Declan Rice’s powerful strike gave Arsenal a point at Manchester United but did little to help their pursuit of Premier League pacesetters Liverpool.
Arsenal dominated the opening 45 minutes at Old Trafford but lacked any cutting edge and were punished in first-half stoppage time when United captain Bruno Fernandes curled a 25-yard free-kick past a badly positioned David Raya in goal.
Raya made amends with fine second-half saves from Noussair Mazraoui and Joshua Zirkzee before Arsenal finally found the end product with 16 minutes left.
United failed to clear and Rice sent a superb rising drive past Andre Onana at the Stretford End to give Arsenal a point – but it did little to dent Liverpool’s seemingly unassailable lead at the top of the table as they stand 15 points clear of the Gunners, having played a game more.
It could have been worse for Arsenal as it took a miraculous double stop from Raya to keep out Fernandes in the dying seconds to prevent United taking all three points.
Fernandes inspires spirited Man Utd
Manchester United’s mediocrity is clear for all to see – but while they have Fernandes there is hope as the captain once again led from the front.
It was the Portuguese who gave United something to protect with that trademark free-kick seconds before half-time, and he almost won it at the end when he arrived in the penalty area only to see his effort blocked by Raya, who somehow regained his ground to claw the ball off the line as it look destined to be the winner.
Fernandes is United’s leading Premier League scorer with seven goals and also leads the combined goals and assists chart with 14.
In among the struggles under head coach Ruben Amorim, Fernandes has been the shining light and was the inspiration again here.
United were desperately poor in the first half, but Amorim will be heartened by what he saw in the second half, when United mounted a spirited response as Raya – at fault for Fernandes’ goal – became the hero with stops from Mazraoui and Zirkzee to deny the home side a victory that seemed unlikely for long periods.
It was a draw that moved United to 14th place in the Premier League, the most obvious measure of their current reduced status.
