MANCHESTER UNITED 2, ARSENAL 2
Manchester United fell further behind in the race for fourth place after coming from behind twice to secure a 2-2 draw against Arsenal at Old Trafford.
Three draws and a defeat in their last 4 Premier League games have left the Reds 8 points behind Chelsea in fourth place after they fell to a surprising defeat at Wolves tonight.
Two quick equalisers by Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard cancelled out goals by Shkodran Mustafi and Alexandre Lacazette in each half.
The Gunners lost Rob Holding to a serious knee injury and also Aaron Ramsey by half time but gave the Reds a fright with their attacking play only to be quickly pegged back by United each time.
Former United midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan thought he had won it for Arsenal in the 90th minute but was ruled offside after David De Gea had made another great save to keep the Reds in the game.
There was a tense finale to this match which was brought to life in the 26th minute when Arsenal took the lead and didn’t give up until the end with both managers barking out orders from the sidelines.
And what a finale – with few people choosing to try and beat the notorious Old Trafford traffic – most spectators stayed back to watch the drama unfold until the very end.
PLAYER RATINGS – Manchester United 2, Arsenal 2
David De Gea: 5. At fault for Mustafi’s header which caught him by surprise and crossed the line and slipped for Alexander Lacazette’s goal after Rojo’s attempt to rescue the matter made it worse. Two massive saves from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and a game saver from Torreira in the 90th minute after United equalised kept the Gunners from going ahead again.
Eric Bailly: 6. Tricky time up against Alex Iwobi.
Chris Smalling: 6. Stepped up to lead the defence with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang a constant danger.
Marcos Rojo: 5. Back after a long lay off but perhaps better going forward – his free kick led to United’s goal but then he gave the ball away for Arsenal’s second goal and might have been sent off trying to recover it as Alexandre Lacazette scored. Hauled off for Marouane Fellaini.
Diogo Dalot: 7. Rare run out for the youngster, mixed quality early on but grew into the game.
Nemanja Matic: 6. More at home in midfield. Booked early on.
Ander Herrera: 7. Laid on United’s equaliser by chasing down Leno’s parried save to put the ball back in for Anthony Martial to score.
Matteo Darmian: 6. Out of position on the left but worked it well.
Jesse Lingard: 7. Occupying a deeper role but coming up against Torreira. Scored United’s second equaliser after pushing up.
Anthony Martial: 7. Early shot to test Bernd Leno, scored the qualiser with a predatory finish after Marcos Rojo’s free kick was saved but then recycled back into the box by Ander Herrera. Limped off.
Marcus Rashford: 7. Lively start, testing Arsenal defenders with his pace. Alost took
Romelu Lukaku (for Anthony Martial 63): 6. Gave United a greater aerial threat but could not convert that into goals.
Marouane Fellaini (for Marcos Rojo 72): 6. Shored up midfield.
Paul Pogba (for Jesse Lingard 75): 6. Was roared at by Mourinho – didn’t do much.
GOALS – Manchester United 2, Arsenal 2
Man Utd 0, Arsenal 1: 26. Lucas Torreira’s corner was headed into the ground by Shkodran Mustafi and bounced up, slipping out of David De Gea’s grasp, over his head and into the goal where Ander Herrera was too slow to clear off the line before goal line technology decreed the ball had already gone over the line.
Man Utd 1, Arsenal 1: 31. Anthony Martial stabbed in Ander Herrera’s cut back from 5 yards after the ball was palmed away by Bernd Leno following Marcos Rojo’s free kick.
Man Utd 1, Arsenal 2: 68. Alexandre Lacazette benefited from a mistake by Marcus Rojo, exchanged passes with Henrikh Mkhitarian before slotting past David De Gea after Rojo tried to rectify his mistake with a dangerous looking challenge.
Man Utd 2, Arsenal 2: 69. Jesse Lingard restores parity again from the kick off after a massive punt upfield from the kick off which wasn’t dealt with by the Gunners defence – Sead Kolasinac got mixed up with Bernd Leno allowing Lingard to nip in and equalise 74 seconds after United conceded.
MATCH STATS – Manchester United 2, Arsenal 2
Man Utd: De Gea, Bailly, Smalling, Rojo (Fellaini 72), Dalot, Matic, Herrera, Darmian, Lingard (Pogba 75), Martial (Lukaku 63), Rashford
Man Utd Subs not used: Romero, Mata, Valencia, McTominay
Booked: Rojo 38, Lingard 40, Matic 42
Goals: Martial 31, Lingard 69
Arsenal: Leno, Sokratis, Mustafi, Holding (Lichtsteiner 36), Bellerin, Torreira, Guendouzi, Kolasinac, Ramsey (Mkhitaryan 46), Iwobi (Lacazette 64), Aubameyang
Arsenal Subs not used: Cech, Elneny, Maitland-Niles, Nketiah
Booked: Mustafi 37, Bellerin 41, Torreira 86
Goals: Mustafi 26, Lacazette 68
Attendance: 74,507