Manchester United and Arsenal played out a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford in Premier League action on Sunday.
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Ander Herrera opened the score for the home side following some superb work by the impressive Ashley Young down the left flank.
However, despite a general malaise in Arsenal’s midfield, the Gunners didn’t give up, and equalised eight minutes before the end.
Theo Walcott—a popular introduction in the eyes of the visiting fans—made the difference with his energy and pace and forced Tyler Blackett into an error when he scored an own goal on 82 minutes.
Here are the Manchester United player ratings:
GK) David de Gea 6
Bade an ominous-looking farewell to the four corners of Old Trafford before the match and was unflappable before being replaced through injury in the second half. Victor Valdes was brought on in his place.
RB) Antonio Valencia 7
Enjoyed several menacing forays forward, partly because of his own desire, pace and dribbling skills, but also because of the inability of Arsenal’s left side to close him down.
CB) Chris Smalling 8
Captained United on the day and delivered a performance worthy of an Old Trafford skipper—unfortunate not to have been on the winning side.
CB) Phil Jones 6
Brave—see reckless—first-half header when he attempted a John Terry-esque ground-level header to block an Olivier Giroud charge. The weaker defensive partner, but not a dreadful outing.
LB) Marcos Rojo 6
Contributed one notable clearance when he saved a certain goal, but largely struggled with Aaron Ramsey, playing out on the right-hand side—didn’t look like a better prospect than Luke Shaw on the left.
DMC) Daley Blind 7
A comfortable, confident performance in the middle of the park, not as efficient or as instinctive as Michael Carrick, but helped to preserve the team’s shape and was a defensive asset.
CM) Marouane Fellaini 7
Another strong performance by the midfielder, who is enjoying a strong end to the campaign. Showcased his ability to disrupt and—in some cases—disfigure the opposition defenders with a typically robust, elbow-flailing performance.
CM) Ander Herrera 8
Among his best performances in the United shirt and a major encouragement for the Old Trafford crowd.
Demonstrated excellent finishing ability with a back-post volley following a superb cross from Young.
RW) Juan Mata 7
Another positive showing from Mata, who demonstrated the full-range of his exquisite passing ability. Had he had a sharper forward than Falcao ahead of him, he might have collected several assists.
CF) Radamel Falcao 5
Ouch—any hopes of making a late final impact at Old Trafford faded as the Colombian (surely) ended his stay in Manchester with a typically muted and anonymous showing.
LW) Ashley Young 8
The England international has looked like a new man during the second half of the campaign and demonstrated his zest and his invention with a glowing showing against Arsenal. Young gave Hector Bellerin a 90 minutes the youngster will hope to forget, and also contributed the decisive assist for Herrera.
Subs:
Victor Valdes 5 Hardly to blame for the goal he conceded late on, but it wasn’t the ideal circumstances for the World Cup winner to make his Old Trafford bow.
Tyler Blackett 4 Still hasn’t demonstrated that he can be a long-term fixture at Old Trafford and scored the own goal that prevented United from securing the victory.
Robin van Persie 4 Replaced Falcao with 30 minutes to play, but was a shadow of the player who left Arsenal in the summer of 2012.