Arsenal struggled in attack once again in the Premier League, seeing the Gunners settle for a draw against Manchester United.
Manchester United against Arsenal is not the spectacle it once was, which was very much the narrative from the clash at Old Trafford.
An uneventful first half from the Gunners ended with Bruno Fernandes scoring moments before the interval, putting the visitors’ control to waste.
Declan Rice scored in the second half to earn a point on the road for Mikel Arteta’s side, who were a different outfit from the one that punished PSV Eindhoven only days ago.
From a tedious meeting at Old Trafford, here are Arsenal’s winners and losers.
Winners from Man United vs Arsenal
Martin Odegaard
For all of Arsenal’s stagnancy in the final third, the brains behind each attempt going forward was Martin Odegaard.
The captain was in fine form against PSV Eindhoven and, unlike others in the front line, managed to keep momentum going at Old Trafford.
Odegaard faced a heap of criticism earlier in the season, with his performance against Man United another step in the right direction for the midfielder.
Andrea Berta
Another winner from Arsenal’s battle at Old Trafford is Andrea Berta, who is in line to become Edu Gaspar’s successor.
Arsenal have reached a full agreement with Berta to become the Gunners’ sporting director, giving the Italian a clear task in the summer transfer window.
The performance against Man United was a positive for Berta, who quite frankly couldn’t have an easier task in the summer, where he must look to bolster Arteta’s attack.
Given the strikers that Berta has signed throughout his career, there’s hope that the former Atletico Madrid man can finally end Arsenal’s suffering in the final third.
Losers from Man United vs Arsenal
Anthony Taylor
The referee for Arsenal’s clash with Man United was Anthony Taylor, who made a crucial error during the match.
Taylor made a mistake when directing Arsenal’s wall to defend Bruno Fernandes’ free kick, wrongly positioning those instructed to protect David Raya’s goal.
The match official drew a line that distanced the wall 11.2 yards out, instead of the ten required from a free kick.
Riccardo Calafiori
Arteta chose to replace Myles Lewis-Skelly in the starting XI with Riccardo Calafiori, which was a questionable tweak to the starting XI.
Calafiori offers more going forward than the Englishman however, what the Italian could not handle was his defensive workload.
Alejandro Garnacho troubled the summer signing countless times on the flank, putting the left-back under real pressure to expose a weakness.
Leandro Trossard
Leandro Trossard has impressed in recent weeks but against United, the Belgian was one of the worst on the pitch.
From repeated mistakes to a lacklustre approach going forward, the former Brighton man couldn’t get anything right at Old Trafford.
Raheem Sterling
Not coming on the pitch at a time of need in attack said it all for Raheem Sterling’s future.
Arteta did not trust the winger during the contest, which was a statement from the Arsenal manager given just how poor the Gunners were.
What comes next for the Chelsea loanee seems rather ominous at this moment, with there very little to salvage from a disastrous spell in North London.
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