JOSE’S After 997 minutes,

his 12-game goal drought in United’s 2-2 draw at Southampton a week ago, Lukaku’s reward was to be dropped in midweek for the draw at home to Arsenal.

Coming off the bench in the second-half against the Gunners, Lukaku completed one pass in his 27 minutes on the pitch, the stat summing up a frustrating season in which he has seen his effectiveness as United’s main striker called into question.

But here, admittedly against the Premier League’s hapless bottom club, Lukaku found a platform from which to relaunch his season with a display that, while reaffirming his qualities, also shone a light on his enduring limitations.

There were the obligatory Lukaku-esque moments of farce,