1. Advantage Arsenal in the automatic Champions League qualification race
Louis van Gaal inferred in his programme notes that his troops were going to finish fourth because he knew before the match that Arsenal were in pole position to finish third. Still, a win in this encounter would have added pressure on the Gunners in their last two league outings.
This stalemate now mean that the Gunners can seal the third-place with an expected home win when they welcome Sunderland in midweek.
2. Chris Smalling had an encouraging performance as the emergency skipper
Captain Wayne Rooney (dead leg) and his vice-skipper Michael Carrick (calf) missed out through injury so Van Gaal turned to Smalling as his skipper for the game.
The Dutch manager cited Smalling’s personality and leadership at the back as reasons for handing the former Fulham defender the armband.
Smalling embraced his extra duties well: he actually looked calmer than Phil Jones at the heart of United’s defence. The game also shaped up well for the 25-year old defender as there were no difficult incidents to test his leadership skills with only one player booked in the entire game.
3. Maybe Arsene Wenger will have a tinge of regret for starting with Olivier Giroud
Arsenal were 1-2 winners last time they visited Old Trafford and that was in huge part because of the Gunners boss’ decision to expose United’s high defensive line by sacrificing Giroud for the pacy Danny Welbeck.
Welbeck (knee) was not available for this clash but Wenger had had the option of turning to Theo Walcott as his centre forward if he needed to target United’s high defensive line again. The Gunners boss revealed in his pre-match interview that he opted instead for consistency by naming the side that has been playing all the last six games.
Given that Giroud had little effect as a centre forward while Walcott played a key role in getting Arsenal’s equaliser after receiving a floated ball over the top, the French boss can only wonder what could have been.
4. This was a cruel day for the Spanish goalkeepers
David De Gea, along with Swansea’s Ashley Williams, West Ham’s Aaron Cresswell plus the Chelsea pair of John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic, formed the exclusive club of players who featured in every minute for their teams this term.
Just a game and 15 minutes away from completing the season in that list, De Gea dropped out of that club because of a hip injury.
Then came Victor Valdes, who was eager to keep a clean sheet on his United debut. Valdes had barely had his gloves on when he conceded from a cruel deflection that wrong-footed him.
5. Still no home win between Wenger and Van Gaal
These managers first met when Wenger took his Arsenal to Barcelona in 1999. Van Gaal’s Barca took the lead through Luis Enrique in the first-half and looked in control of the match with Pep Guardiola’s quarterback distribution from midfield.
Late in the game Davor Šuker’s attempt was deflected into the path of Kanu and the Nigerian scored an equaliser in 81st minute. In this game, Blackett deflected Walcott’s shot into the net in 82nd minute.
This Old Trafford affair became the fifth time these managers met and neither has yet recorded a home win. This season, Van Gaal defeated Wenger at the Emirates Stadium while the French boss knocked the Dutchman out of the FA Cup at Old Trafford.
