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Manchester United started the game without star names Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku, as Mourinho started five defenders to begin the game with, in what seemed to be a bizarre tactical choice. The manager saw his team put in one of the worst performances of his tenure (particularly the two dropped stars who've been horrible these past few weeks).
Jose's choices were vindicated by his players' performances as the Gunners were unable to break their Old Trafford hoodoo but came away with their unbeaten streak still intact after a hotly contested night of football.
It was a wonderful evening at the Old Trafford as both teams came away with the feeling they could've gotten more from the game.
The contest started brightly, with United flying out in the first five minutes, looking to put the leaky Arsenal backline under pressure, but failed to make that pressure count as Arsenal grew into the game after the first 10.
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The visitors drew first blood through Shkodran Mustafi at the 26th minute, who was marked horribly by Chris Smalling (shocker, right?), and the German's tame effort was made a meal of by De Gea as the ball crossed the line before being cleared by Ander Herrera.
United looked to get back into the game immediately and did so at the 30th minute through Birthday boy Anthony Martial, who tucked in his seventh goal of the season after some clever play by Herrera.
The replays showed that the Spaniard may have been slightly offside, showing the Premier League fans more and more why VAR is a crucial tool in modern football.
Rob Holding was carried off at the 35th minute for Stephan Lichsteiner after suffering a knee injury, which followed Aaron Ramsey hurting his ankle while trying to steal the ball from Eric Bailly. He was taken off at halftime for Mkhitaryan. Martial got injured around the hour mark and was taken off for Romelu Lukaku, who looked his ineffective self for half an hour, hindering several attacks from building.
Arsenal brought on their #9, Alexandre Lacazette, who scored 3 minutes after coming on in place of Alex Iwobi, but his strike was canceled out immediately by Jesse Lingard, who poked the ball past a helpless Bernd Leno.
David De Gea made a couple of amazing saves to deny Aubameyang, becoming the first keeper to deny the Gabonese's on target attempt since Fabianski in early September. Here are three reasons why United drew.
#1 Chris Smalling
United's defence is becoming an increasingly alarming issue for the club's supporters, as opposition players are being allowed to breach the box far too easily, as was the case tonight against the Gunners.
A man who has been almost constantly involved throughout this is Chris Smalling, who allowed multiple Arsenal players to take a shot or make a pass, and one of them were capitalised on by the visitors for their first goal.
#2 Mourinho's Savvy
This man gets a lot of flak. Some United players aren't completely behind what their manager demands from them (we all know who we're talking about) and the manager has been complaining for quite a while now about 1) The players he wants/wanted to sign and the ones he got, and 2) The lack of character and mentality in the current crop.
He is right if you look at it closely. United's biggest stars have been in tatters this season; Alexis Sanchez, Romelu Lukaku and Paul Pogba all putting in poor shift after another. The manager can't be expected to be responsible for the players' shortcomings on the pitch, as it was Pogba who lost the ball 14 times against Southampton, not Mourinho.
Jose started a side with seven changes from his last fixture, as Eric Bailly, Matteo Darmian, Marcos Rojo all started after a prolonged absence. Other than Rojo, almost all fresh faces put in brilliant shifts tonight, much to the manager's and fans' delight.
Darmian covered ground all night not allowing Arsenal so much freedom on the right, while youngster Diogo Dalot also looked impressive in his first league start for United. This is a genuinely good Arsenal side, one with resilience and grit more now than ever, and United must feel fortunate to take a point from them, considering their own form and fortunes.
Mourinho's game plan was crucial for tonight's result, and the manager needs to be backed by the fans as well as the board if the club is to find any success soon.
#3 Bailly and De Gea
I know, I know. De Gea was the one who flapped at Mustafi's shot and the first goal was given. But that was the Spaniard's only bad moment in the entire game, and he later went on to deny Aubameyang what would have been two certain goals against any other keeper in the league, whilst claiming most ariel duels and letting his defence know about approaching danger.
Speaking of his defence, one man who stepped up in that area for United was Eric Bailly, who got in a foot race with Aubameyang on several occasions and held his own, keeping the Gabonese striker at bay for almost the entire game.
Bailly made his first start since being sent off early in United's win against Newcastle two months ago and made it count as he barely put a foot wrong, putting in a strong shift against an Arsenal attack that has been on fire of late. His strong, error-free performance warrants more minutes in upcoming fixtures, especially since Lindelof is injured for a few more weeks.
