Arsenal ensured that the Premier League title race will go down to the final day of the season as they held out for a battling 1-0 win over Manchester United on Sunday. Manchester City still know that wins in each of their final two games will seal top spot, but Mikel Arteta’s side have at least pushed them all the way.
Rasmus Hojlund wasted a gilt-edged chance to open the scoring for United after Scott McTominay robbed Thomas Partey on the edge of the Arsenal box, as the Denmark striker slipped and fired over. Arsenal made him pay soon after, too, as Kai Havertz took advantage of Casemiro’s failure to play him offside and squared for Leandro Trossard to steer home.
The Gunners looked comfortable for the remainder of the first half, but as the game wore on after the break, they began to come under pressure from the home side. That said, substitute Gabriel Martinelli was able to force Andre Onana into an excellent save on the counter-attack, while the United ‘keeper made a further stop to deny Declan Rice from long-range.
United huffed and puffed into six minutes of stoppage-time as the heavens opened, but Arsenal held out, and now must beat Everton on the final day while hoping for a City slip-up against either Tottenham or West Ham.
GOAL rates Arsenal’s players from Old Trafford…
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Goalkeeper & Defence
David Raya (7/10):
Barely stretched but dealt with a number of crosses into his box well. Couple of hairy moments with the ball at his feet, but otherwise a calming presence.
Ben White (6/10):
Troubled more and more by Garnacho as the game wore on, but held his own well. Got forward plenty, though his final ball wasn’t particularly great.
William Saliba (8/10):
Dominant presence at the heart of the defence. Brilliant block challenge on Garnacho as he broke into the box in the second half summed up his strong showing. Threat from set-pieces, too.
Gabriel Magalhaes (7/10):
Outmuscled Hojlund on more than one occasion. Solid.
Takehiro Tomiyasu (6/10):
Amad’s pace and trickery threatened to cause him problems, but the Japan international stood up well and made a couple of key tackles.
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Midfield
Martin Odegaard (5/10):
Couldn’t influence the game as he would have liked as he was crowded out a lot of the time.
Thomas Partey (5/10):
Early lapse almost gifted Hojlund a goal and he took a long time to start influencing the game in a positive manner. Eventually settled down in the second half.
Declan Rice (6/10):
Did his best to carry Arsenal forward when they were coming under pressure, has had better performances in recent weeks.
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Attack
Bukayo Saka (4/10):
Nothing he tried came off, and while he chased back admirably, Dalot was too often able to gallop away from him and spark attacks. Perhaps beginning to tire at the end of a tough season, and was forced off with an injury late on.
Kai Havertz (7/10):
Took advantage of the space he was allowed to get to the byline and lay on Trossard’s goal. Showed some nice bits of close control, but wasn’t the out ball Arsenal needed as they struggled through the second half.
Leandro Trossard (8/10):
Superb movement allowed him to tap in Havertz’s low cross. Movement into central areas caused problems, and he carried the ball well on occasion, too.
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Subs & Manager
Gabriel Martinelli (6/10):
Caused problems with his pace on the counter after replacing Trossard, and tested Onana with a rasping drive
Gabriel Jesus (N/A):
Replaced the injured Saka in the final 10 minutes.
Jorginho (N/A):
On in stoppage-time for Partey.
Jakub Kiwior (N/A):
Thrown on to bolster the defence in added-time.
Mikel Arteta (7/10):
Stuck with the team that has been winning games during the run-in, and made a smart substitution by bringing Martinelli on to pose a counter-attacking threat.
