A damp squib as big guns get bogged down again

Arsenal 0 Manchester United 0

This, though, was no intimidating statement of intent. Compared to level of performance in Chelsea’s high-quality showdown with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium recently, this was a nerve-ridden display by two teams desperate to keep their season’s ambitions alive. In that respect, Arsenal could draw satisfaction, while Manchester United effectively called time on their efforts to finish in the top four and ensured David Moyes’s increasingly painful soul-searching goes on.

Moyes looked downbeat afterwards but felt the point was a good return “It was a tight game. Both teams had one or two opportunities. We looked compact, defended well when we had to. I think we had to play better at times going forward but I thought defensively we were solid.