Bruno Fernandes and Man Utd frustrate Arsenal as Liverpool title grows nearer – 5 talking points
Declan Rice dragged Arsenal level with 16 minutes remaining at Old Trafford, but ultimately a point wasn’t what the Gunners were after and they’re now 15 behind Liverpool.
Gunners midfielder Rice fired in off a post to level the scores after being found by Jurrien Timber, but Arsenal were ultimately unable to turn their possession into clear cut chances on a frustrating afternoon for Mikel Arteta.
A low quality first half had been livened up in stoppage time when Bruno Fernandes took advantage of David Raya and his wall’s positioning to open the scoring with a free-kick, before Raya saved brilliantly from Noussair Mazraoui in the second half.
After Rice levelled the scores in the second half the England midfielder put in a superb challenge to block a golden chance for United sub Rasmus Hojlund, before Leandro Trossard immediately fired a good chance wide for the visitors following a fast break, and Fernandes brought a superb save from Raya late on when he should have scored.
Here are the five of the best talking points from Old Trafford.
A threadbare squad which doesn’t look fit for purpose, Amorim saying the main aim of this game was ‘surviving’ it, and Gary Neville and Roy Keane popping up on the television to make the same old noises they always make. There was a lot about the build-up to this that looked familiar.
But change isn’t going to happen at United without fans voting with their feet, and the supporters who staged the huge anti-Glazer protest outside Old Trafford before the match had every right to do so.
You can say that they’ve tried this before, notably before the Liverpool game in August 2022, and nothing happened then, but in the week that former United goalkeeper Tim Howard launched a fierce defence of Old Trafford’s absentee landlords, it seems that the wider message still needs to get through to some.
Nothing will change at United until the club are free of their current owners, and a separation in the near future surely has to be best for all parties. This has all gone on far too long.
This used to be the fixture of flying pizzas which would determine the destination of the title, but this was a pale imitation of those remarkable pitch battles of yore, with a distinct lack of quality on show in the first half.
The injuries on both sides don’t help with that of course, and Arsenal have had a much better season than United as you can see with one look at the league table, but it was striking just how poor it was.
The Gunners were the game’s dominant force for the opening 45 minutes, but the lack of creativity and ideas is something that is far more concerning than the injuries for Arteta, and having almost been gifted seven goals in midweek, this was back to same old, same old.
Where would Manchester United be without Bruno Fernandes? Possibly the Championship. It’s a drastic thought, and probably not a realistic one given how poor the three promoted sides have been this season, but the Portuguese continues to give his all for the cause.
Others might be casting glances elsewhere at stages a bit more befitting of their talents, but Fernandes is both a superb player and someone who is determined to lead by example. You can debate whether or not that is the best approach, and many have done, but his free-kick was a glorious moment of defiance that produced a remarkable roar.
Martinelli at least returned from the bench here, but the attacking absentees that have affected Arsenal all season remain hugely damaging, and derailing to a season which still promised much at the turn of the year. There is something more that Arteta could have done about that though, rather than just point at injuries.
The truth is that the Gunners weren’t exactly attacking well prior to their problems. Bukayo Saka had scored just four open play goals in the Premier League at the time of his injury just before Christmas, while Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard’s struggles in front of goal have been well documented.
The over-reliance on set-pieces, with that well having now seemingly run dry, was never really a long-term plan, and Arteta’s decision to prioritise pragmatism over poise has ended up costing him.
And given those attacking issues it was all the more painful to watch Raheem Sterling remaining on the bench while Arsenal chased a goal. Arteta turned to Martinelli and Lewis-Skelly at 1-0 down, and then even more starkly Kieran Tierney to play wide left after Rice’s equaliser.
It was a staggering vote of no confidence in Sterling, who needs to make a clever move this summer in order to stop his career from continuing to go rapidly downhill.
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