Arsenal reverse roles in salvagingging last last- gasp draw with Manchester United

When Arsenal played Manchester United on Saturday in this weekend’s premier clash, one side managed to snatch a draw near the end despite being clearly second- best for most of the game. Surprisingly, the side were not the one managed by Jose Mourinho but Arsene Wenger’s Gunners. Long a punching bag of Mourinho, whose Chelsea had a knack of eking out wins over Arsenal no matter what, Wenger salvaged a lastgasp draw that felt almost like a loss to the Portuguese.

Arsenal are in a strange sequence recently of playing mediocre soccer, but still grinding out results. This contrasts with their recent reputation as serial bottlers who would wilt under pressure when facing determined opposition. So much so that some fans are even musing that Arsenal are looking a bit like title contenders who get results even when playing badly. That is getting a bit ahead of things, though there is some truth in that. Arsenal’s derby with Spurs two weeks ago saw the Gunners battle to a draw whilst somewhat being a bit underwhelming. Against United, Arsenal were outplayed for much of the game, but they were not blown away like in the same fixture last season when Marcus Rashford’s two goals led to a United 3- 2 win.

Arsenal will have to actually start playing well soon but there were a few key factors to consider.

First, the absence of Santi Cazorla to injury hampers Arsenal’s offense. Granit Xhaka has played well in central midfield, but he was on the bench Saturday while Wenger went with Mohammed Elneny and Francis Coquelin. Elneny is game and Coquelin is a defensive beast, but offensively the two are limited.

Meanwhile, right back Carl Jenkinson got a rare start, the first in years, for Arsenal due to Hector Bellerin’s injury, which likely made a few Arsenal fans’ hearts jump and not in a good way when they found out. He had a bit of a rough time but managed not to make any big mistakes.

Second, Wenger opted to also drop Alex Iwobi, who has been a regular starter this season, to the bench and put Aaron Ramsey on the right wing, due to the big- game occasion and the latter’s experience. This didn’t exactly work out as Ramsey was not very effective and failed to make any major contribution.

Third, Alexis Sanchez played with a heavily strapped thigh due to a hamstring problem, which he played through during the international break, so he was not at 100 percent.

However, Wenger must be credited for making the right substitutions in bringing on Alex Oxlade- Chamberlain and Olivier Giroud, who combined for the equalizer. Mourinho chose to park the bus by yanking off Juan Mata, United’s goalscorer, for Morgan Schneiderlin to shore up the midfield.

Arsenal play Paris Saint- Germain on Wednesday in a Champions League showdown for top spot in their group and they would do well to not have to rely on last- minute heroics like on Saturday.