Arsenal and Manchester United play out a dull draw

The defending champions Manchester United got another hammering in their bid to qualify for the Champions League qualification spot as the current league leaders Arsenal denied them any chance of claiming 3 points at the Emirates on a late mid-week start. The match ended where it all began with the teams playing with a safety-first policy.

Manchester United though would say that it could have been very much different had Robin Van Persie not made a mess of an opportunity with only the goalkeeper at his mercy at the very early minutes of the match. He snatched the ball from one of the defenders but failed to put it behind an advancing Schezny, which easily could have changed the course of the match. Keeping aside that early opportunity United got very little chances to have a go at the Arsenal defense throughout the rest of the first half. Thing were very even though, with Arsenal enjoying a bit more possession with 54% to United’s 46%. Still home team could not capitalize on that.

The same story continued in the second half as well. But mid-way through the second half the Gunners began to play with much more purpose and intent. They almost got the opening goal but Antonio Valencia made a goal-line save to keep the score at 0-0. The Red Devils will consider them a bit unlucky as they had RVP’s powerful header from a Wayne Rooney cross hitting the bar after Schezny had parried it away.

As the final whistle went David Moyes looked relieved but obviously not happy for the stalemate. Arsene Wenger looked completely unhappy as his boys could not manage to capitalize their opportunities. The Gunners wasted 2 more points and are slowly losing the momentum that he had gained at the start of the tournament. At the moment, the title race is looking like a three-team affair in spite of Chelsea and Arsenal finishing on equal terms in their respective matches. Manchester City’s match has been postponed for some unavoidable circumstances.

• About the Author

About Argha Ghosh

An ardent follower of sports and die-hard Manchester United fan, Argha's ultimate dream is to watch a Manchester derby from the Stretford End at the Old Trafford.