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[Ratings & goals] Man Utd 1-1 Arsenal: Guendouzi stars, Saka lively, Pepe flops
Arsenal wasted a great chance to win at Old Trafford after coming from behind to draw 1-1 with Manchester United on Monday night.
Unai Emery set-up negatively with three defensive-minded midfielders and it stifled our play as Man Utd dominated for much of the first half. They took the lead after breaking from an Arsenal corner with Scott McTominay finding the top corner via a deflection off Sokratis in the 45th minute.
We were better after the break and got an equaliser when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang chipped over David De Gea after being found by Bukayo Saka. The linesman flagged for offside but replays showed Auba was miles onside. Thankfully VAR overruled so it was 1-1 in the 54th minute.
Arsenal were the better side in the second half and should have gone ahead when Saka fired over via a deflection off Victor Lindelof but he should have found the back of the net.
No further goals were scored with Bernd Leno saving well from a Marcus Rashford free-kick to secure a hard fought 1-1 draw, but in truth it was a very low quality match.
Here are my ratings:
Leno 6.5/10 | No chance with the United goal. Made a couple of decent saves, particularly the effort to deny Rashford late on.
Chambers 6.5/10 | Recovered from an early booking and was solid at right-back against a dangerous James.
Sokratis 7/10 | Solid defending and made a great tackle on Rashford in the first half.
Luiz 7/10 | Made some important clearances and didn’t make any individual errors, which was nice.
Kolasinac 6/10 | Did well enough defensively but was not a threat going forward at all. Looked tired to be honest.
Guendouzi 8/10 | Another excellent performance from the youngster. Battled for everything and while he may have taken a few too many risks at times, his energy was needed in midfield.
Xhaka 5/10 | Criticised for ducking out of the way of McTominay’s goal-bound shot. Sluggish in midfield once again and got his standard booking. Still a liability and still shouldn’t start for Arsenal.
Torreira 5/10 | Started waaaay too high up the pitch to utilise his best attributes. Should be our DM to protect the defence, not battling for balls on the edge of their area. Ineffective in his wrongful position.
Pepe 4/10 | Had a bit of a nightmare. Literally nothing came off for him. His crossing was awful and his passing just as bad. Looks worryingly short of confidence right now. Needs time to adapt but he really struggled against Man Utd.
Saka 7.5/10 | Another hugely encouraging performance from the teenager. Full of confidence, always wanted the ball and was a threat – everything Pepe wasn’t. Provided the assist for Aubameyang’s goal but missed a great chance to win it.
Aubameyang 7/10 | On the fringes for long periods and worked off scraps but then BANG, popped up with a world class finish to make it 1-1. Worked hard leading the line.
Subs:
Ceballos 6/10 | Added some much-needed creativity in midfield. Should have started.
Nelson 5/10 | No real impact off the bench.
Willock 6.5/10 | positive cameo at the end.
Here are the goals: