Analysis

#MUNARS: Three things we noticed

Lacazette

We extended our unbeaten streak to 20 games with a 2-2 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Wednesday night - but what did we learn from our Premier League outing? 

UP FOR THE FIGHT

Once again this Arsenal side showed they will not be bullied. There's a great togetherness in the squad and once again the team pulled together when the going got tough. The game struggled to maintain any rhythm throughout, but the closing stages of the first half were particularly fraught.  The referee brandished his yellow card five times in the space of five minutes and seven seconds, for five separate incidents - three United players were booked, two Arsenal. Torreira was perhaps fortunate not to join them too.

But we kept our discipline well in the face of a physical opposition, and continued to make most of the running, looking to play our usual game and enjoying the majority of possession at Old Trafford.

United threw on Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku and Marouane Fellaini in the second half, looking for the winner, but the Arsenal back line - disrupted by the first half injury to Rob Holding – stood firm.

There was no repeat of last season's late heartbreak when Fellaini scored an injury-time winner, and our hard-work at least resulted in a point this time.

Lucas Torreira

EMERY'S BOLD MOVES

We are used to the head coach making decisive, early substitutions by now, and although two of his changes were enforced here, his decision to make his final sub with nearly half an hour remaining paid dividends.

Stephan Lichtsteiner came on to play as right-sided centre half when Rob Holding was stretchered off on 36 minutes, and Aaron Ramsey was also taken off injured, as Emery once again had to reshuffle.

But despite the players having the exertions of Sunday's derby still in their legs, Emery chose to introduce Alexandre Lacazette on 65 minutes, and just three minutes later he gave us the lead for a second time.

His goal was the ninth scored by a sub in the Premier League this season, more than any other team has mustered off the bench.

It's not just the starting XI who have been instrumental in helping Arsenal to a 20-game unbeaten run.

Lacazette

HARD TO BEAT

There's no doubt the team left Old Trafford with a sense of regret, having twice failed to hold on to leads, but four points from two tough games in the space of 76 hours is a fine return, and the momentum this team has built up over the past three months continues.

It's now 20 games unbeaten in all competitions, our longest run since 2007, when the side racked up a club record 28 matches without defeat.

This was the first time this season we have failed to win after taking the lead, and the unwanted stat of never leading at half-time in the Premier League this season continues, but at a venue where we haven’t won in the league for 12 years, avoiding defeat was probably the first priority.

There were certainly some tired legs in the closing stages, but the three-man defence became a back five when we were under pressure late on, dealing well with United's aerial threat.

Hard work and togetherness helped the Gunners come through another intensive Premier League test.  

Unai Emery
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