Arsenal ruled the roost
creditably chase the ball and cut it back for Anthony Martial to finish.
Some of United’s resilience evidently remains, but there was now a new chaos to the game. There was also a new bite to United, whose players were perhaps mindful of Mourinho’s “mad dog” comments after the Southampton match. There were certainly some aggressive challenges, allowed United back in, conceding from the kick-off due to a collective defensive failure which allowed Jesse Lingard to level.
Even David de Gea’s night did not go unblemished. De Gea, usually so composed, had gifted Arsenal their first, palming Shkodran Mustafi’s downward header into the air and over his own goal-line.
For Arsenal, the errors and imprecise play can and will be passed off as teething problems post-Wenger, especially after Sunday’s victory in the north London derby offered so much promise. and a lot of Arsenal complaints, as both Rojo and Jesse Lingard were booked. It was inevitable that the away side would start responding, as Hector Bellerin received a yellow for his own foul.
A tone had been set, and it had the desired effect of disrupting the sleekness of Arsenal’s counter-attacks.
Yet for United, five years on from losing their own ‘great man of football’, two and a half years into Mourinho’s regime, the question is whether these creases will ever be ironed out.
Like against Newcastle, Chelsea, Bournemouth and at Southampton, they needed to go behind before coming back to offer a response, as though adversity is now part of their game.
It is all, in any case, a far cry from that era when these two sides were the standard bearers, at the peak of their respective powers.