Arsenal failed to make up ground in the Premier League title race despite fighting back to earn a 1-1 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Mikel Arteta‘s side had seen leaders Liverpool move 16 points clear with a 3-1 win over Southampton on Saturday and needed to respond in the first of their two matches in hand on Sunday.
But in first-half stoppage time, Bruno Fernandes beat David Raya with a long-range free-kick, opening the scoring with United’s first shot on target.
Declan Rice‘s pinpoint finish dragged Arsenal level with 16 minutes to play, but it was United who went closest to a winner towards the end.
While United stay 14th with 34 points, Arsenal are 15 behind Liverpool, who now need just 16 points from their last nine matches to wrap up the title.
How the match unfolded
Mikel Merino planted a low drive wide as Arsenal huffed and puffed without creating clear-cut chances in the first half.
Leandro Trossard sent a long-range shot wide then was just unable to bring down Martin Odegaard‘s clever flick in behind, but it was the Belgian’s pull on Alejandro Garnacho that led to United taking the lead.
Fernandes stepped up to the resulting free-kick 25 yards out and slightly to the right of goal, whipping his effort over the wall and beyond Raya, whose positioning may have been suspect.
United had two big chances to open the second half, but Raya brilliantly denied Noussair Mazraoui and Joshua Zirkzee to keep the deficit at one.
As United dropped deeper and deeper, Arsenal’s leveller finally arrived in the 74th minute, Rice firing in off the far post after being teed up by Jurrien Timber.
Arsenal were unable to build on that moment, however, and only a stunning save from Raya denied Fernandes a 93rd-minute winner, the Spaniard parrying the initial shot before clawing the spinning ball away from the line.
United run out of steam
On the back of United’s 1-1 UEFA Europa League last-16 draw at Real Sociedad on Thursday, Ruben Amorim said the Red Devils’ aim for this clash with the Gunners was simply to “survive”.
For over three-quarters of the match, United thrived, but their depleted squad ultimately ran out of gas in the dying stages.
United succeeded in limiting Arsenal to long-range efforts throughout the first half, while Fernandes made it two direct free-kick goals in his last three league matches, having also netted from a similar set-piece at Everton.
Everybody at Old Trafford was expecting an Arsenal siege after half-time, but some big chances went begging for the hosts as Raya kept out Mazraoui and Zirkzee.
Fernandes squandered another glorious opening at the death, but overall, Amorim will be pleased with how his patched-up side fared.
Twenty-two-year-old goalkeeper Dermot Mee – whose last senior outing came for Altrincham in the National League in 2022 – was the oldest player on United’s bench, though former Arsenal centre-back Ayden Heaven was solid enough after coming on for his Premier League debut at half-time.
United will hope to recover a couple of players for their all-important second leg against Real Sociedad on Thursday, before visiting relegation-threatened Leicester City next Sunday.
Point not enough for Arsenal
Arsenal travelled to Old Trafford having gone two Premier League matches without a goal, amassing a combined three shots on target throughout their 1-0 defeat to West Ham United and their goalless draw with Nottingham Forest.
Those two results – combined with three straight victories for Liverpool – had made Arsenal major outsiders in the title race, and though they found their shooting boots when thrashing PSV 7-1 in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, their attacking woes returned on Sunday.
With makeshift striker Merino struggling to find space against United’s back five, Arsenal spent long periods probing around the edge of the area without ever truly threatening.
Rice teed up a grandstand finish but in truth, that was Arsenal’s only clear-cut opening in the second half, and if not for some highlight-reel saves from Raya, the result could have been even worse.
With Liverpool looking relentless, a return of two points from three league matches is simply not good enough for Arsenal. Rather than looking up at Arne Slot‘s leaders, they may now be glancing over their shoulders at the pack of teams chasing a top-four finish.
Liverpool now know 16 more points will secure the title, giving them a real opportunity of getting the job done before they welcome Arsenal to Anfield in Matchweek 36.
Club reports
Man Utd report | Arsenal report
What the managers said
Ruben Amorim: “I think we did well. Of course we don’t want to play like this defending so much and giving the ball to the opponent. When you coach Manchester United, you cannot play too much like that. You have to try to win the game. I know it is frustrating for the fans sometimes. We have to deal with that and sometimes do things that are not popular.”
Mikel Arteta: “Very frustrating we haven’t won with the dominance and the chances we had in the first half. We gave the ball away out of nothing. Gave a foul away. They didn’t want to play. We had them in the second half, you could feel they were really fatigued.”
Next PL fixtures
Key facts
Man Utd are winless in their last six matches against Arsenal across all competitions (D2 L4); their longest run without beating them since April 1999 (also a run of six – D2 L4).
Fernandes has been directly involved in 25+ goals in each of the last three seasons for Man Utd (12 goals, 13 assists this season); one of only three players to have done so for a Premier League club in 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25, along with Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland.
Arsenal have failed to win three matches against sides starting the day in 15th or lower in the Premier League table this season (W7 D2 L1), after winning all 12 of the matches they played last campaign against opponents between 15th and 20th in the table.
