Arsenal drew 1-1 with Manchester United to collect their 10th draw of the Premier League season.
The Gunners sport the second-highest number of draws in the league, with only 15th-place Everton having more.
At Old Trafford on matchday 28, Mikel Arteta watched his side drop points for the third consecutive game, collecting just two points from a possible nine.
With Liverpool running away in the race for the title, the manager’s concern is now on making the top four, with a lot of issues to solve when dissecting Arsenal’s 1-1 draw against Man United.
Why Mikel Arteta started Riccardo Calafiori over Myles Lewis-Skelly
The draw comes after the remarkable Champions League win in the round of 16 first leg, as Arsenal beat PSV Eindhoven 7-1 away from home.
At Old Trafford, the standards dropped quite dramatically, with the struggles in the final third quickly reappearing.
There were no surprises in the front line on the teamsheet as Mikel Merino lead the line despite concerns however, what did surprise some was Arteta’s decision at left back.
The Arsenal manager opted to start Riccardo Calafiori ahead of Myles Lewis-Skelly, something he commented on prior to the contest.
“Riccy was really good when he came on,” Arteta said to Sky Sports with regard to Calafiori’s performance off the bench against PSV.
“He gave us a good dynamic and options as well on that left side, which I think we’re going to need today.”
Arteta predicted that the Italian’s attacking strengths would come of use to the Gunners against Man United but, what the boss perhaps didn’t consider were the defensive repercussions of the switch.
Calafiori was poor against Man United
What worked in the Champions League against PSV did not work in the Premier League against United, starting with Calafiori.
The left-back shone in Eindhoven, as Calafiori matched a Thierry Henry record, but back in England, Arteta was left red-faced following his pre-match predictions.
| Riccardo Calafiori vs Man United |
| 58 minutes played |
| 1 tackle |
| 0 interceptions |
| 1x dribbled past |
| 1/5 duel wins |
| 0 successful dribbles |
Pundit Gary Neville claimed that Alejandro Garnacho was in the Arsenal defender’s head during the contest, with the Man United winger finding joy in testing the Italy international.
As seen above, Calafiori struggled to influence the game as hoped, being caught out in the back four as well as rarely causing the opposition problems in the other direction.
Arteta now has a decision to make regarding who his favoured left-back is, with Calafiori’s display at Old Trafford far from glamorous.
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