Arteta’s ruthless cyborgs malfunction as improvised excellence overcomes the machine

Arsenal let game slip against Manchester United and need to quickly regain the control that has made them league leaders

Arsenal's Martin Odegaard (left centre) and team-mates appear dejected after Manchester United score their second goal. Photo: Mike Egerton/PA Wire. 

And then the gap was down to four points. It is still four points, but the thought that Arsenal will struggle to suppress is that it could have been more, that it should have been more.

Manchester City have won only one of their past five in the league, but Arsenal have not opened up clear water. Against Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, they failed to take advantage of City slip‑ups, drawing both those games 0-0, and that left them vulnerable to a game such as this. From an Arsenal point of view, the title race is disturbingly alive.