Result: Arsenal – Manchester United
Competition: Premier League
Date: 30 January 2020
Venue: Emirates Stadium
Arsenal: Leno, Bellerin, Holding, Luiz, Cedric, Partey, Xhaka, Smith Rowe, Pepe, Martinelli, Lacazette
Subs: Runarsson, Gabriel, Chambers, Maitland-Niles, Elneny, Willock, Odegaard, Willian, Nketiah
Arsenal and Manchester United played out a tense 0-0 draw at the Emirates that extends the Gunners unbeaten run to seven games and sees us climb temporarily up to 8th place in the Premier League table.
Clear cut chances were hard to come by in the first half but things opened up after the break with Lacazette and Smith Rowe coming close for the Gunners and Cavani squandering a late chance for the visitors.
Pre-game
Mikel Arteta made one change from the side that started Tuesday’s win against Southampton. A hip problem sidelined in-form Bukayo Saka meaning Gabriel Martinelli was handed a first Premier League start in the league in over a month. He started on the left of attack meaning Pepe reverted to the right flank. Despite being spotted in training on Friday, Kieran Tierney wasn’t fit enough to make the squad so Cedric continued to fill in at left-back. With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in quarantine having left the country to deal with a family issue, the absence of three big hitters was far from ideal. On the plus side, new boy Martin Odegaard made the bench.
First Half
Both sides had their moments in the opening 45 minutes but by and large, it was a cagey affair mostly played out in midfield. There were a smattering of half chances but neither keeper was unduly worried as the defences mopped up plenty of crosses both from open play and set pieces.
Emile Smith Rowe was a bright spark for the Gunners in the opening stages, dovetailing with Nicolas Pepe who appears to appreciate the youngster’s proclivity for one-touch football. The Academy graduate, always looking to take the ball on the turn, sprung a couple of decent counters but also got caught a couple of times which sparked United breaks.
Bruno Fernandes is a player of obvious quality but he’s also a niggly little shit. He threw himself to the floor on 8 minutes trying to win a penalty and later ran his studs down the back of Xhaka’s ankle. In between Cedric went into the book for waving an arm in his compatriot’s face. Portuguese expletives were exchanged.
Fred drew a fine save from Leno on 20 minutes after trying his luck from the edge of the box after a corner was cleared to him. After that, the Gunners had a dangerous 10-minute spell that saw Pepe curl wide and Partey drag an effort after a Vieira-esque charge through midfield. Xhaka and David Luiz both ought to have done better with headers from set-pieces and Martinelli came close to finding Lacazette with a deliciously teasing ball into the box.
United weathered the storm and wrestled control of matters after the half-hour mark. Rashford and Wan Bissaka went wide with a volley and header respectively and Fernandes, one-on-one with Luiz, turned the Brazilian inside out before trying a curler. Leno watched it fly past his post.
Even after an enforced substitution – McTominay went off with a stomach problem, they kept coming at us. The half ended with Luiz celebrating the clearance of a Fernandes free-kick which he headed over the bar. The Gunners had been lucky in the build-up when Rashford, unmarked at the back post, couldn’t find room to get a shot off.
Second half
Somewhat surprisingly, Martinelli was taken off at the break and Willian sent on in his place. The Brazilian had a fine chance to break the deadlock within four minutes when a cross reached him unmarked. His first touch was poor and by the time he attempted his shot, it was quickly closed down.
He was involved again moments later, this time bursting down the left flank and pulling back for Pepe whose first-time effort was hard and true. Maguire stuck out a leg to clear what looked destined to be a goal.
Back came United who should have scored themselves on 58 minutes when Martial and Shaw combined to flash a dangerous ball across our six-yard box. Cavani looked odds on to tap home but hit wide. A corner was given although replays showed Cedric, who’d applied good pressure, hadn’t touched the ball.
We regained our composure and forced the visitors back again. Luiz, clearly pumped up, embarked on a great run that ended with a terrible effort. We came much closer in the ensuing minutes. Lacazette won a foul off Maguire and promptly clattered the bar with the resulting free-kick. Then Smith Rowe tested De Gea at his near post with a well hit effort.
On 75 minutes, Maguire again took out Lacazette in a dangerous area. This time, Luiz took charge. His effort hit the wall and went for a corner.
The game was on a knife-edge. Rashford hit the side netting with a rasper after Partey was dispossessed in a dangerous area. Two minutes later, Pepe went wide with another curler. Arteta’s hands went to his mouth. It was close. Pushing for the win, the boss sent on Odegaard for the tiring Smith Rowe.
As the clock ticked down, United carved out the best chance of the match. A cross from the right found Cavani who attempted an overhead kick that beat Leno but went wide at the near post.
Three minutes of stoppage time started with Maguire and Lacazette left on the ground after a nasty coming together in the air on the halfway line. The Frenchman seemed to hit the turf head first and required extensive treatment. Nketiah was sent on. Hopefully, the striker, who put in a combative shift, will recover in time for Tuesday’s game at Wolves.
In the end, a point apiece was probably the right result. While draws are always frustrating, it was a night not to lose.
Somehow this feels like 2 points lost instead of 1 point gained. We had enough chances to win it but not our day. Happy with the clean sheet, I’ll take that!
I dunno man. Yes, we can lament a few chances there but I think that’s a good point without three absolute key players out.
I’m sure we can think of moments where we could have broken the deadlock but they could’ve sneaked it too. A really mature performance and I thought the redemption of Pepe continued with a lively performance. If only he had a right foot!
4 from 6 against United. Not bad going. We march on!
COYG!!!
I kind of see what Tots is saying and I see your point too.
Just wanted to say we’ve taken 4 points from United three years in a row now. I would have been ecstatic with 6 points this season.
Well the pundits are in agreement that a draw away against Arsenal is worse than losing at home to the worst club in the division. 🤷🏽♀️
If we are getting ‘my father never hugged me’ Keane and his intensely partisan opinions, can we not at least offset them with Wrighty?
Seriously, I think these guys still think United are in their heyday and not the spent force that they have become.
Fuck, now I really wish we would’ve beaten them just to see his sour face scrunch up into full ball bag.
Here’s the clip if you want to cringe along…!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8py6M0LRenA
Honestly Jamie *spits on little girls* Carragher just comes across as an idiot.
The head panelist mentioned that United have only scored 1 goal against City, Chelsea, Spuds, Liverpool and Arsenal in the league.
He somehow thinks the loss to Sheffield United is less of a shock than that statistic. Where Is the critical thinking?
I’d like a Michael Palin-style Roy Keane train travel documentary series where he just goes to different countries and hates everyone he meets. “Ya got no water? Dats not good enough. Pull yer socks up.” “Call dat a house?” “No I don’t want to dance with you” I wish he’d f off and take his hateful bile somewhere else. Only good on TV for his comedy value.
Hahaha!
Genius comment!
“Ya got no water? Dats not good enough. Pull yer socks up.”
😂😂😂😂
This deserves million thumbs up. Just wish I was a TV exec that could commission this.!
Inspired. Perhaps it could be called “Around the world in 80 whines”
It absolutely is a good result with a weaker team but I totally agree that it *feels* like two points dropped, which says it all about how far we’ve come. It’s an exciting time to be an Arsenal fan.
You’re right ONLY IF PEPE had a right foot thats the difference in quality between Pepe and Saka. Saka would’ve scored today with the 3 or 4 chances Pepe had Saka would’ve at least hit the target and scored at least one of those chances. At least his performance have gone 2 games back to back without dropping but sometimes he’s too selfish and overcomplicates things. Saka keeps it simple makes better decisions and more intelligent
To be fair, they missed some absolute sitters today. Cavani could have scored about 2 and Rashford another had he not tried his skills instead.
Yeh I’m with you, think we were very lucky to come away with a point.
Not sure I’d go that far. I thought we played pretty well, especially since we were missing quite a few key players, but a draw was probably fair.
Anyone but Willian would at least tested the keeper on that chance. I think both teams fluffed golden chances. A tie is a fair result
I think United supporters would say the same thing. They were the better side for stretches, we were better at other periods. Question: if this match was a real reflection of our quality, and not a fluke (as I believe it was), and Man United is a genuine title contender (as the table seems to indicate)–what are we?
If tonight’s game is anything to go by Man U aren’t title contenders.
We matched them blow by blow even without a couple of our best players on pitch. Imagine if we had them all played last night. I can accept this draw at least because they showed that that can play good enough football and creating some good chances, and clean sheet, even with a depleted aquad
Before match “Luiz is going to be roasted against Cavani. He is shit” after “ Sky MOTM David f***** Luiz”. No one expected that
Don’t know how he got MOTM though. Thought maybe Neville was watching an old match or something
Yeah strange one that. He was ok but Holding was dominant in the box clearing everything. On another note Willian did ok, apart from missing that chance obviously.
Cavani is the kind of player that needs 10 chances to score 1. Today’s game brought back memories of that Champions League match against PSG in 2016 where he missed sitter after sitter.
And then he scored.
Lucky he didn’t get 10 chances today then 😉
Luiz should have scored though.
I thought Holding was better
The two managers could have instead shared some beers, a good chat and called it a draw.
Just to clarify, it wasn’t the performance but it wasn’t happening for either team.
Another day atleast one of those chances for either side would have gone it – except Willian’s who is so short of confidence.
Willian was fine today
Willian was improved than previous performances but still below par. Scared or not willing to make the difference in the final 3rd. Martinelli I’d much better, disappointed with arteta dragging him off at half time
You think maybe they didn’t.
On the balance of the game, I think a draw was probably a fair result. Surprised neither team scored tbh, but that’s football sometimes. Definitely need to work on stopping crosses into the box, especially the low driven ones, because Cavani could have easily scored about 2 off the back of them. Really glad to see Pepe’s progress though – probably our best player today.
his shooting and crosses were woeful today
But he got into positions to shoot and cross. I feel like he missed an opportunity to pick out Laca on the last shot but can’t be mad. He was good in the air again, and he isn’t Willian.
Inches wide shot nutmegging Harry square head, another close but didn’t quite bend around the keeper enough, I was more than happy with him today. Night and day from the tentative deer in the headlights, hope he keeps moving forwards
That Willian miss though. I can imagine millions of fans worldwide screaming at their TV at that moment. You would want that chance to have fallen to literally anyone but him in that situation!
Hope Martinelli is ok and Willian came on because we wanted to protect him. Glad Willian has fallen down the order but man he keeps getting games. It wasnt just that miss, he was a bit terrible again likes passing backwards than forwards. I bet cedric is a better option at wing then willian.
Arteta may have many good points as a manager but his eye for a player is atrocious, how he can still bring that waste of space Willian on whilst apparently allowing AMN to leave is beyond me
Not a bad result, considering we played 2nd half with 10men
Let’s be honest. We criticized Willian a lot but today was not that day. He was decent. No way he was horrible. He was up for defensive duty as well.
What exactly did he do with the ball when he had it, cant run, cant dribble, holds up the ball till he’s felled or pass 30 yards back
Worked hard. Kept the ball. Laid a great chance on for Pepe. If Saka does that everyone faints… Willian did not lower our overall performance
Oh ffs, I think he has been crap; I think he has worked harder recently and has still been crap. I thought he was very good today. Mostly progressive passing, kept the ball, got back very well. If he had played like that in every match, no one would be complaining about him. Yes, he looked bad on the one shot, but all the negative comments are based on other performances, not today.
That chance that he had when he came on there was no conviction in that shot it was so casual he probably meant /was expecting Wan Bisaka to throw his leg around.
Fair play to Willian. Not as awful as he is normally and considering how shit he’s been i’ll take that. At least there’s an improvement.
Decent? He lost the ball on 3 of his 5 dribbles. He missed a sitter. He didn’t close down quick enough defensively, and his corners were shit.
Madness that someone would call that a decent game. Each to their own I guess.
Losing the ball on dribbles is not a big deal. Losing the ball standing around as he has before is shocking. Cavani missed two sitters. He worked hard. The levels are low but he is improving extremely slowly…
Exactly!
When he came in at HT I told my friend we’re one-man down
The early miss was shockingly bad but after that he was ok
I’m no defender of Willian, but did ok today. Created a good chance for Pepe – even taking on a defender.
This was maybe his best showing, all we can say is he didn’t do too bad, it’s still not close enough to wait we paid for… it was now or never tonight with Odegaard on the bench, we bought the kid for a reason, let’s not see any more of this fraud please.
Who has deigned to down vote this anti Willian comment?! He was indeed ourminus one man.
Thought Willian did well today
We were missing our three best players so 1 point could be worse.
Exactly. Imagine is Saka, Auba, and Tierney were playing. Starters and bench totally different.
Quite happy with how the backups performed though! Pepe was very good and so switched on defensively.
Pepe seems so much fitter and stronger physichaly than before.
Agreed. Thought Pepe and Cedric were good. Nice to have depth.
Good point although disappointing not to take 3 given some of our chances. Amazing that Man U fancy themselves the biggest club in the world, have spent a fortune on players yet play like a small club who defends and counters
Utd have been a joke since Ferguson left
They have won the FA Cup and Europa League since then though.
Still make me laugh
For context, in the same period, we’ve won 4 FA cups (plus making an EL final).
Ha ha ha. Exactly right. Reminds me of this diagram:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EKYAMIqXsAEjGhP?format=jpg&name=medium
With Saka, Tierney and Auba on the pitch I think we win that. As things turned out under the circumstances, four points from United this season, plus another clean sheet, is not to be sniffed at. Onwards and upwards.
Stepovers are back in fashion
They really are!!! How many stepovers do Rashford and Pepe need? 😂😂😂
That Pepe one on both Shaw and Maguire was breathtaking
Fair result given that 3 of our best players were missing. I though Odegaard had some nice touches for a lad that is nowhere near match sharpness. Could have gone either way but I think things are looking more positive for us.
Lacazette, what a game!
Could be worse given the circumstances
Cedric is a warrior
He really is
Agree especially after getting a yellow early in the game he handled himself well. There were couple of positioning issues which might be because he is playing left back. Actually he was better than Bellerin today, frustrating to see him give the ball away casually in dangerous areas. Cedric definitely first choice right back when Tierney comes back.
Not sure I agree completely, but Bellerin (unexpectedly) has some serious competition for his place, after years of being an automatic first choice.
Cedric put in another fine performance for us today.
Bummed we didn’ take the deserved 3 points. Excited that I was genuinely hopeful before and during the game. On to the next one, COYG!
Fernandes should have been sent off.. lucky fuckers Utd
He went the whole game without a single yellow. F*cking hell.
I thought it was a yellow surely considering Cedric got booked minutes earlier for a smaller foul. Also apart from his missed chance Bruno Fernandes was anonymous throughout the game as he is in most big games. Decent result with Key player missing and Luiz surprised me with a good performance.
Maguire should’ve had a yellow earlier too.
I thought the refereeing was fine. Fernandes gets away with persistent fouling without a card, as do all star players, though usually it helps to be English. (Harry Kane can commit six or seven in a match and never be booked.)
Well that was nice. Watching a completely impartial Sky team. Roy Keane the United pundit and Redknapp the Arsenal pundit and Neville the neutral co commentator. Commentary Bernies first half save is a deflection and apparently beating Newcastle in round 3 of cup is a bye as we fell at the first hurdle against Southampton.
Yep. That first hurdle FA cup comment not picked up by any of them. Twats
Glad I am not the only one noticing.
Roy “Arsenal are there for the taking” Keane.
Sky always does this for matches involving Big 6, they put pundits who played for Rival Teams.
Also doesn’t help that the pundits who played for Arsenal tend to work with BT and BBC.
That “Arsenal are there for the taking” line was regurgitated over and over by deadeye Keane in that monotone voice. He’s not only totally biased but a complete personality vacuum.
He really has no shame and his professionalism is on par with Patrice Evra (not saying much).
Are you serious. Did he say that?!
United were there for the fucking taking, they are shit and in such an elevated position. We battered them for over 30 minutes in that second half and just didn’t have the final decision maker (Saka) on the pitch
Man I wish we’d won just to shut his trap
Verbatim. Watch the clip posted by Johnny 4 Hats above.
Did I just read ” Redknapp the Arsenal pundit? 😳😳😳😭
I’m assuming it’s irony. Luckily I don’t get UK pundits anymore. The ones in the country I live in now are shit too but with less bias.
My friend that is the irony in the impartiality of Sky
Awfully biased commentary team – they were still talking about how United have a great away record and how they were planning to win when Arsenal were dominating the start of second half.
Great name chap. 😁
Thank you Chipper I was there at the Coventry game, didn’t see the eclipse until the following mornings papers.
Tough game, especially first half. A good point in the end given the players we had out.
Xhaka is actually a decent player but damn, he slows our attack down so much. So many times the ball is passed to him while we are attacking and he just passes it backwards. It’s almost like he can’t think as fast as the other players around him, so if he comes under pressure he does one of two things, either take multiple touches while he figures out the right pass, or just pass it backwards.
Really?? Did you not see how the game passed partey by today? In fact he didn’t look himself out there. We had bigger problems than xhaka out there today.
The silver lining of the game is that we were missing our three best attacking players and still drew.
Pepe did well. As did Willian. Wish Odegaard got 20 min or more to have a go. Can’t complain about a draw, given United had better chances overall.
Wished odegaard came in instead of willian. Think he would have been more on the ball with ESR on the pitch.
I don’t really know what to make of that game.
I hope Martinelli is alright because I got worried when Willian came on, I think Gabi takes an extra touch in that chance.
Thankfully Luiz had one of his better games. Really need the full squad back for this tough run coming
That is a huge point considering the quality of players available for selection….
Just a little luck would have altered the point either way.
Kudos to everyone who played their heart out and especially Laca who got injured hope he stay fit
Not a bad result, all things considered.
That Willian miss though. The guy is rubbish.
Fair result, all things considered – and by ‘all things’ I mean especially those Cavani misses and the fact we lacked all the starters on the left (which is the side we create from more often).
It’s only a bit over a month when we were wondering if Arteta has any maneuvering space to turn this around left. 5 clean sheets out of last six PL games – that’s something to build on. One game at a time!
Very happy with the performance. A pulsating and intense match.
Let’s concentrate on Wolves.
Hope Saka and Aubameyang returns
Good game Willian.Hope you can build on it. That shot though:(
Message sponsored by Kai
Wonder if we could get the stadium sponsored by No-kia?
It is easier to say good result cause we had three I’d our first team out but guys it is the performance, our attacking players were too nonchalant, fam these guys couldn’t be arsed to complete a pass, this is not a normal game we don’t like these manure guys I want to see 100% not these half hearted passes
partey with an absolute stinker of a game. our best performer was ESR, unlucky not to score the winner. Apart from wasting that chance in front of goal, I thought Willian was decent. Better ball retention on the LW than Martinelli. Odegaard didn’t get a single touch of the ball. Injuries are piling up though. Our best performers always getting injured just when they start to peak – Martinelli, then Tierney, and now Saka. Is ESR next? Hope I didn’t jinx it.
Partey had a very good match until he tired just before the end and Odegaard had 3 touches.
Partey was sloppy today, could tell he’s not near his peak physically
It was a bit of a mixed Partey bag. Yes a couple of his passes were off and we was dispossessed but overall I think he offers the team so much. Elneny might not make those mistakes but we’ve been calling for a midfielder who takes people on and creates chances. With those risks, occasionally there are mistakes but didn’t think he was that bad. Xhaka had a great game I thought.
Yes. Ups and downs for Partey. Good match from Xhaka.
ANOTHER clean sheet! I could get used to this.
Roy Keane just said Arsenal deserved a draw at least. That must have hurt! Well done the Arsenal with arguably our three best players missing. COYG.
We have to be optimistic about this draw, I’m pretty sure that 2 month ago we would have lost this game
I think Gabbi was great first half, you won’t see many players busting a gut to block Rashford’s strike. I also think Willian put in a decent shift and last season for Chelsea he takes that chance first time and scores, this season he’s under so much pressure he needs to get it under control and the chance is lost. If he takes it first time today and misses he’s crucified.
Probably a fair result, both sides had big chances to score. With Lacazette dropping so deep it was hard to get into the box. Big positives the clean sheet, Pépé working hard again and Willian not being completely shit!
The league need to seriously do something about this levering of opponents. There should be a duty of care to your oppenent, if a sport like rugby can outlaw it then football has no excuse.
Major progress to be competitive without our 3 best players and against a good side. I feel we dominate and win that game if everyone had played. If that chance falls to Auba instead of Willian its in the roof of the net.
Not too disappointed but Fuck Willian
A draw is fair enough , I think in total MU was a little sharper tonight than us so I’m good with one point tonight. Of course a great loss with Sala,Auba and Tierney, but the replacements did well. Pepe is on a good path and Soares also. Partey disappointed a bit in the passing. Willian- his best game for us by far.
Our biggest flaw- losing possession in midfield, we play too often with a high risk – low reward attitude and that could cost us all points today.
Definitely way too many bad turnovers (esp by Partey who really was off), but in the end probably a good point for us with the players we had out, the fact that William played a half, the number of bad defensive half turnovers we had and the chances they missed. Would have been great to bury one of ours, but probably an even number of good chances on both sides with maybe a slight advantage to them.
Surprised Martinelli was subbed. Hope he’s ok. To be fair to Willian apart from the miss he did well. He might have scored it 10mins later if it came after a few more good touches in the match. Pepe worked his socks off too
Reis Nelson must be fuming that Wilian gets chance after chance on the wing. He hasn’t been great either but I think he could have done much more had he been the sub today.
Reiss Nelson is bang average. Willian has been poor for us but today he didn’t do badly.
Did I watch a different game .I thought it was a tight game with chances for both sides,the way I seen it we slightly edged it.listening to the pundits you’d swear United where head and shoulders above us,especially that biased c#nt Scholes.i thought a draw was probably about the right result not bad considering we a missing are 2 best players from this season and arguably our best player in auba. Well done to Arteta turning the form on its head.
We are Arsenal and we CAN defend again ! Cavani though hahaha ??? No big stand out performances but Cedric is now proving to be a solid buy Pepe was a threat and Leno was superb again! ESR just makes others play better but let’s not Ødegaard him out the way too soon though!
people claiming Willian had a decent game is madness.
in relation to the league 2 cant be bothered performances hes put in for arsenal so far? yeah decent.
but were talking about a premier league veteran who has performed much better consistently for our rivals for several years… he did NOT have a decent game by those standards.
Tend to agree. He’s been so bad since coming to us, that doing what is expected of him is seen as a good game. If he’d really had a good game; he’d have scored.
Roy Keane on the TV just said Arsenal deserved a draw at least!
Without arguably our three best players I thought we were very good. COYG.
Better than what Tony Adams said. The nonsense he spouts should not be coming from someone who has a statue at the Emirates.
Yeah he really is a big headed cu#t.Legend of a player but a muppet as a person
I feel pained; I think that is a good sign.
A full strength Arsenal would swath those pretenders aside with minimum fuss.
If either team had knicked that game they would have rightfully claimed it as a good win. Too close to call really but I think we would have done ’em with Tierney and Saka. Not too bad considering we were without 3 of our very best. COYG!!!!
We are certainly on a good trajectory
How was Pepe this evening? Couldn’t watch the game ufortunately and haven’t seen him mentioned much
He played well Joe, in my opinion he should be given a chance on free kicks. Apart from Laca’s great strike we are a bit woeful and I remember him getting 2 one night in Europe last season.
Never thought I’d see the words “Willian” and “Bursting” in the same sentence
Its crazy that taking a player out in the air is one of the few things that can get u a red card in rugby (if the player lands on his head), but in soccer it is fine. Yet a flick of the nose is a red card.
Happy with the point but far too sloppy with the ball today on the break. It wasn’t clicking on the counter for whatever reason and some poor decision making with the ball was frustrating. Glad Cavani was off form but on each occasion defence did well to pressure him.