Manchester United – Arsenal: The Malaise Must Go On (1-1)

Once the standard bearer of the Premier League, this was a tale of two fallen giants. The fervor of the fixture forever fires up the fanbases, but there is little on the line for these two teams on the home front. Following this final score, the malaise must go on for a few more months.

Tactical analysis and match report by Emmanuel Adeyemi-Abere.

Arsenal sat in the shadow of Manchester City for two years on the trot and were poised to pounce on the collapse of the Citizens. Yet, Liverpool leaped into pole position and the relentless Reds have run away with the top spot. FA Cup and Carabao Cup exits then stained the start of the new year for the Gunners. They trail the Premier League leaders by a double digit margin after a draw at Nottingham Forest. Now, the trophy talk relies on European exploits in a year likely to leave fans yearning more.

It could always be worse. Manchester United have crashed and burned beyond belief. Ruben Amorim arrived with the will to impose a revolution in his standard 3-4-3 system and has hardly improved the mood at the . . .