Oh, what might have been? Certain moments - and some frankly poor game management - and this is one that slipped away.
Although... and there are some things that are easily viewed with hindsight... the selection of Elneny (as per last season's victory at OT) was always going to be viewed through the lens of the final score. If we'd have won, then it's brilliant from the manager. But as we lost... well, the guy's passing is known to be extremely limited, and slowed the team down in transition. Plus he's supposed to offer defensive solidity, yet we let in three goals.
Coupled with another disappointing performance from Partey - over-compensating for Elneny, or is that another excuse for him? - and with little help coming from Odegaard in that area, and the United pairing of Fred and McTominay frankly dominated midfield. If you're making Fred look good, that really doesn't bode well; and Partey gave the ball away far too frequently. It's looking more and more like Partey is one of those players who is unable to live up to his hype in the rarefied pace of the Premier League; or perhaps - dare I whisper it - he needs Xhaka back alongside him?
With Saka not quite fit following his early departure against Newcastle, it was to be expected that Martinelli would replace him, and that is what Arteta did. I don't think that anyone could argue with that one.
And so to the game, and as I'm sure you've seen one of the most bizarre goals you're ever likely to see meant that Arsenal had an early lead. For those of you who were in a cave last night, Fred trod on De Gea's foot at an Arsenal corner, and he tumbled to the ground in apparent agony. ESR, ever alive, drove Elneny's header into the net with a left foot volley from the edge of the penalty area. Referee Atkinson almost blew his whistle, but didn't - he'd understandably not seen the prone goalkeeper - and there was therefore simply no reason to disallow it. No foul, and no offside. VAR had to confirm it, which was fair enough, but it appeared to me that Atkinson awarded the goal almost apologetically.
As for those who have suggested that Arsenal should have let United equalise direct from the kick-off... well, I'm sorry but no. If they'd have broken the Laws - or even the spirit - of the game, then fair enough. But they'd done nothing wrong, and any comparisons to the Kanu/Overmars FA Cup incident vs Sheffield United all those years ago are spurious.
And by that time Arsenal were well on top. Three corners in the first 90 seconds(!) - one of those clumsily cleared from almost off the line by Rashford - and with ESR popping up everywhere and causing consternation all along the United back line. It was all looking good. But for some reason Arsenal stopped playing... and what that did was put confidence back into United. There was too much faffing about, and fortunately for the most part the ball kept falling to Harry Maguire, but an equaliser felt inevitable. Fred's clever pass found Fernandes, and that was that; and, annoyingly, very close to half time.
But... and I know that after the incident involving Odegaard against Newcastle that could have led to a penalty for the opposition this might sound like sour grapes, but, right on half time, if that's not a foul by Maguire on Tomiyasu from the free kick awarded for McTominay's dangerous slide on Partey then I don't know what is! Although based on current form there's no guarantee that Auba would have scored it.
The second half was much more even. End to end stuff, in fact, and must have been fun for the neutral even though I could barely look! But of course the Ghost of Ronaldos Past came back to haunt us. He's scored so many goals against us - I remember that Champions League 30-yarder that almost took Almunia's head off with particular sadness - and here he was again, finishing off a delightful move down the Arsenal left.
And as soon as that happened, Arsenal picked up the pace again (why they'd let it drop I cannot tell) and were immediately back on terms as Odegaard swept home Martinelli's cross with his right (wrong) foot. And at that point (55 minutes) the game could have gone either way.
But then Odegaard turned from hero to villain, as his foolish challenge on Fred meant a penalty. To be taken by Mr Nemesis himself. A deep breath, and he slammed his foot into the ball as hard as he possibly could. I suppose that if Ramsdale had stood up instead of diving he may have saved it. Alternatively, it may have taken his head off. That was the 801st goal of the career of a player that Arsene Wenger claims he 'nearly bought'...
And here I can illustrate the difference between the two teams - on this night, at least. Aubameyang had two chances in quick succession. For the first, he took Martinelli's fine pass well, and then shot when he perhaps could have returned it. And then moments later he contrived to shoot almost directly at De Gea from just 6 yards out (he may well have been offside, but that's not the point; the point is that when it came to individual quality up front at vital moments, United had it and Arsenal did not).
So that's another matter for concern for Arteta; dare he leave club captain Auba out now and try Martinelli up top? Certainly, there are concerns regarding the senior players, with neither Auba nor Partey pulling their weight, and Arsenal's youngsters dragging them onwards.
I’m not quite sure how or why Arsenal appeared to sit back on their 1-0 lead and thereby let United off the hook when they were there for the taking. Perhaps it was psychological; but… Where was the drive? Who should have been pushing them on? The manager? Auba? Partey? There’s personality in the side, for sure; but there’s a lack of on-field leadership here.
There need to be changes for Everton. Lokonga back in for sure, I guess. And Tierney for Tavares, perhaps? The time feels right. Over to you, Mikel.
Before I go, I'd like to play tribute to Ray Kennedy, former Arsenal double-winner and legend - and perhaps an even bigger legend at Liverpool; having been transformed by Bob Paisley from an effective but perhaps slightly one-dimensional centre forward into a skilful attacking midfielder. Ray scored two crucial goals for Arsenal; a vital one to drag his team back into the Fairs Cup Final against Anderlecht in 1970, and then the winner at WHL the season after on the night that Arsenal secured the league title.
Horrifically, Ray was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease many years ago, and finally succumbed to it at just 70 years of age. On team-mate George Graham's birthday, poignantly. Very sad indeed. RIP.
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