Sports
Man Utd 1-1 Arsenal: Super-sub Giroud saves Arsenal
he Frenchman was again on hand off the bench as Arsene Wenger’s men snatched a late draw, leveling the game after a Juan Mata opener
Olivier Giroud’s 89th minute header snatched a point for Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal as they drew 1-1 with Manchester United on Saturday.
The Red Devils looked certain for all three points as the Gunners failed to register a shot on target before Giroud’s effort.
Juan Mata had put the hosts ahead, the Spaniard linking cleverley with compatriot Ander Herrera before slipping the ball past Petr Cech in the Arsenal goal.
Mourinho looked set to continue his impressive run over Wenger before Giroud nodded in an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain cross with their only shot on target of the game.
After Sanchez headed a gilt-edged early opportunity wide, United had by far the better chances in the first half, with Arsenal playing in a much more reserved manner than usual, clogging up midfield and forcing the hosts wide.
Herrera operated in front of Paul Pogba and Michael Carrick, harrying Mohamed Elneny and Francis Coquelin into mistakes, and United made good ground down Arsenal’s left.
From one such raid down the right, Antonio Valencia burst past Nacho Monreal, who could only fell the Ecuadorian with a desperate lunging block, but Andre Marriner waved away appeals, moving Mourinho to a state of convulsing grief on the touchline.
The act stirred a brief surge in United’s play and Mata made Petr Cech tip his effort wide before Anthony Martial brought the visiting goalkeeper into two fairly comfortable stops in the space of a minute.
De Gea had gone completely untested in the first half and Arsenal’s inability to puncture United’s backline continued into the second as quality from either side was at a high premium.
Rooney replaced Martial just after the hour, with Rashford shifting to the left, but their right wing was once again the source of success as they took the lead.
Pogba and Herrera drifted to that side of the pitch, with Aaron Ramsey failing to track back, and the Spaniard burst past Monreal before his cutback allowed Mata to run on to the ball and guide it neatly beyond the helpless Cech.
Two of Wenger’s substitutes combined to snatch a point, though, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain surging past a tiring Rashford before standing up a cross for Giroud to power home and leave United without a win in three home games on the spin in the league.
