Arsenal’s visit to Old Trafford ended with honours even as Manchester United turned in an impressive display and were unlucky not to win.
Ruben Amorim’s men created plenty of chances but a virtuoso showing from Gunners goalkeeper David Raya kept the score at 1-1.
Just as gratifying as their attacking flair was the solid defensive performance that kept the visitors at arm’s length for long spells and Casemiro, in the middle of the park, was a key part.
The Brazilian midfielder rolled back the years, making a monstrous nine tackles – more than anyone else on the pitch, and two more than all of United’s centre-backs combined.
He also managed two clearances and blocked two shots, although was not on hand to keep Declan Rice’s second-half equaliser away from the goal.
He was his old formidable self when going toe-to-toe with the opposition, winning 12 of the 16 duals he contested.
No other United player came close to these numbers, either on the ground – where he won 9 of a contested 11 – or in the air where he came out on top three out of five times.
The 33-year-old has become notoriously inconsistent on the ball and is often the man to give it away in a team which can find keeping possession a real challenge.
But today he was more measured with his passing, finding his man with 15 of the 18 passes he attempted for an overall accuracy of 83%.
He had a 50% success rate with his long balls, one of which reached its target, and of the players who started and completed the full 90 minutes none gave it away fewer times than Casemiro’s three.
Casemiro has long been seen as a more of a hindrance than a help in the United engine room, and is unlikely to stay at Old Trafford come the summer, but today he built on a good Europa League performance to help Amorim in his time of need.
With Toby Collyer back from injury Amorim has more midfield options available, but the Brazilian demonstrated today that he is still a viable option if needed.
Stats taken from sofascore.
Featured image Michael Regan via Getty Images
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Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
