Analysis: Manchester United

Manchester United set up in a somewhat experimental 3-4-2-1 structure, with Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard as narrow attacking midfielders behind lone forward Marcus Rashford.

When building through midfield, the central back three would split, leaving Chris Smalling in the centre. Should Arsenal’s front three step high to press, Nemanja Matic would drop just above the back line to create a four-on-three overload. Matteo Guendouzi soon stepped forward from central midfield to press Matic, though – particularly when the Serbian faced his own goal.

With Matic able to shield and protect the ball, and Guendouzi no longer blocking United’s advanced midfielders, the hosts could centrally penetrate through their opponents’ mid-block. Ander Herrera’s clever movements away from the central lane pulled Lucas Torreira out of position, which provided Lingard with enhanced space to get on the ball and dictate play. Runs in behind from one of Martial or Rashford also enhanced these spaces.

Despite going a goal down during an impressive spell from Arsenal, United were soon level. A routine free-kick was comfortably saved by goalkeeper Bernd Leno, but Herrera was first to react to the rebound, and his subsequent low cross was smashed home from close range by Martial.

Smart movement and direct play from Martial and Rashford rejuvenated the home side in the second half, as they enjoyed more success from higher pressing. As Arsenal’s back three split to play out from the back, both inside channels became ideal locations for the speed and attacking intent displayed by both forwards.

Rashford dropped much deeper towards the ball, while Martial remained higher to stretch in behind. From here, right wing-back Diogo Dalot made more penetrative runs forward on the right, with Rashford linking well with through balls in behind. But with Rashford deeper, United lacked finishers in and around the penalty area.

The hosts added an aerial threat to their attack when Romelu Lukaku replaced Martial, and his presence immediately paid off. Less than 15 seconds after Arsenal had taken the lead once more, the Belgian battled for a long ball and, following some hesitant defending, Lingard poked home from close range.

United eventually adapted to attack with a diamond 4-4-2, with Marouane Fellaini added to the midfield unit. They now looked to go direct to Lukaku, with Lingard – who was later replaced by Paul Pogba – at the tip of the diamond, providing extra supporting runs from deep to help win the second ball.

Throughout the opening spell of the first half, United set out to aggressively press Arsenal’s back line, particularly during moments of transition. Their intensity as they lost the ball in their opponents’ half was impressive, and this led to an early dominance of possession. When they failed to recover possession, however, they dropped into a 5-3-2 mid-block. Martial and Rashford were positioned as the two central strikers, with Lingard the central player in the midfield trio – this offered an immediate threat in behind should they recover the ball and look to attack quickly.

As Arsenal sustained more possession over time, though, United struggled to reinstate their intense pressing. With Aaron Ramsey and Alex Iwobi dropping deeper to assist the build, United didn’t have the numbers to effectively press – intelligently, they retreated into a mid-block.

Despite trying to remain defensively compact, United struggled with diagonal runs from Arsenal’s wing-backs – through balls in between their own wing-backs and the nearest centre-back was a frequent problem. It was from a run by Sead Kolasinac that Arsenal won the corner from which Shkodran Mustafi opened the scoring.

The intensity of United’s press resumed in the second half, and their defence became more proactive in pushing the wing-backs higher – although after the visitors made their substitutions Dalot sat deeper, perhaps concerned by the pace of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

In the end, it was a mistake from Rojo that gifted the visitors possession, and the Argentine went on to deflect the ball into his own net to gift Arsenal another lead. After Lingard’s quickfire equaliser, however, both teams had to settle for a point apiece.