Manchester United again frustrated Arsenal at Old Trafford, this time holding them to a 1-1 draw. As I made my way back from the game, the discussion with colleagues turned to the repetitive nature of this result and this performance.
Banging on the door without being able to break it down, bar the one time Declan Rice managed to find the target, even this was outside of the box. Jokes were made before the game about how this was the first time in three matches the side had scored from open play.
Set pieces the bedrock for the goals in the previous two fixtures. Mikel Arteta was a frustrated man, walking out of his Sky Sports post-match interview, dismissing questions surrounding both the title race and the failure to land a striker in the January transfer window, responding, “It’s not about that.”
The reality, of course, is that it most certainly has everything to do with this. While I still am of the mind that any striker able to have been signed realistically in January would not have made a difference in regard to the title race, these are the games where it certainly could have.
Ruben Amorim leant on a free-kick master in Bruno Fernandes to score his side’s sucker punch goal. He said after the game that his side need more Brunos.
I put it to Mikel Arteta whether he could have more of some individuals on his side, but perhaps unsurprisingly, he insisted that he is happy with who he has. Most would disagree, however, and are already looking to the summer for that inspiration.