Another win against Arsenal at Old Trafford, and a final one against Arsene Wenger. Yet Manchester United won’t have skipped off the turf on Sunday after being run close by a youthful Gunners outfit.
This was nowhere near the classic like the battles between these two sides of old – leaving Jose Mourinho with even more food for thought ahead of next season as he fine-tunes his squad.
Here are our ratings …
STARTING XI
David De Gea – A Welbeck shot right down his throat aside, a spectator. Not even he could have hoped to have got anywhere near the goal. 6
Antonio Valencia – When United needed to overload the Arsenal defence, they simply couldn’t rely on his final delivery. A familiar story. 5
Chris Smalling – The anti-Guardiola defender. United’s ponderous attacking starts from the distribution at the back. Missed a sitter, too. 6
Victor Lindelof – Quietly, the Swede is setting about erasing the memories of his early-season mistakes. Still being played sparingly, though. 7
Ashley Young – The most reliable crosser United have. Arsenal should have known what was coming when he set up Fellaini. 7
Ander Herrera – Brought some vigour and bite to the midfield, though he didn’t help with United so vulnerable against the counter. 6
Nemanja Matic – Did his job at the base of midfield – took 105 touches – and tried to do more than just his remit further forward. 7
Paul Pogba – For every great touch there is a moment when he’s caught dwelling on the ball. Display fitting of Pogba, but not an £89m man. 6
Jesse Lingard – Seemed not to be on the same wavelength as Lukaku on first half, but continues to be a deserving starter. 6
Romelu Lukaku – Continues to look more like the part at United, fine hold-up play and movement. Off early after picking up knock. 7
Alexis Sanchez – Denied on the line by Hector Bellerin against his old club but thankfully Pogba was at hand. Shackled well by Arsenal. 6
SUBSTITUTES
Marcus Rashford – Strangely subdued when he came on for Lukaku, particularly in contrast to Martial. 5
Anthony Martial – Rare outing in place of Herrera. Brought a lot of buzz to the attack and the most promising of United’s attackers late on. 7
Marouane Fellaini – Love him, loathe him, he makes things happen. Terrible miss made up for moments later by that ‘unconventional’ header. 7
