Arteta's Arsenal: Big Strides but Trophy Drought Continues After Old Trafford Draw
Mikel Arteta's 200th Premier League game as Arsenal manager ended with more frustration than celebration as the Gunners' title hopes faded further with a 1-1 draw at Manchester United. This result leaves Arsenal trailing league leaders Liverpool by a staggering 15 points, effectively ending their championship ambitions.
At Old Trafford, Arsenal displayed patterns of play that have become emblematic of their season - dominating possession (68.2%) but lacking cutting edge when it mattered most. Declan Rice's crisp 74th-minute strike salvaged a point after Bruno Fernandes had put United ahead with a trademark free-kick in first-half stoppage time.
"The efficiency we had in the last 20 metres wasn't good enough. We know that," Arteta admitted after the match. "To come to Old Trafford and do what we did is superb, but you have to capitalise and we didn't. We then had to try to overturn the result after going behind and you know how difficult that is here."
The draw highlighted Arsenal's glaring failure to sign a recognized striker, a decision that has haunted them as injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz compounded the absence of key figure Bukayo Saka. The situation became painfully evident when, needing a winner, Arteta turned to departing full-back Kieran Tierney rather than forward Raheem Sterling, whose loan signing from Chelsea has proven ineffective.
The sight of midfielder Mikel Merino struggling as an emergency striker emphasized how Arsenal had "left that key position to the fates and lost." Sterling's inability to make an impact when needed most revealed what many suspected - the signing was "a bad fit when Arsenal desperately needed a goalscorer."
Despite these criticisms, Arteta's overall record bears examination. In his first 200 Premier League matches, he has accumulated 119 wins - the fifth-highest tally of any manager reaching this milestone. Since his appointment in 2019, only Pep Guardiola has more victories and points in the Premier League, and Arteta has secured eight more wins than Arsene Wenger achieved in his first 200 top-flight matches.
Arsenal also remains alive in the Champions League, with a quarter-final place virtually assured following their impressive 7-1 victory at PSV in the last-16 first leg.
However, the pressure continues to mount on Arteta to deliver silverware. Apart from the 2020 FA Cup triumph, trophies have remained elusive during his five-year tenure - the ultimate measure of success at a club of Arsenal's stature.
When asked if the title race was over, Arteta showed signs of irritation, having earlier walked out when Sky Sports posed the same question. "I don't want to say that, but today the frustration is that we haven't won a game," he responded. "We know the urgency and we are obligated to win every single match if you want to have any chance of doing that. I don't think it's the right moment to talk about that anyway."
The draw could have been worse for Arsenal if not for goalkeeper David Raya's heroics. Though culpable for Fernandes' opener by positioning himself poorly, Raya made two superb second-half saves from Noussair Mazraoui and Joshua Zirkzee. In the dying seconds, he performed a remarkable double save, first blocking Fernandes' shot before somehow clawing the ball away from right on the line as a late United winner seemed inevitable.
Midfielder Rice also contributed defensively with a magnificent saving tackle to deny United substitute Rasmus Hojlund who was clean through on goal.
As Arteta moves beyond his managerial milestone, the urgency grows for him to mark his progress in the manner that matters most at a club with Arsenal's heritage and ambition - by actually winning major trophies. This season's title race represents another missed opportunity after running Manchester City close in the previous two campaigns, only to falter when it mattered most.
With Andrea Berta expected to succeed Edu as the club's new sporting director, Arsenal's recruitment strategy, particularly regarding attacking options, will likely face significant scrutiny as they prepare for next season's challenges.
