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| Ander Herrera Manchester United Midfielder |
Slowly the remaining questions of this Barclays Premier League season
are being answered. Manchester United, it seems, will finish fourth while
Arsenal and Manchester City look likely to end the year in third and second places
respectively.
After this rather mundane, underwhelming occasion at Old Trafford, that
order of affairs would appear to be exact right. Neither of these teams are
good enough yet to challenge for the Premier League title while they remain
comfortably better than the rag tail bunch of teams labouring for credibility
outside the top four.
United, we know, will spend heavily this summer in a bid to improve.
Arsenal, too, will look to get better. They will both need to if progress next
season is to be real.
Here in Manchester, a draw was perhaps a fair result. United were
comfortably better for an hour, taking the lead in the first half through Ander
Herrera and threatening to inflict more damage on an Arsenal team that hadn’t
seemed to realise that a defeat would leave their hold on third place a little
uncomfortable.
At this point, United’s Ashley Young was the day’s best player with the
likes of Juan Mata and Marouane Fellaini not far behind him.
Finally, however, with half an hour left Arsenal
turned up. When they did, they equalised through a deflected Theo Walcott shot
and could have won when Olivier Giroud buried a shot in the side netting from
six yards with just a few minutes left.
By then, United were lacking a couple of noticeable members of their
starting eleven. Centre forward Radamel Falcao was replaced by Robin van Persie
in the second half and departed with a wave that seemed to suggest his days at
the club are almost over.
Goalkeeper David de Gea, meanwhile, left the field with what looked like
a lower back injury towards the end of the game. United are still none the
wiser about his future and, from him, there were no gestures helpful to those
looking for clues.
In terms of the football, given that this was a game between two of the
Premier League’s great rivals, there was a disappointing lack of intensity
early on. One would have imagined that neither of these teams will want to play
a Champions League qualifier in mid-August but for a while here you wouldn’t
have known that they really cared.
United were the slightly more progressive team in the early stages but
it was all relative. A cute pass from Juan Mata in the tenth minute gave Falcao
an opportunity only for Laurent Kolscielny to tackle well while a free-kick
from Mata four minutes later required a sharp if rather routine save from David
Ospina.
That apart, though, the opening half hour was a peculiar affair, notable
only for the rather pedestrian pace of the football and another piece of
footballing comedy from Phil Jones, the United defender stumbling to allow
Olivier Giroud in on goal and at one point attempting to play the ball with his
forehead while lying flat on his stomach in the penalty area.
If that moment gave social media an opportunity to
mock Jones, it wasn’t for the first time. The England player was at least
fortunate that Giroud applied a heavy touch to the ball and was therefore
unable to take tangible advantage.
Within ten minutes, meanwhile, Jones’ team was in the lead. There hadn’t
been a sign of a goal coming but when Marouane Fellaini and the excellent
Ashley Young combined down the left the United winger was able to cross to the
far post where Herrera drove the ball in with his right foot.
It was a calm and intelligent finish from Herrera and a good United
goal. For Arsenal, however, it was a moment that was rather reflected their
lethargy. Too many defenders were attracted to Fellaini as the cross arrived
while Herrera was allowed to advance unchecked from midfield.
In the dugout, Arsene Wenger will have fumed. This was not the way the
final weeks of the season were supposed to unfold. It could have been worse by
half-time as well, Mata breaking on to a long pass from Young to try to set up
Falcao in the 39th minute and then a seemingly goal bound shot from Daley Blind
striking Chris Smalling as United attempted to work a clever corner.
By the time half-time did arrive, Arsenal had not mustered so much as a
shot on target while United had noticeably improved. Indeed it was not until
after the hour that Arsenal finally awoke and began to play their way in to the
game.
Giroud – who had one of those afternoons that must
make Wenger question whether he is really good enough – could not nudge the
ball past De Gea in the 64th minute while United defender Marcos Rojo was able
to intercept a raking pass towards Aaron Ramsey soon after.
United, all of a sudden, were becalmed and Arsenal began to sense there
may be something in the game for them. United goalkeeper De Gea was beaten by a
Ramsey lob with 20 minutes left only for Rojo to race back and clear and then
the Spaniard seemed to injure himself rushing from goal to punch clear a
corner.
After a deal, De Gea departed and Victor Valdes came on. It was not long
before the United understudy was picking the ball from the back of the net.
Another substitute, Arsenal’s Theo Walcott, ran on to a diagonal ball down
the right with eight minutes left and advanced on another replacement, United’s
Tyler Blackett. Certainly Walcott was looking to cross but the ball struck
Blackett’s studs and looped behind Valdes – who was already committed – and in
to the far corner of the goal.
Walcott celebrated with due enthusiasm but this was, in truth, an own
goal, all be it a rather unfortunate one.
Level now, Arsenal pushed on. Finally looking a little more like
themselves, the sensed weakness in United and could have stolen the game Giroud
flashed a shot in to the side netting from close range.
The Frenchman really should have scored and secured Arsenal’s second win
here in one season. So too, though, could have Robin van Persie at the
Stretford End, a half volley from 12 yards flying over the bar and in to the
crowd.
Source:dailymailsport
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