Football writer Alex Keble analyses the 1-1 draw between Manchester United and Arsenal at Old Trafford.
The ball seemed to take an age to roll across the Arsenal penalty area, time enough to watch Bruno Fernandes stride into position ahead of the seemingly inevitable.
There it was: the chance for a winner that would have sent Old Trafford into hysteria and built much-needed self-belief ahead of Thursday’s crucial UEFA Europa League second-leg clash against Real Sociedad.
Instead, Fernandes snatched at the chance, summing up a bitty and messy 1-1 draw defined chiefly by the faltering forward lines of both Man Utd and Arsenal.
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Alejandro Garnacho has gone 16 Premier League matches without a goal or assist, Rasmus Hojlund 20 matches in all competitions. Arsenal’s forward line has been obliterated by injuries.
The 1-1 draw between the clubs has left United 14th in the table - up from 15th - and Arsenal, after winning two points from their last three matches, now 15 points off the top.
Liverpool only need five wins and one draw from their remaining nine matches to seal the title, and that’s if Arsenal win all of their remaining matches.
On today’s evidence, that certainly isn’t likely.
"The league’s over, it's finished," former Arsenal attacker Paul Merson said on Sky Sports.
Amorim channels Ten Hag in nullifying Arsenal
The most interesting sight was United’s use of an ultra-low block, which – although not a first under Ruben Amorim – hints at pragmatism creeping in for a manager who has been accused of tactical dogmatism at Old Trafford.
It took Erik ten Hag all of two Premier League matches in charge to abandon his possession and high-pressing principles for a low block in 2022/23. Perhaps, after months of difficulty, Amorim is beginning to contemplate something similar.
Man Utd sat back and invited Arsenal to break them down, holding just 32 per cent possession, by far their lowest total in the league this season.
Yet it followed a pattern. United have held less than 50 per cent possession in five of their last six matches in all competitions, and held 30 per cent in the penalty shootout victory over Arsenal in the FA Cup third round.
For 45 minutes, Arsenal weren’t confronted at all until they entered the final third, a novel sight for United supporters at Old Trafford and perhaps a sign Amorim saw how PSV Eindhoven conceded seven at home to the Gunners after opening up in midweek.
More pertinently, here was evidence Amorim realises he must be tactically flexible to get a tune out of the current squad.
"Sometimes we have to do things that are not popular," Amorim told Sky Sports after the match.
"In the future we will not try to play like that, but at the moment we need to win games."
Arsenal play too safe in another match without Saka
Meanwhile, Arsenal clearly struggled, yet again, to create chances without Bukayo Saka or Kai Havertz on the pitch.
But the issue seems deeper than that. Mikel Arteta’s side were far too slow and safe in possession, refusing the riskier pass between the lines and therefore allowing Man Utd to shuffle across in their defensive shell.
Martin Odegaard's passing accuracy against United was 93.2 per cent, his second-highest in the Premier League this season. Arsenal were just too cautious, too sideways.
Other tactical issues included Odegaard and Declan Rice both coming short for the ball and Ethan Nwaneri struggling while stuck out on the right wing, in stark contrast to how Saka will often cut inside to affect play in the more fertile half-spaces.
However, Arteta did change things in the second half, flinging far more crosses into the box: 11 in the first half, 27 in the second.
But Arteta also took off Nwaneri rather than move him into a central position, weakening the attack with a series of substitutions that ended with Kieran Tierney on the left wing.
It looks as though the huge win over PSV was an anomaly, while the Man Utd match was far more indicative of the season: Arsenal have failed to win three matches against sides starting the day in 15th or lower in the Premier League table this season (W7 D2 L1), after winning all 12 of such matches they played last season.
It’s a concern Arteta put succinctly when speaking to Sky Sports: "We lacked the knife in the last 20-25 metres."
United’s forward issues undermine a more assertive second half
Arsenal aren’t the only ones with problems in the final third.
Fernandes’ free-kick, which took advantage of the wall being placed 11.2 yards back according to Sky Sports, was the only piece of good finishing from the hosts.
After the break, Andre Onana was instructed to kick long, with his passing accuracy dropping from 43 per cent in the first half to 21 per cent in the second, and as a result United could get up the pitch, win 50-50s, and apply a bit more pressure to the Arsenal goal.
"We tried to choose the best moments to press high, and we created chances to win the game," Amorim told Sky Sports, explaining his side's second-half advances.
United’s more confrontational approach created several big chances: Noussair Mazraoui had a shot well saved by David Raya and Hojlund had two big opportunities before Fernandes’ moment in the final minutes.
It summed up the problems Amorim has in the final third, although Arteta saw it another way.
In the second half, Arsenal "gave so many balls away, no circulation, and we could have ended up losing," he told Sky Sports.
"The way we conceded certain transition moments was not good enough."
For the title chasers, then, it was underperformance at both ends. The Premier League crown is surely beyond them now.
