of the best teams in the world.
However, the regression this season and the change in tactics to pragmatism so early on at the beginning, the over-reliance on set-pieces and the absentees have led to a frustrating season.
It’s salient that even with the injuries Arsenal have had, the Gunners couldn’t clinch 3 points against one of the worst Man Utd teams of all time.
Arsenal are cruising into the next round of the Champions League and will face one of the major Madrid clubs in the next round.
Though the season is not over, the entire focus now hinges on getting players back, easing them into some Premier League fixtures, consolidating 2nd and preparing for a massive Champions League tie.