Manchester: Jose Mourinho stretched his unbeaten streak against Arsene Wenger to 15 games, but would have been happy had Manchester United earned all the three points in their EPL game against Arsenal at Old Trafford, here Saturday.
In the end, an Oliver Giroud strike in the last minute that salvaged a draw for the Gunners who had fallen behind to a sublime strike by Juan Mata in the 69th minute after a scoreless first session.
But surely, the Red Devils did not deserve a draw Saturday was an afternoon in which Mourinho’s team had done easily enough to merit victory. It wasn’t as one-sided or as full of chances as the Stoke and Burnley games, but against a side much superior to those, they were clearly better against Arsenal, whose players looked jaded from their international travels.
It was not vintage Manchester United through. It was good; at times it was perhaps as well as United have played under Mourinho this season. Mata was clinical in the midfield and was well-supported by Paul Pogba and upfront Marcus Rashford caused enough problems to the Arsenal defence. They kept and controlled the ball and so when Giroud came off the bench and scored, the gasps at Old Trafford were audible enough.
“We deserved to win… the boys showed their class,” Mourinho said after the game. “I felt we could have had a penalty after the goal that would have sealed the game for us.”
The match had begun in lively enough fashion, with Alexis Sanchez heading wide at one end and Mata sending a free-kick just wide at the other.
Yet it developed into a dull affair until Mata and Anthony Martial brought fine saves from Petr Cech as United turned up the heat before the interval.
Agencies
