Manchester, March 10: A stunning double save from David Raya denied Bruno Fernandes a dramatic late winner for Manchester United against Arsenal in the Premier League.
Raya’s heroics salvaged a 1-1 draw for Arsenal at Old Trafford but its Premier League title looks all but out of reach with runaway leader Liverpool 15 points clear at the top of the standings.
“I don’t want to say that, but today the frustration is that we haven’t won our game. We know the urgency and we are obligated to win every single match,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said after watching his team drop points for a third straight league game.And it could have been worse for second-placed Arsenal if not for Raya’s brilliance. In added time the goalkeeper flung himself in front of Fernandes’ effort from close range and then leapt to his feet to claw the spinning ball away just before it crossed the line.Chelsea moved up to fourth in the standings after a 1-0 win against Leicester and Tottenham battled back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Bournemouth.
After fan protests in the street, United’s players produced one of their most spirited performances of the season to draw with Arsenal.
Thousands of United supporters marched in unity to protest the club’s ownership before kickoff. But on the field Ruben Amorim’s team produced a unified display of its own.
Fernandes fired home a free kick from around 20 yards in first-half added time and only a slew of missed chances stopped United from extending its lead after the break, with Joshua Zirkzee and Noussair Mazraoui forcing saves from Raya.
Arsenal leveled through Declan Rice in the 74th, but needed Raya again to prevent Fernandes late on.
Amorim accepted that United, which was forced to cede possession for much of the game, will have to be more adventurous if he is to achieve his goal of returning the 20-time champion to the summit of English and European soccer.
And he believes there’s another way to bring the good times back to Old Trafford.“What I can say is we need more Brunos, that is clear,” the United head coach said.
“Not just the quality and the character, he makes some mistakes, but in this league the availability is so important and he is so decisive with and without the ball.” The draw moved United up to 14th in the 20-team standings on 34 points. Last season the once dominant United endured its worst league campaign in 34 years when it finished in eighth place. It is currently eight points off 10th-placed Fulham.
Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim feels the club would not be in their current mess if they had more players like Bruno Fernandes.
The United captain led from the front in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal at Old Trafford.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta admitted the Portuguese was “too clever for us and the referee” for the way he manipulated the positioning of his first-half free-kick to give him a better chance to put United in front.
The ball was measured as being 11.2yards away from the wall after the match, rather than the 10 yards the rules state it should be.
Ex-Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given told BBC Match of the Day: “It was really good execution, but yes the wall was too far back.
“Maybe the referee just miscounted it, but it gives Bruno that advantage. With the ball being 11 yards away, Bruno can hit it with more pace.” (AP)
