Manchester United scrapped their way to a draw with Arsenal and boosted the Premier League title credentials of bitter rivals Liverpool in the process. A first-half free-kick from Bruno Fernandes came against the run of play, but it looked as though United could have gone all the way until Declan Rice turned in off the post with just over 15 minutes to play.
There were questions asked about the distance between the ball and the Arsenal wall for Fernandes’s opener. But there are no doubts about which three players turned up for Ruben Amorim on Sunday, with Fernandes joined by Alejandro Garnacho and Casemiro in carrying the Red Devils to an unlikely point.
Here, Express Sport takes you through how each United player performed…
Man Utd player ratings vs Arsenal (3-4-3)
Andre Onana: 7
Put Leny Yoro under pressure with an early pass but made a few nice saves and took charge from corners. Also went long from time to time, which fans will have enjoyed.
Victor Lindelof: 5
A quiet game aside from his hospital pass to Casemiro which led directly to a dangerous Arsenal counter-attack.
Matthijs de Ligt: 7
Nothing fancy from the Dutchman but he did the dirty work well, including clearing headers and intercepting crosses.
Leny Yoro: 7 (Heaven, 46)
Put in a good tackle on Ethan Nwaneri. Subbed off at the break after picking up a knock.
Noussair Mazraoui: 7
Saw plenty of the ball going forward in the second half. Nice slid pass for Garnacho. Forced a sharp save from David Raya with a back-post volley, but did not do enough to stop Jurrien Timber setting up Rice for the equaliser. Could have set up a late, late winner for Fernandes but Arsenal somehow kept it out.
Bruno Fernandes: 8
Superb free-kick, even if the wall was further back than it should have been. Always looked forward with his passing. Let down slightly by leaving Rice unattended on the edge of the box before he drew Arsenal level. Nearly bagged the winner deep into stoppage time.
Casemiro: 8
Also slightly culpable in the Rice case but this was a tremendous defensive performance from the Brazilian. Made important tackles on Rice, Nwaneri and Martin Odegaard. He made a real nuisance of himself.
Diogo Dalot: 6
His battle with Nwaneri was a bit of give and take. Played a great cross to Mazraoui, who almost scored at the back post.
Alejandro Garnacho: 8
Injected pace and urgency when United so desperately needed it. His run forward drew the foul which led to Fernandes’s free-kick goal. Got plenty of joy against Riccardo Calafiori.
Joshua Zirkzee: 5 (Hojund, 76)
Hold-up play was not great but he improved in the second half. Came close with a clever back-flick attempt, which was saved by Raya.
Christian Eriksen: 6 (Collyer, 76)
Not mobile on the left but his passing and link-up play was respectable. Did not do enough to stop Timber setting up Rice.
SUBS
Ayden Heaven: 7
Heavily involved after coming on. Lost his brief run-in with old pal Nwaneri but did well to intercept a cross at the front post.
Toby Collyer: N/A
A late addition.
Rasmus Hojlund: N/A
A late addition but could have scored twice, with two great chances going begging for the Dane.