Arsenal went into this game expecting a battle but knew they would have to give everything to take home the 3 points.
It was obviously a real battle right from the start with both sides pressing and closing down ferociously, with possession going from one side to the other but balancing at 50-50 after the first 45 minutes.
Thankfully we made our breakthough after 21 minutes with some great work from Havertz down the right wing and managing to cut inside and send it into the box with Trossard flying in to put us 1-0 up and in the driving seat.
Despite the end to end football United ended the first 45 minutes without a single shot on target. Other than a dubious penalty shout United never had a sniff as the Gunners looked to be saving all their energy for the second half.
Arsenal havent failed to win in 17 games this season when they have been ahead at half time and came out the tunnel aiming to extend that perfect run.
If anything we looked even more comfortable and relaxed and our pressure nearly paid off after ten mins when Rice tried a screamer from just outside the box but his effort was blocked.
20 mins into the second half Odegaard had a go from outside the box that wasn’t testing enough, but poor United fans are still waiting to see Raya tested.
Halfway through the half Arteta replaced Trossard with Martinelli just in time to see Casemiro take a shot from 30 yards which was purely for show.
United were allowed to keep the ball for a while as we sat back and soaked up the pressure easily, but mistakes and sloppy passes were starting to creep in from both sides in the pouring rain.
In the 78th minute Martinelli tried to go it alone and forced a good save from Onana. Then Saka was bustled into the moat and had to go off, and then Onana made another two great saves from Odegaard and Rice as Arsenal turned up the pressure.
The last few minutes are always nervous with just a one goal lead but it was Arsenal that came very close in the 90th minute, and then we were told we had to play another six minutes in torrential rain..
In the end it seemed like a comfortable win, and now we go on to the final day!
ADMIN COMMENT
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Wow. Tough one but we made it
A win is all I wanted and we got it
COYG!!!
Did United get an actual shot on target during the whole game?
Despite what some fans here think, that was a good and deserved result.
We going down to the wire.. great win today, Old Toilet is never an easy place to go.
I can’t believe I’m saying this but… Come on you Spuds on Thursday..
I’ll rather call it the theatre of nightmares
On Tuesday.
“comfortable draw” you say 😳
???
Look at the headline😊
Or even: “scores winner in comfortable draw”.
Don’t try to do this at home.
Job done, wasn’t pretty but the job is done. Onward to the final match and let’s hope something goes in our favor. Whatever does happen, great season!
Whatever happens at least we have made the title race interesting and taken it to the last game of the season. Anything can still happen and won’t it be lovely to shut up some of those biased pundits.
I for one think that with the right recruitment and attitude, the future is looking bright.
Ten Hag will surely be sacked. It’s inevitable now
A well managed defensive shift from the boys, as Mikel must’ve instructed. i’d take the win regardless, even if i’m not impressed, truth be told. Anyway, it’s another one down two to go. A final match at home to Everton next. COYG!
Sorry, one to go not two.
Not impressed? When the team knows they need a win at all cost and must be careful? Maybe they could have impressed you be going gung-ho and suffering a serious counter-atrack goal. A good football fan knows the team plays better than this but getting the win is all that matters. You can expect the team to score 5 goals always in a match
It’s all about the points but I can understand Ian Wright’s somewhat underwhelming reaction. Their young team could have won 4-1 on another day. Too many of our players looked sluggish and ineffective. I am almost envious that although down this season our bitter enemies have been able to blood so many good young players while we have don’t have any young play to excite our imaginations. But that’s me being over critical.
I can’t see either Arsenal or Man city losing their final game.
The title is going to be won on Tuesday. If Spurs can stand up and be men we can start celebrations on right then.
Both teams actually didn’t play well, but Casemiro’s unawareness and Havertz’s brilliance made us score the only goal
Arsenal have miraculously won against Chelsea, Spuds and Man United. That amazing effort and goal difference have made me really proud of the squad, despite having to rely on Spuds for the final EPL title chance
Even if we don’t win the league this season, we’re obviously heading towards the right direction with Arteta and Edu. Kroenke had better extend their contracts as soon as possible
@Gai The rivalry between the two sides that dated since Wenger vs Ferguson is always fierce even when ManU or Arsenal aren’t at full stretch. I guess our Boys played with the handbreak today to get decent result.
In football anything can still happen Spuds considering their win against Bunely may want to end on a high especially their coach.
They may turn up against MCity and get a draw or even win. Our 3 goals more than MCity remain an advantage for Arsenal.
Will wait till next Sunday.
Job well done by the Boys.
The rivalry with them goes back further, it goes back to the George Graham Vs Fergie days. It started in 1990 when Brian McClair missed a penalty for United at Highbury in the FA Cup. It exploded the following season at Old Trafford with a mass brawl with us being deducted 2 points.
HD If you know your club history fully, it goes back a great deal FURTHER THAN THAT!
DO TELL !!
Come on jf, DO TELL !!
A tough tough place to go and get a win.
AFC got the win away at a place that is the hardest place for an Arsenal player ever to go to get a win.
Win Win Win…
COYG
All eyes on Villa/Liverpool tomorrow
Half of me says if Spurs need to win for Champions League they will choke…so maybe better Villa get the win and then Spurs can play more relaxed and might win or get a draw !
Comfortable draw? It was the most stressful second half I’ve seen this season.
Draw?? Win win win😳
not sure I would call it comfortable
It actually was though. They never came close to scoring at any point in the match. It was only the fear of a worldie occurring due to us not getting a second.
Our first double over United since 2006/07
That’s worth remembering Jax. Our record against Utd at OT hasn’t been good either
Is this the first time in 2 decades we have maintained season unbeaten record against the top teams in England?
We did not lose against any of the big 5.
I don’t know who will get a point off Man City but this season isn’t over just yet.
How do we have highest cleansheets, best goal different, concede least goal, win 28 games and not win the league? Man City wants to happen to Arsenal but I still feel we will have a chance on the final day.
Because we lost 5 matches which wasn’t included in your stats ! They have only lost 3 I think !
We lost to Villa.
Stressfull…..It reminds me of the Newcastle game of two years ago where we needed to win but only to the Toon army to gift Spurs the final Champions League spot….This Time around we got it right and we make City to face a crack as Ange said….Come on you spurs
Saliba was superb today.
Yeah, he deserved his Player Of Match award.
Easy to run out of superlatives when describing Saliba’s game yesterday. Definitely the stand out player. Can anyone imagine the carnage had we had a Mustafi or even Rob Holding type player in his position.
no need to shout about it, ‘scorers winner’ in ‘draw’ is an obvious typo without any intent, impact or consequence – just get on with it
personally I have a bigger question over ‘comfortable’, I certainly wasn’t feeling very comfortable, and was overwhelming ‘relief’ at the final whistle
Great run from the other wing to the centre by Trossard for a virtual tap for a good ball played by Havertz. If only MA had continued to play him last year, we may well have walked away with the title last year.
This year MA has learnt his lesson and has not give Jesus excessive game time at the expense of Trossard.
It is going to the last day of the season.
Yes, the same drum, i was banging, last year and this. Finally Trossard is getting what his talent deserves.
I didn’t think Utd were bad per se. Couldn’t hit a barn door but were terriers and had a really vocal crowd giving them support throughout the 90 minutes
We found it tough. Were we as supporters expecting too much because Utd have had a tough ride? It was a crunch match and although the team dealt with the pressure, it was clear that nerves were stretched- especially as City were in the front foot
* in the front foot
On
To win 0-1 at a ground we haven’t won at for many years is a great result. Fans are saying we should smash them by 5 but that was never going to happen away at OT.
Let’s cherish the 3 points and let’s not worry about Spurs as we still have to beat Everton who are playing very well …that game is not a foregone conclusion
It’s a great result but unfortunately the title is not in our hands. Can anyone see spurs beating City? … No, I thought not.
Speak for yourself and NOT for me please!
Because you do NOT speak for me. I think Spurs have a good chance to take points off City.
Probably in a draw, but a Spurs win is also quite possible.
GB, a draw would do and with City’s poor record there it is a distinct possibility. The main thing is we won and now the pressure is on them
Although Utd never really threatened our goal, I was pretty nervous as the game went on. Gutsy performance from the team.
Saliba, so cool for someone of his age, deservedly won the MOTM.
Old Trafford was always going to be tough. Excluding today, we’ve won just once in the last 16 years in the league! So I take the win gladly
What do you mean by comfortable draw? Did arsenal WON or DRAW?
No matter what happens, the Arteta project is now complete and have started yielding results. Arsenal is the team to beat now, Champions League game is sure, ..a team that is both skillful and physically competent is born. We would enjoy this team for some years to come
I hope The Arteta project is far from complete ?
Firstly a good win at OT. But what a struggle against one of the poorest utd teams, i have seen for years. We gave simple ball after simple ball away. Our midfield was not functioning and our forwards were completely out of sinc with each other, highlighted by Haverz and Saka taking each other out going for the same ball. We stole the 1-0 win but Utd were dismal. Saliba stuck out like a beacon but the rest were way under par. Im not sure we will regret not scoring more but a win is a win.
As the great Andy Williams sang
We’re “Almost There”
Good result. I prefer Trossard any day. I dont trust players that keep looking at the ball, its always difficult to sight other players.
Plus hes not inform.
Winning the last game is important regardless the outcome of city’s game
Surely even Ray Charles would have seen significant progress made, maybe the Kroenke’s are waiting on a telephone call from God to extend the gaffer’s contract
Mysteriously Sky Sports neglected to give a MotM today.
IF they had done, SALIBA was that man by a distance surely never equalled in any other team, ever!
He is by a massive extent the best CB playing in the Prem today!
I agree completely. He was the best today and the best CB in the Premier League
Martin Keown named him Player of The Match. They seem to have dropped MOTM
Martinelli wasted 2 opportunities late on the game, the one where he failed to pass to Jesus pissed me off, it’s unlike him, he needs minutes but whats stopping Trossard. He’s won us points 15-20points this season I think more
The performance wasn’t great. Raya and Saliba the only good players. Sadly it wouldn’t matter as Spurs won’t do anything against City.
Would that be the Raya that cocked up trying to catch the ball in the 1st half, and only had one soft shot to save all game ?
@KONSTANTIN.Did you watch the match? We were playing United and their keeper kept the scoreline descend. They managed one shot on target.That sums it all.