Old Trafford draw proof that Arsenal no longer fear Manchester United

Great football between great teams can be enthralling. Football between one great team and one poor team can be enjoyable too, although usually provokes interest rather than intrigue. Football between two poor teams is often hugely entertaining, although not always aesthetically. But for the perfect football recipe, you need good players doing things badly, writes Daniel Storey.

Neither Arsenal nor Manchester United ever had Wednesday’s match between two hands. Instead it ebbed and flowed like the gripping prose of a slightly trashy crime novel, never quite earning the reader’s respect but still leaving them mighty keen to discover the identity of the killer. It was rollicking fun. That is intended as compliment and insult.