Such is life for the modern Manchester United that the first point to make is that their supporters no longer need to check the bottom half of the Premier League table to find their team.

This result lifts them from 11th to 10th, just above the jagged line. It is still not where they want to be – but Arsenal did enough, ultimately, to warrant a point from a thud-and-blunder evening that demonstrated how far these old rivals have to go before they can harbour realistic title ambitions. On this evidence it is going to be a long way back. Scott McTominay did score a peach of a goal for United but, last season included, the difficult truth for Ole Gunnar Solskjær is that his team have not managed more than one goal in 11 of their last 12 league fixtures.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang supplied Arsenal’s equaliser after VAR had overturned a rotten offside decision and, points-wise, it is the first time since the 1989-90 season that United have not reached double figures from their first seven games. That is the same season, it may be recalled, that Old Trafford chanted for Bryan Robson to take over and a banner appeared in the stands calling for Alex Ferguson, then just a plain old Mister, to be removed from office.

This time the crowd is nothing like as grumpy. The weather is still the same, of course, although it would probably be a bit too generous on the two sets of players to blame the near-unremitting Mancunian downpour for their inability to pass the ball more stylishly. It was an accident-prone evening, littered with clumsiness, and it told a clear story about why these sides are already playing catch-up to Liverpool and Manchester City in the top two positions. Nobody should realistically expect them to win that chase.

Not that the lack of real quality – and it was startling at times – stopped the game from burning slowly into an entertaining contest. The first half, in truth, was a bit of a stinker. Or at least it was until McTominay grew weary of the torpor and, 20 yards out, smacked in a firecracker of a shot. After that, however, there was lots of drama and incident at either end, not least the equalising goal when Aubameyang was initially judged to be offside in the moments before he flicked the ball over David de Gea.

It turned out to be a particularly poor judgment from a trigger-happy linesman and possibly the easiest VAR decision yet. Harry Maguire had been playing Aubameyang onside by some distance. United did have a reasonable argument De Gea would have made more of an effort to block the shot had he not seen the raised flag.

Quick Guide Manchester United's worst start in 30 years Show Manchester United have made their worst start to a Premier League season after Monday night's 1-1 draw with Arsenal at Old Trafford. Pressure points: The pressure has built on Ole Gunnar Solskjær as United have taken only nine points from their first seven games – just enough for them to squeak in to the top half of the table. United have won only once since their opening 4-0 victory over Chelsea, with Marcus Rashford's penalty earning them a 1-0 home win against Leicester. Fall from grace: It is just two years since José Mourinho oversaw United's joint-best start to a Premier League season. United claimed 19 points from their first seven games in 2017-18, equalling the starts made by Sir Alex Ferguson's sides in 1999-2000 and 2011-12. United finished runners-up under Mourinho that season, but a whopping 19 points adrift of champions Manchester City. Ole at the wheel: The figures make bleak reading for Solskjær when comparing the Norwegian's record with his predecessors. Mourinho – who would be sacked in December – made a poor start last season, but his 10-point haul from the first seven games was still one more than Solskjær has managed 12 months on. David Moyes also took 10 points from his first seven games in the 2013-14 season, while Louis van Gaal won 11 and 16 points in the respective 2014-15 and 2015-16 campaigns. 30-year low: The last time United made such a poor start to a campaign was under Ferguson in the days of the old First Division. United picked up only seven points from their first seven games of the 1989-90 season, a run that brought successive defeats to Derby, Norwich and Everton and ended with a famous 5-1 thrashing by Manchester City at Maine Road. United ended up 13th that season, but lifted the FA Cup as Ferguson won his first trophy in England. PA Media Photograph: John Peters/Manchester United

It was a lesson, perhaps, for De Gea and all the goalkeepers in this league that the officials cannot always be trusted now the rules have changed.

For Solskjær the disappointment was compounded by the fact the equaliser came from Axel Tuanzebe, playing at left-back for United on a night when they were missing both first-choice full-backs, making a wretched pass inside his own half to lose possession and give Bukayo Saka the opportunity to feed Aubameyang.

Scott McTominay fires in the opening goal just before half-time. Photograph: Simon Stacpoole/Offside via Getty Images

It was that kind of night and, in the worst moments, it was remarkable to think these were supposedly elite teams.

For Arsenal it must have been a cause for anguish that McTominay’s goal could be traced back to one of their own corners. Arsenal looked vulnerable as soon as their opponents started streaming out of their own penalty area. In a rare moment of nostalgia, United had managed to turn defence into attack in a few seconds. Daniel James could not produce a telling cross but Marcus Rashford chased the ball towards the corner flag and then cut it back for McTominay to let fly. He struck the ball beautifully and the shot was still rising as it hit the net.

McTominay, though, must also feel he could have won the match, at 1-1, when he had a golden opportunity to score from a header.

Until his goal the first half had been a grind. Nicolas Pépé put Arsenal’s first real chance into the Stretford End when he had more time than he probably realised. Andreas Pereira tried to liven up proceedings with a shot that Bernd Leno saved down to his left.

The away end chanted for VAR after a cross thudded into McTominay’s chest. The rain fell hard on a humdrum game. And at that stage United’s best hope appeared to be high ball into the penalty area and someone getting on the end of one of Maguire’s knockdowns. It was poor in the extreme and, unfortunately for Granit Xhaka, his first game since being named as Arsenal’s full-time captain contained an element of tragicomedy.

For Example A, consider his ability, at 0-0, to make a pig’s ear from a free-kick in a promising position. More damagingly for Arsenal, however, Xhaka was also culpable of ducking out of the way of McTominay’s shot. The only possible mitigation was the ball took a tiny nick off another Arsenal player. Xhaka’s head was down, his eyes fixed on the floor, and the ball was spearing into the roof of the net.

It was the kind of moment that might wake Tony Adams, Martin Keown et al during the early hours in a cold sweat. And fitting, perhaps, for a night that left one pining for the days when this game was the biggest occasion in England’s top division.