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Key events
Here’s David Hytner’s match report:
Television footage of the enclosure housing Arsenal’s supporters captured the anxiety perfectly. It wasn’t to be, not against this Manchester United. But a less acceptable version of Erik ten Hag’s team was on display fighting for the badge and Arsenal were made to suffer.
Leandro Trossar scored their goal midway through the first half after a United defensive breakdown – of course it was – but the lead was slim and everyone knew, Mikel Arteta least of all, that it could only take a moment to wipe out.
Five minutes later there was thunder and lightning. Very very scary. Arsenal had not made a habit of winning here in recent years, doing so just once in their previous 16 Premier League visits. They desperately needed the points to respond to Manchester City’s win against Fulham on Saturday, move back above them at the top of the table to ensure their challenge goes to the final day next Sunday. Arsenal did the job.
Much more here:
Roy Keane is heading to Manchester United: “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Terrible quality. Making a decision. They seemed to be doing everything wrong. So poor.” And so on.
There was no flow of goals at Old Trafford. After all, there was a flood.
Leandro Trosar says a few words:
We only had one thing to do today and that is to win. Maybe it wasn’t the prettiest, but in the end it was a good win for us. We were looking for that second goal and if it doesn’t come, you know it’s going to be a tough second half, especially here with the atmosphere. But credit to the boys, we defended really well and it was a good win. We did our job today, it will come down to the last game and that’s what we were aiming for. It’s going to be a good week now and then hopefully we can celebrate something. We did our job and that’s all we could do.
“That United team over there,” Roy Keane says, shaking his head… and then shaking his head some more… and some more… “so bad.”
A fitting rain, that. I am afraid that quite a few fans would go to the ground in the summer without foreseeing that they would have to leave in the winter.
“It’s Man United time assistant coach Steve McClaren to break his umbrella, right?” suggests Peter O. Ten Hag should have at least known McClaren would have one handy when the rain came down.
The top of the table looks like this with Arsenal top of the tree and Manchester City a point behind with a game in hand – against Spurs on Tuesday.
Final score: Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal
90+7 minutes: Not many. A silly Garnacho cross to be precise. And that’s the end of the game – the race for the title will continue until the last day!
90+6 minutes: Half a minute to play. United have the ball. The crowd roars. What do they have?
90+5 minutes: Havertz tries to lead a breakaway but Kambwala slides in to collect the ball and absolutely level him in the process.
90+4 minutes: Raya is yellow carded for wasting time on goal.
90+3 minutes: The rain added to the sense of potential chaos in the last few minutes. Garnacho runs to the edge of the area, is nudged by White at the crucial moment and shoots wide.
90+3 minutes: Jorginho and Kivior come on for Partey and Odegaard, as Arsenal try to see the play with five defenses.
90+2 minutes: Arsenal they haven’t done enough to win this game convincingly, but they’ll be happy enough to win it inconclusively if it happens. Meanwhile, more thunder and sudden rain.
90+1 minutes: There will be six minutes of added time or so.
90 minutes: Garnacho is blocked by Gabriel Jesus and falls, grabbing his face. The referee doesn’t think it’s a foul, but he has to stop the game because of a potential head injury, and she’s not one of those either. Drop the ball.
89 minutes: Close! Rice’s low pass across goal is pushed out of Martinelli’s path by a combination of Eriksen and Onana.
87 minutes: Some changes for the hosts: Christian Eriksen replaces Amrabat, Omari Forson comes on for Wan-Bissaka and Ethan Wheatley replaces Hoyland.
86 minutes: The commentators notice some lightning and as they report thunder rumbling loudly above the ground. Mainoo is down and receiving treatment.
85 minutes: United have the ball down the right, but get over it by sending in a cross and when they do, it’s not very good. But Arsenal everyone comes back and the clearance just gives the ball back to United.
83 minutes: Another save! And another! Arsenal deflected a corner and Wan-Bissaka’s shot was on its way to goal before the keeper pushed it away. The ball found itself at Rice’s feet 20 yards out and he had a shot at goal but Onana turned it around the post.
81 minutes: Saka receives treatment off the field, then returns, then returns. His game is over and Gabriel Jesus takes his place.
80 minutes: Saka takes on Amrabat but loses the ball, drives off the pitch and ends up on the billboards. United break and win a corner at the other end with Saka still off the field looking sore.
79 minutes: Save! Actually the best save of the game, Onana tipped the ball over the bar with his left hand after Martinelli sprinted down the left, scored, scored some more and then fired with his right foot.
77 minutes: Amrabat gives the ball to Saka who promptly passes it to Mainoo who leads his team on a break which ends with Garnacho firing from around 12 yards.
75 minutes: Jonny Evans comes off and Willie Kambwala replaces him.
74 minutes: Arsenal they sure don’t play like champions here. Just over 15 minutes to go and United’s confidence is growing.
72 minutes: Antony wins the ball in the center circle and goes for the goal. He has passing options to the left and to the right, but he goes it alone, gets to the edge of the area and then practically limps past it, straight to Heaven.
71 minutes: The first booking in the game was won by Bukayo Saka. Arsenal have an angle, wait, go crazy for a while, and when Saka is dispossessed by Amrabat, his attempts to make amends are a little over-enthusiastic.
69 minutes: United bring in Antony for Amad.
68 minutes: Casemiro doubles United’s goalscoring record with a 35-yard strike that Raya catches.
66 minutes: Replacement! Leandro Trossar leaves the field and Gabriel Martinelli enters it.
65 minutes: Then Arsenal break, Wan-Bissaka slips and Havertz cleverly touches Trossard’s pass to Odegaard. However, his shot is not good enough to seriously trouble Onana.
63 minutes: United have the ball and hold it for a while. Dalot ended up sending in a poor cross and Arsenal clear, but they don’t keep the ball well and the home crowd sound increasingly invigorated.
61 minutes: Nice pass from Amad to Garnacho on the left. He slows down, sucks White and Sacca and then accelerates away from them, opening up an excellent shooting chance in space on the edge of the area. He misses the mark very emphatically.
58 minutes: This is just an incredibly calm challenge from William Saliba. Garnacho bursts into the penalty area from the left, takes on Saliba, and at the crucial moment the defender puts in a leg and cleanly clears the ball.
55 minutes: Best pass of the half and finishes with an excellent shooting opportunity for Rice from the edge of the box. His shot hits a defender.
54 minutes: Amrabat now has the ball, raises his head, assesses his options and then passes firmly into touch.
52 minutes: Arsenal just don’t seem too worried about making more points. They keep the ball in a good position, work it to Trossard on the left, and in the middle three players run very slowly towards the box. None of them reach the cross when they come.
51 minutes: Amad holds the ball on the right side of the box. He waits for Wan-Bissaka to overlap and then plays a pass behind him. The crowd howls in frustration.
48 minutes: A bit odd a few minutes from Arsenalwho allowed Dalot to work his way into a dangerous position, but got away because the ball in the box is not enough of a concern.
46 minutes: Peeeeeep! United kick off the second half.
The players are back, and Arsenal having a more traditionally located gathering just outside the center circle.
That’s it for this game was a case of the drag force against the moving object. Arsenal weren’t great, especially in attack, but United still let them score and didn’t do much to suggest they were likely to score one.
“Unfortunately we are in danger of forgetting how good Casemiro was when he first arrived,” writes Adam Roberts. “But this is related to my second point: why does Ten Hag keep playing so much of his team out of position? Blood of youth or experiment (3rd protection?) – we will learn more. Amrabat doesn’t look terrible today – not good but not terrible – when he gets a full game and is not a left-back.” There is always a bright side to look at.
Half time: Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal
45+3 minutes: A half with almost no action with a goal, but importantly with a goal and Arsenal take a valuable lead into the break.
45+1 minutes: Amad loses the ball, wants a free kick and gets annoyed when he doesn’t get it. He gets to Odegaard, who loses the ball, wants a free kick and gets annoyed when he doesn’t get it.
43 minutes: Nice cross from Amad to Garnacho whose cross is pushed wide of goal by Raya, leading to a few seconds of panic and danger.
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