Manchester United had the upper hand throughout the first half but Arsenal have become accustomed to playing reactively in big away matches. Previous Arsenal sides would have attempted to flood the midfield and dominate possession at Old Trafford, before being exposed on the counterattack. Here, Arsène Wenger was hoping for a role reversal, and in the opening stages Arsenal allowed United time on the ball before attempting to break directly through Alexis Sánchez and Mesut Özil.

The problem with playing in that manner is that the transitions from defence to attack must be excellent, or else defenders are under constant pressure. That was the case here: Arsenal had a couple of promising moments when they won possession – a Sánchez dribble and a couple of Aaron Ramsey surges forward – but poor decisions meant United regained possession easily and Arsenal immediately had to defend again. This was the first time in more than a decade that Arsenal failed to attempt a first-half shot in the league.

Such a counterattacking approach was most notable in Arsenal’s 2-0 victory at Manchester City in January, memorable for a superb performance from Santi Cazorla, possibly the best all-round midfield display of this season. In his new deep-lying role, the Spaniard’s slaloms past opponents and his positive distribution means he is ideal for launching counterattacks, but here he endured a terrible game, frequently conceding possession unnecessarily.

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Cazorla was outclassed in his battle against his compatriot Ander Herrera, while his midfield colleague Francis Coquelin was unable to nullify the strength of Marouane Fellaini, who inevitably popped up in the penalty box, usually at the far post, when United worked the ball wide. The big Belgian was crucial for the opening goal, charging forward to overload Arsenal four against three in the box when Ashley Young advanced down the left, meaning another midfielder, Herrera, was unmarked to volley home.

Arsenal recovered, however. Wenger increasingly makes eye-catching tactical decisions, both when chasing games and when shutting them down, and both were obvious in the second half. Jack Wilshere’s introduction in place of the underwhelming Cazorla made sense but it was more surprising to see Theo Walcott brought on in place of the right-back Héctor Bellerín, a very attacking move.

This was a risk: Coquelin moved to right-back against Young, United’s most dangerous attacker, while Walcott stayed high up the pitch, running in behind fellow substitute Tyler Blackett. Walcott’s directness led to Arsenal’s fortunate equaliser, but equally crucial was the fact Ramsey, starting on the right, was switched to his preferred central role, from where he took charge and played a couple of outstanding passes.

Arsenal were dominant and looked most likely to score the game’s third goal but Wenger was entirely happy with a draw, and his late introduction of Mathieu Flamini for Sánchez demonstrated he now has the squad, and the mentality, to change the balance of his side when required.