Jose Mourinho and ‘unlucky’ Manchester United have that losing feeling after Arsenal draw

Richard Jolly reports from Old Trafford as Manchester United are held to a 1-1 draw by Arsenal.

Jose Mourinho joked that he "finally lost" to Arsenal after Olivier Giroud's late equaliser denied Manchester United victory. Michael Regan / Getty Images

Manchester United 1 Arsenal 1

Manchester United: Mata (68')

Arsenal: Giroud (89')

Man of the Match: Antonio Valencia (Manchester United)

Late goals have a propensity to distort results and confuse participants. “Finally I lost against Arsenal,” said Jose Mourinho. He was joking, referencing his unbeaten league record against Arsene Wenger and a slip of the tongue a few minutes earlier.

“The way the fans react after this defeat was amazing,” he said. The loss of two points felt like a loss. In reality, however, Wenger’s long wait goes on. Lionel Messi has apparently scored 442 goals for Barcelona in the 3717 days since Arsenal last won a league game at Old Trafford.

Unpopular as he is at the Emirates Stadium, Emmanuel Adebayor remains the last player to secure Arsenal three points at Manchester United’s historic home. That was in 2006 and this was just a third point to augment Wenger’s meagre haul on enemy turf since then. No wonder, perhaps, that Mourinho said: “Arsenal is feeling [like it was] a victory.”

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And there is something quintessentially Arsenal about draws that nevertheless have the feel of wins. Such results are cited as proof of character. “They did that so many times there is something in the squad that is remarkable,” Wenger said. “Great attitude.”

Such endings can be interpreted then as proof of strength in depth.

When a goal is created by one substitute, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and scored by another, Olivier Giroud, it amounted to a triumph for the much-maligned squad players. “The two substitutes did well,” Wenger said.

Giroud, often damned as the man for the small occasion, came up trumps in a major match. He set an Arsenal record with a 10th Premier League goal as a replacement, but it was a mixed blessing. Few covet the status of a supersub. “He is a bit frustrated,” Wenger said.

His team extended their unbeaten run to a 17th game without securing the actual victory that would have seemed a statement of intent in the title race. This was the sort of result that may help secure a top-four berth, but hinder their chances of winning the division.

Mourinho had asserted on Friday that he was a champion 18 months ago and Wenger 18 years ago. That ignored more recent triumphs in 2002 and 2004 but Wenger has seemed Mourinho’s inferior for much of a 14-league game, 12-year rivalry. Yet he outmanoeuvred his nemesis in the closing stages by overloading in attack. Mourinho was left lamenting the absence of the injured Marouane Fellaini, who might have added physicality in the closing stages.

Instead Phil Jones ended up on his backside as Giroud headed home. It was Arsenal’s only shot — or, more accurately, header — on target all afternoon. They had just 12 touches in the United box. One proved decisive. For the first time since 1992, United have drawn three consecutive home league games.

“Burnley, Stoke and Arsenal: [we should have] nine points easily,” Mourinho said. “We all know internally that in this moment we are the most unlucky team in the Premier League.”

It was opinion delivered as fact. A combination of injuries, rejected penalty appeals and an inability to turn statistical dominance and weight of chances into goals, and thus wins, contributes to his grievances. At least this time, he turned his guns outward, refusing to blame Rashford, who lost Oxlade-Chamberlain when he set up the equaliser.

“It is normal,” Mourinho said. “He is a young kid.”

Rashford and Anthony Martial added vibrancy in attack, Juan Mata a quality of finishing to suggest he has to be an automatic choice, Jones a welcome resilience. “We had amazing control,” Mourinho said.

Wenger too plucked the positives. But the truth is draws often merely prevent a situation from getting worse, rather than actually improving it.

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