Man United 1 Arsenal 1: Rice Rescue Act, Brilliance and Fan Protests by Fernandes

The wait for Manchester United for the consecutive victories of the Premier League this season takes place after the beautiful strike from Declan Rice in the second half earned Arsenal a noisy traffic point.

This game did not have the quality which was once associated with this match, with the goal of Bruno Fernandes shortly before half -time – a precise free kick of 25 meters – the exceptional moment in a poor half.

Arsenal improved after the break and leveled with Rice’s powerful long -term effort, their first goal in 257 minutes of first League action.

And despite this quality shortage, the closing stadiums had a lot of drama while the two parts pushed for a victory, Fernandes closer to the moving seconds.

In the end, a draw was probably a fair result and means that Arsenal is now 15 points behind the Liverpool leaders with a match in hand. United is 14th.

Laurie Whitwell, Jordan Campbell and Conor O’Neill analyze the main discussion points.

Fernandes delivers again-but did he get a helping hand?

Despite one of their worst seasons in the history of the Premier League, United can at least count on Fernandes for moments of magic.

The adulation in the stadium after scoring the opening goal was enormous, the fans feeling that it was time to show a sustained appreciation. The Portuguese responded in kind, welcoming those in the stands. His figures are good given the state of the team, which is his 14th goal contribution to the campaign (seven goals, seven assists). Only 12 players have more in the division. It was his second goal directly with a free kick in three Premier League games, after his strike at Goodison Park saved a point.

Until this point, United had not seemed to mark at all, with Alejandro Garnacho having their only other blow, which was so capricious that he turned into a pass to Joshua Zirkzee.

Garnacho has actually set up Fernandes, drawing the fault of Leandro Trossard in break.

Although it was a big shot, the ball was a few meters inside the post and questioned David Raya’s positioning.

Despite the fact of rushing quickly on his line, Raya has become nowhere. It looked like his starting position, which was extremely close to the right post despite the relatively central free kick, meant that he had too much distance to catch up.

But part of the reason why Fernandes was able to put such a rhythm on the spot was that the Arsenal wall seemed to be too far back.

Sky Sports has shown a reproduction of referee Anthony Taylor marking the courses and spraying the line, but its technology estimates that the wall was 11.2 ball yards rather than 10, although no arsenal player challenged it, which can be regret.

Fernandes almost had his second magical moment when he had to think that he had a winner in time of time who would have removed the roof of Old Trafford. We ourselves Mazraoui withdrew the ball through the box and, arriving quickly, Fernandes struck hard – but Raya was able to block with his legs and then had the vigilance and athletics to climb and climb the ball as he turned to the line.

Laurie Whitwell and Jordan Campbell

What did it tell us about Arsenal’s attack problems?

The danger of scoring seven goals in the middle of the week against the PSV was that it encouraged you to believe that Arsenal may have found a solution to their creative problems.

But this performance at Old Trafford seemed to confirm that if Arsenal is missing his main attackers, needing two goals to win a Premier League match will be difficult.

The PSV is a team that wanted to play Arsenal to their own game. In doing so, they gave them the freedom of Eindhoven. In England, Arsenal rarely meets teams wishing to engage in such a mass of firearms.

Manchester United was certainly not. Ruben Amorim was happy that his team was deeply sat down and soak up pressure in the hope of countering on Arsenal. The two previous championship matches against West Ham United and Nottingham Forest were almost identical with regard to the last third.

Arsenal has played very well in the spells, but the lack of penetration once they reach the penalty box and are faced with an excited defense is not a new story. Martin Odegaard’s passes seemed to be the main idea, but these are movements that are difficult to perform.

Arsenal should seize the counter-attack opportunities with the additional space it offers them, but they lacked the pace and the point you expect.

It was not a surprise at the end that their goal came from a shot by the box of Rice.

Kieran Tierney and Gabriel Martinelli, whose return is a major boost, added a direct race on the side. The disguised crossing of the Scottish in Trossard was Arsenal’s best chance to win the game, but they never experienced a momentum after the equalizer.

Jordan Campbell

Has the configuration of Amorim helped or hampered United?

Amorim wants United to take control of the matches, but in reality, they remain a most dangerous side to the counterattack.

Fernandes’ free kick simply has on paper on the deep systemic cracks of apathetic performance in the first half, the team offering almost nothing in possession.

The AMORIM team continues to fight against opponents of great pressure, with many of the same obvious problems during the 1-0 defeat last month in Tottenham Hotspur.

With Christian Eriksen and Casemiro on the ground – or exactly known for their mobility – United has still risked being exceeded. This challenge was only increased by the amorim tactical system, which has constantly left them in number in the midfield during the accumulation game.

The use of three central defenders invites great pressure teams like arsenal to push and overload the midfielder, leaving United with few options beyond a long and hopeful clearance. An isolated and exasperated zirkzee cut a lonely silhouette while William Saliba and Gabriel have comfortably dominated it in air duels. About 15% of United passes in the first half were long, less than 30% finding their goal.

Perhaps judiciously, given the physical gap, United has rarely tried a high press. But even when they did, their structure left them exposed. When they pressed Raya, Arsenal played around him with ease, exploiting the vacant space in transition.

United went up after the goal, offering more threat to the general game, with Mazraoui unlucky to see its effort stolen by the stretched foot of Raya. But their advance was more to display the slow attack of Arsenal than any real attack resurgence. After the equalizer, they had more dangerous moments, with the brilliant challenge of Rice denying the replacement Rasmus Hojlund a clear opportunity in the box.

The Amorim system requires dynamic field environments which can provide passage options despite their number of slowdown – a united profile simply does not have it. Until it changes, the counterattacks will remain the most reliable road in United towards the lens.

Conor O’Neill

To what extent were the manifestations of United Fans of United Fans significant?

Thousands of demonstrators have clearly indicated that the state of United while walking from toll pub at the Munich tunnel in Old Trafford, singing songs and holding banners against the club’s property.

Organized by the group of supporters The 1958, the fans were invited to wear black to signify how the club is “dying slowly” under the rule of the majority of the frozes. Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is the largest individual shareholder, has also been targeted.

A sign indicates: “1 billion pounds stolen, ice cream”. It was revealed in the latest financial accounts that United adopted the 1 billion pounds sterling ($ 1.3 billion) for net cumulative interest on the debt placed on the club by the lever of the Glazers in 2005. United is also liable for more than 1 billion pounds sterling thanks to the brutal debt, transfer of funds.

United has made losses in the past five years, Ratcliffe to take drastic measures to stem the tide by giving up to 450 employees. Fans are also waiting to hear the price of tickets for next season, with fears that the increases are in preparation. The confidence of Manchester United supporters campaigned against the increase, while the fan Advisory Board had a face -to -face meeting with Ratcliffe to respond to concerns.

The march before the Arsenal match was a visceral expression of anger that bubbles among the fans’ basis about club management, the main operational losses suffered by bad recruitment.

It is estimated that at least 5,000 people protested, making it the largest gathering of this type since United has faced Liverpool in August 2022. The songs against the Glazers continued in the ground, including after Fernandes opened the score.

Ratcliffe was in the directors’ box to hear the songs and, unusually, Ed Glazer, one of the less known brothers and sisters, also attended the match, having dinner at the Ivy de Manchester restaurant on Saturday evening.

Laurie Whitwell

What is the following for Manchester United?

Thursday March 13: Real Sociedad (at home), Europa League Last-16 second jack, 8 p.m. UK, 3 p.m.

What is the following for Arsenal?

Wednesday March 12: PSV (Home), Champions League Last-16 in the second stage, 8 p.m. UK, 3 p.m.

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(Top Photo: Carl Reine / Getty Images)