Manchester United vs Arsenal is one of the biggest games of the Premier League. Over the years the fixture has produced many nail-biting matches. The 20-times Premier League Champions and the once Invincibles once again produced a thriller of a match when they locked horns on Wednesday night.

The game, that ended in a 2-2 draw, saw Manchester United produce better football than what they did in their previous game against Southampton.

Here are some negatives from the United vs Arsenal game that will leave Old Trafford faithful concerned.

Martial’s Injury A Big Concern

Martial has been one of United’s best players in the 2018-19 season. With 7 goals in 12 appearances, the 23-year-old Frenchman is United’s top goal scorer of the current season. Lately, he has been in fine form and has come up with important goals against teams like Chelsea and Bournemouth.

In United vs Arsenal tie, the ex-Monaco forward equalize for the Red Devil after the Gunners took an early lead.  The French starlet, however, did not have a happy ending to the game. He picked up an injury in the later stages of the game and was forced off the pitch.

Given United’s lack of goal scorers, Martial’s injury is a serious blow to the club, especially ahead of the congested December fixture. Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey and Rob Holding also sustained injuries in the United vs Arsenal tie and had to leave the game earlier than they would have wanted to.

https://twitter.com/utdxtra/status/1070706525839212545

Defensive Fragility Continues

The centre-back pairing has been Manchester United’s Achilles Heel over the past few years. Their defensive woes were once again crystal clear in their match against the Gunners.

Arsenal defender Mustafi ran into the box unmarked and scored Arsenal’s opening goal in United vs Arsenal game. Marcus Rojo, who was playing his first game of the season, conceded possession cheaply in his defensive third and scored an own goal while attempting to rectify his error.

With a different CB pairing to be seen in United vs Arsenal fixture, Mourinho has now fielded 3 different sets of centre-backs in his last 3 games, and clearly, none have worked as the Manchester United manager would have expected.

Lukaku’s Goal Drought

Jose Mourinho left big money signings Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku out of the starting XI in United vs Arsenal tie. The decision, though criticised, was quite justified given the duos poor run of form.

🚮 Is Lukaku just a waste of space for Man Utd?! pic.twitter.com/7M9Ls5wdhW

— GOAL News (@GoalNews) December 7, 2018

Lukaku, however, did come on as a 63rd-minute substitute in place of the injured Anthony Martial. Lukaku, who scored an away goal at Southampton last weekend, once again failed to register in the United vs Arsenal game.

The Belgian international has now played 11 games this season at Old Trafford without scoring a goal. His home form is becoming a matter of serious concern for United, and he has to find his scoring boots if United are to keep top 4 hopes for alive.

[contentad widget=”571238″]

Win-less Run Continues

Manchester United has already drawn 5 and lost 4 Premier League games this season. With a goal difference of -1, they sit in the 8th position, 18 points behind League Leaders City and 8 points from the Champions League spot.

Given a stalemate in United vs Arsenal fixture, the Reds of Manchester have now gone win-less in their last 4 Premier League games, 1 of which has been against the relegation-threatened Southampton and the other against 15th-placed Crystal Palace.

After United vs Arsenal, Red Devils’ next game against Fulham is a must-win game for them if they want to keep any hopes of Champions League football for next season alive.

Dalot’s Debut Half Convincing

The Portuguese youngster came to United from Primeira Liga club Porto in the 2018 summer transfer window.

The 19-year-old fullback made his Premier League debut in probably one of the toughest game of the season in Manchester United vs Arsenal.

Dalot, however, had a game to forget. He was constantly tormented by Kolasinac, who ran behind the young right fullback on numerous occasions and threatened to exploit United’s defensive fragilities.

Disappointing night as I felt we were the better team. Thanks again for the excellent support! 🙏🏼 #GGMU pic.twitter.com/YSsJ3iotRt

— Diogo Dalot (@DalotDiogo) December 5, 2018

Dalot’s first Premier League game shows that he is not yet ready to be a regular starter for the Manchester outfit. United must make the necessary changes to address the right fullback position given that both the first-choice fullbacks, Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia, are now 33 years old.

One must remember that Dalot is still very young and has time to improve. He showed signs quality with recovery tackles on Kolasinac in United vs Arsenal fixture, but fans will have to be patient before Premier League sees the best of Diogo Dalot.

Manchester United now face Fulham at home on Saturday and it will be a must win game for both Jose Mourinho and United as they have not won a game in their last four matches.