FULL TIME: Manchester United 1-1 Arsenal
And that’s that! United deserved to win that game, but they sat back at the end, and paid the price. Mourinho and Wenger shake hands in the sporting fashion, which is nice to see, but you know who’ll be happier with this result. Wenger’s substitutes combined to earn an unlikely point for Arsenal; Mourinho’s conservatism, when his team were sparkling in attack, cost United two. Not a classic, but some late drama nonetheless. The greatest rivalry of the Premier League era delivers again.
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90 min +5: Ramsey tries to shepherd the ball out of play, to the right of his own goal. There’s not enough pace on it, and he’s robbed by Pogba, but he’s relieved when the referee rather generously blows for a foul.
90 min +4: Rooney wants another free kick in a similar position, as Herrara falls to the ground. He’s not getting it. He’s getting a yellow card instead, for too much backchat.
90 min +3: The box is packed, so Rooney pulls back for Herrera, who is in space, 25 yards out. Herrera chips straight into the arms of Cech. What a waste.
90 min +2: Chance for them here, though, as Xhaka is booked for handling while on the floor to the right of his own box. Free kick in a very dangerous position!
90 min +1: All a bit scrappy. United are seeing most of the ball, but they suddenly look desperate. Passes aren’t going to feet.
90 min: There will be four added minutes. Old Trafford has fallen quiet. Can United salvage something, in the old-school Alex Ferguson style?
GOAL! Manchester United 1-1 Arsenal (Giroud 89)
Oxlade-Chamberlain drops a shoulder to wheech past Rashford down the right. He’s in space, and curls a delicious cross to the far post, where Giroud rises and plants an unstoppable header into the top left from six yards! What a sting in the tail! United have been in total control, until they chose to sit back and see the match out. And now look!
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88 min: This is attack versus defence now. United seem happy enough with that state of affairs. Until...
86 min: Ramsey is booked for a frustrated kick at Pogba.
85 min: The matchwinner-elect Mata is replaced by Schneiderlin. United happy to run the clock down, the hard work done. Have Arsenal got the moxie to punish them?
84 min: Arsenal tiki-taka around the edges of United’s box. The home side seem happy enough to sit deep and see what the visitors have got. The answer: not much. Monreal and Xhaka take turns to wedge lame balls into the area. The first is easily cleared. The second drifts out for a goal kick.
83 min: Oxlade-Chamberlain has come on for Jenkinson. It’s a straight swap, he’ll play at right-back, albeit with an attacking remit one would imagine.
81 min: Xhaka comes on for Coquelin. Arsenal can’t get the ball. United are toying with them, knocking it around hither and yon. The visitors haven’t managed a shot on target.
80 min: Valencia and Mata ping it around down the right in attractive fashion, but can’t find Rooney or Rashford in the centre. Another phase of attack, and Blind whips a cross from the left onto the head of Rojo, level with the far post, eight yards out. He must score, but somehow whistles his header back across goal and well left of the target. United should have wrapped this up by now.
77 min: But it won’t take much to drag Arsenal back into this. Sanchez zips down the left, cuts inside, and looks to find Giroud in the centre with an outside-of-the-boot cross. It’s too high, though, and flies out of play harmlessly on the right. Giroud had the jump on Rojo and Jones there; if the cross was anywhere near decent, that could have been the equaliser.
76 min: Old Trafford is bouncing, as you’d imagine. United have been very impressive. Though this isn’t quite so good. Pogba jumps on a weak Koscielny clearing header. A simple pass forward would release Rooney down the centre, but he hesitates, then plays it into a space where there’s no red shirt. That could have wrapped things up.
74 min: Rashford makes a dangerous dribble into the Arsenal box from the left. He looks determined, but is stopped by a brilliant tackle from Coquelin. No room for error there, or it was a penalty. But he stripped the ball from Rashford as clean as you like.
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73 min: Arsenal make their first change. Giroud comes on for Elneny, with Ramsey moving further back into the midfield. They need something to change. They’ve been utterly toothless in this second half. And they weren’t particularly sharp in the first either.
71 min: Rooney powers down the right and fires low through the six-yard box. Rashford isn’t far away from converting at the far post, but makes do with winning a corner off Jenkinson. From the set piece, hit long, Carrick has a chance to shoot from 12 yards, level with the right-hand post, but he’s somehow taken by surprise, back on his heels, and can’t shape his body to even attempt a connection. Arsenal are rocking here.
70 min: Mata has been booked for his celebration, which is beyond preposterous.
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GOAL! Manchester United 1-0 Arsenal (Mata 69)
This has been coming! And it’s so simple. From a throw down the right, Pogba slides a pass down the wing for the busy Herrera, who reaches the byline and pulls a low ball back for the in-rushing Mata. Mata meets the pass first time, sidefooting sweetly into the bottom left, Cech left with no chance! Mata disappears into the crowd, a joyous celebration! A fine goal, and United are deservedly in the lead.
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67 min: A couple of corners for United. One won on the right by Valencia comes to nothing. Another won on the left by Rashford leads to Herrera crossing deep for Pogba, who bombs in looking to power a header home. Mustafi gets in first. Meanwhile here’s Neil Diamond fan Niall Mullen: “If the Arsenal fans don’t sing Red Red Wine when Rooney comes on then they’ve missed a trick.” It’d be a beautiful noise all right.
64 min: Rooney takes his first touch, on the end of a sliderule pass down the left by Rashford. He’s clear on goal, but had run offside. Clever move, though. Then United make their second change: Blind comes on for Darmian.
63 min: Here comes Wayne! He replaces Martial. The crowd are appreciative: plenty of chants of “Rooney, Rooney”. He’s not lost the entire audience yet.
61 min: Mustafi channels his inner Beckenbauer and embarks on a power wander down the right. A neat dribble, but he’s eventually forced to offload down the wing, and Walcott’s not up for chasing the heavy pass. United go upfield and swing balls into the Arsenal box from right and left, but there’s no accuracy. This game needs some fresh impetus. Wayne knows how to get a party started. Wayne?
58 min: This is all very tatty now. Passes are refusing to stick. It looks as though Wayne Rooney is coming on. Mourinho is talking to him quite a lot, anyway.
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56 min: ... the ball’s hit deep from the right. De Gea should come out to claim, but doesn’t. Koscielny lurks with a view to heading home from six yards. But Jones does rather well to get in the way and glances a header out of play to the left of goal. The second set piece comes to nothing, but that was too close for comfort for the home side.
55 min: So much for Arsenal’s half-time pep talk. They aren’t seeing too much of the ball. When they do have it, they don’t do much with it. Ah, hold on! Scrub that. They spring into life after Pogba takes a fresh-air kick 30 yards from how own goal. Walcott executes a one-two with Sanchez and breaks into the box down the right. His low cross is hacked out by Rojo for a corner. From which ...
52 min: Rashford continues to cause bother. A couple of dribbles down the left. One nearly wins a corner. Another earns a free kick, right by the corner flag. He’s got Jenkinson on toast. Jenkinson was lucky to escape a booking there. Martial’s low free kick is aimless and appalling. Arsenal hack clear.
50 min: A deep cross into the Arsenal area from the United right. Pogba rises high, brilliantly so, to chest the ball down. Rashford picks up possession and looks to curl one into the bottom right. Mustafi slides across and blocks. United claim a penalty but they’re not going to get that. A fair block.
48 min: It’s all a bit scrappy, though. A lot of hard pressing and little else. Misplaced pass after misplaced pass. A gegenmess. Eventually Martial gets fed up and embarks on a determined skitter infield from the left. He shoots from 25 yards, but scuffs it and it pea-rolls harmlessly towards Cech.
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46 min: Arsenal start the half on the front foot, and with added pace. They’ve had a talking to, by the looks of it. Monreal crosses from the left, and it’s deflected behind for a corner. De Gea claims the set piece with an easy catch.
Arsenal get the ball rolling for the second half. United kicking towards the Stretford End this time. No changes.
Half-time reading:
HALF TIME: Manchester United 0-0 Arsenal
And that’s your lot for the first half. Manchester United will claim they should have been awarded a penalty, Monreal’s arm brushing Valencia, who went down in the box. Arsenal may argue that Darmian should have been sent off for two yellow-card offences. Swings and roundabouts. It’s been fun, though, with United in particular showing verve and determination in attack. Should be a cracking second half. No flipping!
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45 min: A sense that both teams are waiting for the half-time whistle, and a chance to regroup. It’ll be along in a minute.
43 min: Arsenal take the sting out of the game with a little sterile possession in the midfield. Old Trafford falls a little quiet after a tumultuous period.
41 min: Cech punches the corner clear. Martial gathers 20 yards from goal, and zips low and hard towards the bottom left. Cech reads it marvellously, and gathers a hot potato with safe hands. This is good stuff from United, though Arsenal are holding firm.
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40 min: Elneny takes a no-backlift snapshot from 25 yards. It flies 25 yards over the bar. United fly up the other end. A loose Ramsey pass allows Herrera to meander from right to left across the front of the Arsenal box. He can’t find an opening for a shot, so lays off to Martial, who cuts in from the left and curls towards the top right. It’s a superlative effort, but it’s fingertipped over the bar by an arcing Cech. Corner.
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37 min: On Sky, Gary Neville is pretty sure that it wasn’t a penalty kick. United meanwhile come again. Mata takes a touch inside from the left and, on the left-hand edge of the Arsenal D, fizzes a shot towards the bottom right. It’s going in, but Cech gets fingernails on it. A fine effort, and a save to match. The resulting corner comes to naught. United are beginning to knock at the door.
35 min: Valencia spins round Monreal to the right of the Arsenal D. He enters the area. The defender, recovering, grapples a little. The pair fall to ground, rather easily. It looks a penalty at first, but the referee waves play on. And although Jose Mourinho jigs around on the touchline, holding his head in theatrical exasperation, it’s probably a good decision having seen the replay. There’s not much contact. Or not enough to be sure that Valencia was pushed to ground. No doubt we’ll hear more of this. Jose might raise it.
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33 min: Jenkinson spins around Darmian on the right touchline. Darmian crumps his studs into Jenkinson’s shin. It’s accidental, but clumsy, and you’ve seen bookings for much less than that. We saw one eight minutes later, for the same player, for example. He’s treading a very fine line now. The referee tells him exactly that. Expect Arsenal to concentrate their attacks down his wing from now on.
31 min: Carrick plays a ball back towards his goalkeeper. Is it too short? Nearly! Walcott would have been in had De Gea not been on the front foot, able to lash clear.
30 min: ... Herrera blooters miles over from 25 yards. A terrible effort, and Valencia was in space on the right, but he’s quite rightly a crowd favourite so gets a rendition of his song from the Old Trafford faithful anyway.
29 min: Sanchez sprays a fine high ball down the inside-right channel towards Ramsey, but the Welsh international can’t bring it down. United go up the other end, Mata bustling into the box from the left, and forcing Koscielny into a half-arsed clearance that eventually results in a corner. From which ...
26 min: Speaking of perfect balance, here’s Sanchez spinning on a sixpence in the middle of the pitch to turn between Valencia and Herrera, who were behind him performing a pincer movement. That’s as glorious a touch as you’ll see all season - Bergkampesque - but unfortunately it leads to absolutely nothing as he clanks a hopeless pass meant for Walcott on the right into the nearest red shirt. What a spin, though.
25 min: Darmian is booked for a very light clip on the back of Walcott. In fact, was there any contact at all? Possibly not. But he got away with one earlier, so the cosmos remains in perfect balance.
23 min: Sanchez dribbles with some pace and purpose down the inside-right channel. He enters the box and threatens to find Walcott in the middle, but can’t quite make the connection. He knocks it back, whereupon Coquelin blooters deep into the Stretford End.
22 min: The first 2016 airing of United’s famous festive number, the Twelve Days of Cantona. A slight lull in play, in other words.
19 min: Arsenal are a little ragged in the midfield. Coquelin plays an appalling loose ball on the halfway line, allowing Rashford to intercept with ease and tear down the right wing. He lays off to Herrera, who whips a gorgeous low cross along the corridor of uncertainty. Martial, sliding in at the far post, can’t connect. If his toes were a little longer, that’d have been the opening goal. The cross was so good, it deserved an assist.
17 min: Rashford earns a corner for United down the right. Cech claims it after a fashion.
16 min: Darmian somewhat cynically tugs back Walcott in the centre circle, with Ozil looking for a killer pass down the left. It should be a booking, but it’s not. What is a booking is Sanchez’s agricultural hack on Herrera’s ankle from behind, also in the midfield. He can have no complaints about that.
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14 min: This is good, high-tempo fun. One for the purists? Probably not, but the purists are over-compensating, aren’t they. This is great. Up the other end we go. Ozil causes some bother to the right of the United area, but his final ball is poor, with Sanchez unmarked in the centre. This is not going to end 0-0.
12 min: Valencia intercepts a piss-poor Elneny pass in the centre circle and bombs off down the inside-right channel. He’s got space and time, and men in the middle, but his cross is poor, intercepted by Koscielny and gathered by Cech.
11 min: Monreal looks to open his legs along the left wing, but he’s tripped in full flow by Mata. The sort of cynical challenge that might pick up a yellow card midway through the second half, but not right now. Arsenal don’t complain, which says everything.
9 min: A lovely, free-flowing opening to this match. Everyone’s missed the Premier League. They’re up for this. Arsenal are beginning to find their feet. Now it’s United who are struggling to string anything together. Sanchez goes on a baroque dribble down the right and nearly busts clear into the area, but there’s one red shirt too many to beat.
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7 min: And so, having said that, Arsenal nearly score. A Sanchez shot from distance is deflected over the bar by Rojo. From the resulting corner on the left, the ball’s looped into the United box. Walcott, of all people, rises to win a flick on, and Sanchez has a header, clear, six yards out! But he screws it miles to the left, and there’s no pace on it either. That’s a magnificent chance spurned.
6 min: United have started very brightly here. Arsenal are struggling to get anything going. Rashford is nearly sent through the middle and into the box by Pogba, but Koscielny and Mustafi close ranks to snuff out the danger.
5 min: Herrera dribbles down the inside-right channel and buys a clever free kick from a clumsy Elneny. Mata takes the set piece, 25 yards out, and curls it towards the top left. If that’s on target, right in the corner, it’s in, because while Cech gets over, he’s diving low. But it drifts wide of the post.
3 min: Martial has a determined run at Jenkinson, and the reserve right back, who didn’t enjoy himself too much during that 8-2, looks a bit shaky. Arsenal clear. United come back at Arsenal down the right. Rashford crosses deep for Pogba, who can’t get a header on target thanks to pressure from ... Jenkinson. Much better from the Arsenal defender.
37 seconds: Ander Herrera’s first foul of the day, a little hello-here-I-am clip on the back of Sanchez. He’s wonderfully narky. Exactly the sort of player every team needs. You have to love him.
A cursory handshake between the old pals Jose and Arsene. And we’re off! Manchester United kick off. Arsenal are playing towards the Stretford End in this first half. It’s sunny but cold. We’re in need of some Wonderfuel Gas. Meanwhile here’s Hubert O’Hearn: “Having idle minutes to kill I decided on whim to compare the careers of Jose Mourinho and Wayne Rooney. The parallels are eerie enough that they demanded this email.
2002-2004: They burst onto the scene: Mourinho at Porto/Rooney at Everton.
2004 - Enter the spotlight: Mourinho to Chelsea/Rooney to United.
2007 - The first decline: Mourinho fired/Rooney limited to 27 appearances.
2009-2010 - The glorious comeback: Mourinho wins Big Cup/Rooney scores 26 goals.
2011-2012 - The peak: Mourinho wins La Liga/Rooney scores career high 27 goals.
“It only starts to fall apart after that, as there is no equivalent for Rooney in 2014-2015 when Mourinho’s Chelsea wins the League. Mind you, they may be re-linking again as both have had recent experiences with hotels they would choose to forget.”
The teams are out! Manchester United are in their famous red, white and black, forcing Arsenal into their classic change strip of yellow. I wish these two were still sponsored by Sharp and JVC. Anyway. Old Trafford crackles with excitement and anticipation, as you’d expect. We’ll be off in a minute! Meanwhile the MBM email of 2016 is in, folks, courtesy of Charles Antaki. “Alexis Sanchez has declared himself completely fit. Also: Remain, Hillary.”
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While we wait for the big kick-off, how’s about a little pre-match reading? Here’s a potted history of the fixture, courtesy of our Field Notes supernova strand. That may whet your appetite for something more substantial. If so, you’ll have to wait until the publication of I’ll See You Out There, the story of this rivalry told by one of the most entertaining writers walking the earth right now. What a book that promises to be. Counting the days already? Yep, us too.
Jose Mourinho speaks! “I decided to leave Wayne on the bench. Everything is a process. I prefer to say Martial is selected because he was not selected for the French team. Wayne’s fitness is fine. After a couple of days of treatment he was fine. We played so, so well against Stoke and Burnley and couldn’t win. Against Arsenal we have to be very good without the ball. When we have it, Arsenal are the sort of team who will allow us to play. It is important for us to get maximum points against both Arsenal and West Ham, two difficult matches at home.” Not so many smiles from Jose, but then that’s not his style, is it.
Arsene Wenger speaks! “We checked Alexis Sanchez in training yesterday, and he declared himself completely fit, so I had not many hesitations! Carl Jenkinson has to focus, and play the game he knows he can play. He is perfectly fit. It is for sure that we know more about Marcus Rashford this time! We know his quality and we need a strong defensive performance. We must focus on the solidarity of our team.” Quite a few knowing smiles from Wenger during that pre-match interview. He looks relaxed ahead of a fixture he hasn’t enjoyed in recent years.
Despite the enforced absence of the suspended Zlatan Ibrahimović, there’s no place in the Manchester United starting line-up for renowned bon vivant Wayne Rooney. He kicks back on the sofa bench, Anthony Martial taking his place. There are three other changes from the side that won at Swansea City a fortnight ago: Ander Herrera returns from suspension to replace the injured Marouane Fellaini, Antonio Valencia reclaims his right-back berth from Ashley Young, and Marcus Rashford stands in for the aforementioned Zlatan.
Arsenal meanwhile make three changes from the north London derby. Héctor Bellerín is injured, so in steps Carl Jenkinson for his first start in an Arsenal shirt since May 2014. Aaron Ramsey is entrusted with Granit Xhaka’s set of keys. And Mohamed Elneny bolsters the midfield at the expense of the more attack-minded Alex Iwobi.
The teams
Manchester United: de Gea, Valencia, Jones, Rojo, Darmian, Carrick, Herrera, Mata, Pogba, Martial, Rashford.
Subs: Depay, Rooney, Lingard, Blind, Young, Romero, Schneiderlin.
Arsenal: Cech, Jenkinson, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Elneny, Walcott, Ozil, Ramsey, Sanchez.
Subs: Gibbs, Gabriel, Giroud, Ospina, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Iwobi, Xhaka.
Referee: Andre Marriner (West Midlands).
Preamble of dreams
Manchester United and Arsenal. The greatest rivalry of the Premier League era! Maybe it’s not quite what it was during that golden age of 1998 to 2006, when these two behemoths vied for supremacy in unprecedented style: a treble here, an invincible season there. But never mind that! It’s Manchester United and Arsenal! And anyway, we’re looking forward. Both clubs are scoping out a new glory era. Both harbour dreams of the title. Both boast scintillating creative talent: Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Hertfordshire sommelier Wayne Rooney, Mesut Özil, Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott. And both have a midfielder not frightened to put their foot in, so even if a football match doesn’t break out this lunchtime, there’s always half a chance Ander Herrera or Granit Xhaka might spark off one of those splendid bench-emptying brawls in which these great rivals have specialised over the decades. Lucky Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger will be on hand to calm everything down, huh.
Going on results this season to date, form-horse Arsenal are in with a good shout this afternoon. However the bigger picture tilts heavily in United’s favour. They’ve only lost twice in the last 11 meetings between the clubs, and one of their six victories in that sequence was the infamous, and spectacular, 8-2 whipping of 2011. Moreover, Mourinho has yet to lose to Wenger in 13 competitive meetings, a fact which, one assumes wildly, causes a gentle but persistent throb just to the side of the Frenchman’s eye. Can Wenger buck that trend and ease the pressure on his poor old overworked temple? Or will Mourinho continue to riff joyously on his rival’s failure? It’s going to be a blast finding out! It’s Manchester United! It’s Arsenal! It’s the greatest rivalry of the Premier League era! It’s on!
Kick off: 12.30pm GMT.
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