Internet Desk: The hosts, Manchester United split the shares with Arsenal here at Old Trafford as Jose Mourinho continued to maintain his sublime managerial record against Arsene Wenger in what promised to be a lip-smacking encounter. Juan Mata scored the solitary goal for the Red Devils in the 69th minute of the match when he buried a wonderful Ander Herrera pass firmly into the back of the net.
Substitute, Olivier Giroud canceled Manchester United’s lead in the dying minutes of the fixture (89th minute) as Arsenal pulled back an extremely important away point right before the final whistle.
Although a Manchester United-Arsenal fixture has – in many ways – lost its old grandeur since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, but it still remains to be a highly anticipated encounter for the footballing fans all across the globe. Tonight’s date between the two sides was even more special for the fans simply because of the revival of the Jose Mourinho-Arsene Wenger rivalry under a new banner.
Manchester United’s man at the helm, Jose Mourinho decided to field Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, and Juan Mata as his three starting forwards after Zlatan Ibrahimovic was ruled out of the fixture and Wayne Rooney found himself on the bench courtesy a minor knee injury.
Arsene Wenger – on the other hand – opted for Carl Jenkinson on the left in place of an injured Hector Bellerin. The Frenchman opted for Alexis Sanchez as his lone striker with Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott and Aaron Ramsey behind him.
Although Jose Mourinho has – infamously – made quite a reputation for himself as a defensive manager, the Red Devils started the fixture with a lot of intent. Manchester United’s 19-year-old Marcus Rashford – in particular – looked quite lively in the opening few minutes of the encounter.
However, the first real chance of the match belonged to Juan Mata in the 4th minute as the 28-year-old Spaniard curled the ball just wide of the post off a free-kick from a potentially dangerous position.
Arsene Wenger’s men, who were mostly defending in the opening few minutes of the match, got their first breakthrough in the 6th minute courtesy an Alexis Sanchez header.
The home side – seemingly – looked to exploit the flanks with Antonio Valencia in the thick of the proceedings. Arsenal – on the other hand – were trying to keep the ball more with themselves in an effort to frustrate Manchester United – a trademark Arsene Wenger tactic.
Despite all their efforts, the Red Devils did manage to sneak into a critical position in the 36th minute of the match when Antonio Valencia was tripped inside the box by Nacho Monreal. However, the referee, Andre Marriner signaled play on as a hysterical Mourinho expressed his disbelief from the sidelines.
The two sides entered the tunnel at half-time deadlocked at 0-0 courtesy some brilliant saves by the veteran, Petr Cech. The second half – however – was a completely different story altogether.
Both – Manchester United and Arsenal looked more organized in the second half. Although both of them were enjoying a great deal of possession in the last 45 minutes, they seemed to struggle in the final third.
The home side – almost – managed to put one past Petr Cech in the 50th minute of the game courtesy a brilliant build-up play by Martial-Rashford-Pogba but, unfortunately, failed to do the one thing that matters the most – put the ball at the back of the net.
It was Juan Mata who – finally – broke the deadlock in the 69th minute thanks to a sublime Ander Herrera assist.
Olivier Giroud, who came onto the field in place of Mohammed Elneny in the 73rd minute of the game pulled one back for the Londoners right when it seemed like the home side would secure all the three points out of this heavyweight fixture. The 30-year-old Frenchman headed the ball straight past David de Gea to convert an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain cross to a goal.
The 1-1 draw ensured that Arsenal moves a place up to the number three position on the points table while Manchester United finds itself rooted at the sixth position – seven points behind the league leaders, Liverpool.