This game could be the one that determined which team finished in third in the Premier League table. If Manchester United won the games, they would leapfrog their opposition ahead of the last weekend, but a result other than that would see their playoff place in the Champions League confirmed, meaning Arsenal would have the knowledge of sitting safe in third even with two games left to play.
In the opening exchanges, it was Arsenal that were keeping the ball and being smart with the possession that they had. If they got the chance to push forward, they would do so, but they didn't have any quality in the final third where it mattered the most. This didn't last long though, as it didn't take United, or Ashley Young in particular, to get into their stride. Young created some space for himself after cutting onto his right foot and decided to take on the shot himself, but it was blazed high over the crossbar. He did have the option of Marouane Fellaini in the middle of the box, which was probably the better option.
Young is on hand to cause Arsenal some more problems when he delivered a fine ball from a corner which Marcos Rojo did well to get up to meet and flicked it on for Chris Smalling. The captain had a lot of space on the edge of the area and he chested it down to take the shot on the half volley but it was deflected behind by an Arsenal defender. United had the chance to cause even more bother for the Arsenal defence after Juan Mata won a free kick on the edge of the area and he took it. He tried to curl it up and around the wall and it was on target to nestle in the bottom left corner, but David Ospina got down well to hold onto the ball.
Arsenal did look like they could get a goal in the game though. Alexis Sanchez made a couple of good runs towards the United box, but the United defenders weren't allowing him much space to get his passes in. Olivier Giroud also made some good runs that caused Phil Jones a lot of problems, including an instance that caused a mix up between the defender and David de Gea, as Jones passed the ball back as de Gea was coming out of his box to clear it. They did manage to sort it out, much to their relief, as de Gea stuck out his leg and the ball rebounded off it and out of play. Ospina was constantly trying to play the long ball up to Giroud, but between Jones and Daley Blind, they managed to cut out any attempt of this pass every time they tried it.
It was United that made the first break through though. It did take until the half hour mark, but it was Young that was causing all sorts of problems for the Arsenal defence once again. The ball was played across to Young on the left by Fellaini, who then made a run into the centre of the box which pulled the defenders towards him. Young did well to miss out all of the defenders in the box and the ball landed with Ander Herrera who was left unmarked at the far post. All that was left for him to do was side foot the ball into the back of the net and get it past Ospina, which he did easily, even though the keeper was quickly closing down the space he had to aim at.
Young came back for more minutes later as he made another run down the left wing. He decided to take on his defender, who he got the better of, and cut the ball back for Mata on the edge of the box, but the pass was played just behind him. This allowed Arsenal to push forward and try and create something on the counter attack, and it looked promising. Mesut Ozil bought his team some time by holding the ball up around the edge of the box and as the move was coming to a close, a mix up happened between him and Giroud which saw the chance go to waste.
Young had another decent opportunity to put in a good ball from another set piece, this time which Fellaini won. Instead of crossing the ball, he got the better of the Arsenal defence again by pulling the ball back to Blind who was waiting around the penalty spot with no one around him. He hit the shot well, but Smalling was in the way of the shot and it deflected off his team mate and back into open play. This was the final chance of the first half, and the beginning of the second half saw a change in fortune for the away side as they finally managed to find their feet in the game.
Giroud, who had suffered a frustrating first half, came out for the second and began to win a lot more aerial duels with the two players marking him. He managed to flick on the ball to Sanchez who made a run towards goal along the left side of the box, but when he eventually took the shot, the ball cleared the crossbar. At the other end though, Arsenal's defending didn't improve. United had a few attempts which followed some great build-up play and Arsenal just couldn't clear their lines. The ball fell to Rojo outside of the area, and he was quickly being closed down so he took on the shot first time, but he didn't hit it cleanly and it fell easily into the gloves of Ospina.
Giroud managed to create a chance for himself from point blank range as he was left one on one with de Gea, but just as he took on the shot, de Gea got down well to make sure that the ball would be turned past his goal post. Shortly following this attempt, both de Gea and Rojo, who had been having good games, were replaced, with de Gea's definitely being due to an injury. This caused some slight unrest for the United team and Arsenal took full advantage of this when the timing was right.
The game had become very scrappy at this point, with a few challenges being thrown in to try and prevent the other team from getting through. It was Theo Walcott that came on and made the telling difference towards the end of the 90 minutes for Arsenal though. He made a darting run into the box from the right hand side and was aiming to put a very low cross into the centre of the box where Giroud was stood waiting. However, the ball took a deflection off Tyler Blackett, who hadn't been on the pitch long, and this looped the ball over the head of Victor Valdes, who had no chance of stopping the ball after he'd already moved into position to stop the cross.
Smalling took it upon himself in his captain's role to try and rally the team to get the win after this point. He kept making runs towards the opposition penalty area, which caused some confusion for the Arsenal defenders, and had a chance from a header, which was aimed directly at Ospina. Robin van Persie also had a chance against his old team to win the points for his current one, but he managed to get his foot caught under the ball and eventually took the ball up and over the crossbar.
So, the two rivals shared out the points for the game after another entertaining contest between the two teams. Although both their places in the Champions League were already confirmed before the kick off, both knew that the bigger prize of no qualifying place was at stake, and Arsenal moved a step closer to this with the draw they earned at Old Trafford. However, it also left the table nicely poised going into the last weekend, because if Arsenal couldn't secure a result in their last two games, United might just pip them to the post in the final moments.
Young is on hand to cause Arsenal some more problems when he delivered a fine ball from a corner which Marcos Rojo did well to get up to meet and flicked it on for Chris Smalling. The captain had a lot of space on the edge of the area and he chested it down to take the shot on the half volley but it was deflected behind by an Arsenal defender. United had the chance to cause even more bother for the Arsenal defence after Juan Mata won a free kick on the edge of the area and he took it. He tried to curl it up and around the wall and it was on target to nestle in the bottom left corner, but David Ospina got down well to hold onto the ball.
Arsenal did look like they could get a goal in the game though. Alexis Sanchez made a couple of good runs towards the United box, but the United defenders weren't allowing him much space to get his passes in. Olivier Giroud also made some good runs that caused Phil Jones a lot of problems, including an instance that caused a mix up between the defender and David de Gea, as Jones passed the ball back as de Gea was coming out of his box to clear it. They did manage to sort it out, much to their relief, as de Gea stuck out his leg and the ball rebounded off it and out of play. Ospina was constantly trying to play the long ball up to Giroud, but between Jones and Daley Blind, they managed to cut out any attempt of this pass every time they tried it.
It was United that made the first break through though. It did take until the half hour mark, but it was Young that was causing all sorts of problems for the Arsenal defence once again. The ball was played across to Young on the left by Fellaini, who then made a run into the centre of the box which pulled the defenders towards him. Young did well to miss out all of the defenders in the box and the ball landed with Ander Herrera who was left unmarked at the far post. All that was left for him to do was side foot the ball into the back of the net and get it past Ospina, which he did easily, even though the keeper was quickly closing down the space he had to aim at.
Young came back for more minutes later as he made another run down the left wing. He decided to take on his defender, who he got the better of, and cut the ball back for Mata on the edge of the box, but the pass was played just behind him. This allowed Arsenal to push forward and try and create something on the counter attack, and it looked promising. Mesut Ozil bought his team some time by holding the ball up around the edge of the box and as the move was coming to a close, a mix up happened between him and Giroud which saw the chance go to waste.
Young had another decent opportunity to put in a good ball from another set piece, this time which Fellaini won. Instead of crossing the ball, he got the better of the Arsenal defence again by pulling the ball back to Blind who was waiting around the penalty spot with no one around him. He hit the shot well, but Smalling was in the way of the shot and it deflected off his team mate and back into open play. This was the final chance of the first half, and the beginning of the second half saw a change in fortune for the away side as they finally managed to find their feet in the game.
Giroud, who had suffered a frustrating first half, came out for the second and began to win a lot more aerial duels with the two players marking him. He managed to flick on the ball to Sanchez who made a run towards goal along the left side of the box, but when he eventually took the shot, the ball cleared the crossbar. At the other end though, Arsenal's defending didn't improve. United had a few attempts which followed some great build-up play and Arsenal just couldn't clear their lines. The ball fell to Rojo outside of the area, and he was quickly being closed down so he took on the shot first time, but he didn't hit it cleanly and it fell easily into the gloves of Ospina.
Giroud managed to create a chance for himself from point blank range as he was left one on one with de Gea, but just as he took on the shot, de Gea got down well to make sure that the ball would be turned past his goal post. Shortly following this attempt, both de Gea and Rojo, who had been having good games, were replaced, with de Gea's definitely being due to an injury. This caused some slight unrest for the United team and Arsenal took full advantage of this when the timing was right.
The game had become very scrappy at this point, with a few challenges being thrown in to try and prevent the other team from getting through. It was Theo Walcott that came on and made the telling difference towards the end of the 90 minutes for Arsenal though. He made a darting run into the box from the right hand side and was aiming to put a very low cross into the centre of the box where Giroud was stood waiting. However, the ball took a deflection off Tyler Blackett, who hadn't been on the pitch long, and this looped the ball over the head of Victor Valdes, who had no chance of stopping the ball after he'd already moved into position to stop the cross.
Smalling took it upon himself in his captain's role to try and rally the team to get the win after this point. He kept making runs towards the opposition penalty area, which caused some confusion for the Arsenal defenders, and had a chance from a header, which was aimed directly at Ospina. Robin van Persie also had a chance against his old team to win the points for his current one, but he managed to get his foot caught under the ball and eventually took the ball up and over the crossbar.
So, the two rivals shared out the points for the game after another entertaining contest between the two teams. Although both their places in the Champions League were already confirmed before the kick off, both knew that the bigger prize of no qualifying place was at stake, and Arsenal moved a step closer to this with the draw they earned at Old Trafford. However, it also left the table nicely poised going into the last weekend, because if Arsenal couldn't secure a result in their last two games, United might just pip them to the post in the final moments.
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