Manchester United made a piece of history at Emirates Stadium, but not in the way that they would like. A draw after this stalemate meant that they set a new club record for non-league games without defeat.
The streak already reaches 18 and has 14 victories. Ole Gunnar Solskjær wanted a reaction to the cluttered home loss to Sheffield United on Wednesday night and he did it in the form of a much better performance. But his team was unable to find the vanguard.
They had a chance to score during a dominant performance in the first half and nothing better than the one that Edinson Cavani rejected in the second half. At close range, he was unable to find the target of a Luke Shaw cross. The Uruguayan also reached centimeters wide with a scissor kick after 89 minutes.
Arsenal were much better after the break and also had the opportunity to win, only with the crossbar preventing Alexandre Lacazette’s free-kick. Now there are seven encouraging games since defeat.
United’s fall against Sheffield United shaped the competition and was certainly one of the shocking results of a unique season. Before that, the club’s last league defeat had been against Arsenal in the reverse game at Old Trafford on 1 November. United’s unbeaten run in the competition was 13 games and it was almost impossible to predict non-performance against the last club in the division.
Perhaps it was an illustration that the cracks continue to lurk in the composition of United and the question at the beginning was whether Arsenal could locate them. It was clear that they would have to do it the hard way, because Mikel Arteta did not have three important players: Kieran Tierney, Bukayo Saka and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Saka, who reported a hip problem, was in the form of blisters.
The bitter cold of North London did little to calm the passions at first, with Cédric Soares shaking his countryman Bruno Fernandes. Cédric led with his arm in an aerial challenge and caught Fernandes before going after him with some well-chosen words in his ear. Fernandes jumped and pushed the side; Cédric was booked.
Fernandes could be seen in conversation with Granit Xhaka and, soon after, left his boot in defiance with the Arsenal midfielder, crawling on the Achilles tendon. This time there was no card. It was spiteful, although hardly the Arsenal-United animosity of the highest level.
The game was more open than at Old Trafford, with United pressing on the front foot and even controlling the first half. His passes and movements were faster, his comfort with the ball more pronounced. The final action, however, deceived them, with Marcus Rashford making a heavy pass to Fernandes and also failing to hit a short shot after a Luke Shaw cross hit him.
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Fred extended Bernd Leno after a corner was cleared – it was an excellent defense by the Arsenal goalkeeper – and Aaron Wan-Bissaka headed wide when poorly scored. Then there were the moments of Fernandes’ first half. After being released by Paul Pogba, he hit David Luiz before leaving the goal, then saw a 45-minute free-kick at the edge of the area hitting David Luiz on the wall and coming back on top.
Arsenal were happy to reach the break 0-0. Gabriel Martinelli almost played in Lacazette, while Nicolas Pépé made a one-yard turn after a run, but Arteta’s team didn’t show enough as a cohesive attack force.
Solskjær made five changes to Sheffield United and had to reshape himself further when Scott McTominay was forced to leave on 37 minutes, with Pogba entering the left midfield. Arteta changed his options for the second half, replacing Martinelli with Willian, and his team was more determined in the restart; there was more intensity.
Twice they announced the opening goal and twice United had to make decisive interventions. First, Willian appeared on the second post to receive a cross from Héctor Bellerín, only for Wan-Bissaka to make a defense block and then cut to Pépé just for Harry Maguire to block.
It looked like a goal was close and United thought they had hit it when Shaw swerved to Cavani. Incredibly, the striker passed close by, the ball skimming Leno’s crossbar. Arsenal came back and, likewise, the best margins were against them. Lacazette’s free-kick meant David de Gea was defeated and recovered from the post before Emile Smith Rowe was stopped by a strong save from the goalkeeper. Pépé also saw another wide low flash.