There was a good moment at the final whistle here. Arsène Wenger and José Mourinho shook hands brusquely on the Old Trafford touchline, turned to walk off, then realised with a shared prickle of awkwardness they were heading the same way, the world’s most awkward shared hundred metre stroll ahead of them. Wenger did the decent thing, taking a couple of paces then stopping and pretending to fiddle with his coat. It was deftly done and no doubt a sensible move, the thick black cloud above Mourinho’s head almost visible as he stalked off at the end of a 1-1 draw from which Manchester United really should have taken three points.
Arsenal were lucky here. There is no disgrace in being outplayed for periods at Old Trafford, not least when United click, as they did here, with Paul Pogba all indolent craft, Juan Mata buzzing and Marcus Rashford providing speed up front. The more positive spin is that Arsenal got a point while playing poorly. It was, though, hard to avoid the impression this was a point snatched in part out of their own muddle, a performance that never thrummed up through the gears, and a chance to go out and actually beat one of their major rivals was once again passed up.
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