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The chorus was about winning the league at Old Trafford. Not, it transpired, the latest manifestation of Manchester United’s Project 150 but the vocal Arsenal fans, harking back to 2002. In 2025, however, it became still clearer at Old Trafford that the Gunners won’t win the league and why. With a 15-point deficit, it is only Arsenal themselves and Arne Slot who cannot admit it is over, a one-horse race after they were held by a one-man team. Bruno Fernandes gave United something they have often lacked at home this season – pride – and Arsenal the familiar feeling of disappointment.
“You are obligated to win every single match if you want a chance,” said a grim-faced Mikel Arteta. His abiding emotion was “frustration”. For many a year, a point at Old Trafford represented an achievement. Now it is a disappointment. Arsenal broke Champions League records by scoring seven away at PSV Eindhoven but their last three league games have yielded a lone goal and just two points. Neither tally is enough.
It felt scant consolation that it could have been worse. David Raya was perhaps both culpable and rescuer; he might have done better for Fernandes’s opener but he did superbly to deny the United captain an injury-time winner, springing to his feet after an initial save to claw the ball back when it threatened to spin over the line. The Spaniard had already had two redemptive moments in swift succession, making terrific saves from Noussair Mazraoui and Joshua Zirkzee, the latter attempting an audacious backheel flick. “The reality is David saved us,” added Arteta.
But perhaps it was an indication of how far United have fallen that the result felt better for them. It was just their seventh point in their last eight home league games; as the others came against the doomed duo of Southampton and Ipswich, it ranks as their best result at Old Trafford in that time. And that should form part of the regret for Arsenal: many another side can win here now. They couldn’t.
They began looking dominant and yet contrived to trail. “The first half that we had where we were exceptional, we didn’t test the keeper,” lamented Arteta. “We had some unbelievable situations but we didn’t get the last shot or the last pass.” In contrast, United’s first-half performance was devoid of positivity and creativity but they nevertheless led, courtesy of Fernandes’s whipped free kick. For Arsenal, the irritation was compounded by the fact that the defensive wall was 11.2 yards back. “Football is for smart street players. Bruno was more clever than us and the referee,” rued Arteta.
Yet the execution was a further reminder of the Portuguese’s capacity to rouse United from mediocrity. Roy Keane may give the impression United would be better off without Fernandes but a contrarian is in an army of one.
“He steps up all the time,” said Amorim. “What I can say is we need more Brunos, that is clear. He is a very good example for the other players.” There have been times in recent weeks when it has felt as though Fernandes has been single-handedly trying to stave off decline, forever fighting a losing battle. This time, at least, it was a drawing battle. A strange one, too, with a forgettable first half and an eventful second.
Ultimately, the teams had a talisman apiece. Declan Rice curled in a shot after Jurrien Timber’s display of trickery on the right flank. Rice’s first Arsenal goal came against United. His latest, like Fernandes’s free kick, showed inspirational qualities. Rice had carried on where he left off in Eindhoven, prominent in the final third from the start, but he also conjured a wonderful recovery tackle on Rasmus Hojlund, prompting celebrations from the Arsenal midfielder. The temptation is to call it goal-saving but as the Dane has not scored in 20 games, perhaps it wasn’t. Gabriel Magalhaes also intervened to deny him a winner.
For Hojlund, too, there was a sense of how far he had fallen. United were without 11 players, a total that reached a dozen when Leny Yoro went off at half-time, parachuting the rookie Ayden Heaven in against his old club. Hojlund was the lone senior presence on the bench, omitted from an underwhelming side. United’s strategy, such as it is, is for Fernandes to bail them out. At least Ruben Amorim had the consolation that a makeshift cast tried.
And a draw continued a theme. Some of the Portuguese’s finest results have come when United have been complete underdogs: at Arsenal in the FA Cup, at Liverpool, at Manchester City. “Maybe in those games it is more acceptable to play in the low block,” said Amorim. “The spirit to follow the plan is a good thing but in future I want to play a different football, more attacking.” Instead, United had just 31.2 per cent of possession. But the supporters, whose afternoon began with anti-Glazer protests, rallied to their cause. “This club will never die, that is clear,” added Amorim. “You feel it in the streets.”
On the pitch, though, they can struggle. But they were reprieved by Arsenal’s impotence. Mikel Merino shot wide early on. Andre Onana saved from the substitute Gabriel Martinelli. Arsenal nevertheless failed to do something Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth, Newcastle, Brighton and Crystal Palace had done. Win at Old Trafford. And, this year anyway, they won’t do something the team of 2002 did: win the league.