There was a moment when Arsenal's public address announcer informed the Manchester United fans, without any notable sympathy in his voice, that the trains north had been cancelled, every motorway back to Manchester was closed and, even if they did get there, the ring-road was also shut. Arsenal's crowd enjoyed their moment of schadenfreude at the expense of the visiting supporters but their team, ultimately, could do nothing to make it an even longer night.
Arsène Wenger's side had the better of the chances and it was unfortunate for them that Olivier Giroud had at least four presentable opportunities without being able to hit the target once. Yet United played with the durability of a side that has grown sick of hostile headlines. They lacked refinement and a club with their ambitions will have to start taking better care of the ball, but they could also reflect on their own chances to register a morale-boosting win. Robin van Persie struck the crossbar with their best effort and, from a defensive point of view, they could reflect on a reasonable night's work.
Arsenal had not capitalised on the opportunity to return to the top of the league and at the final whistle there was booing for the team in second. Not the loudest boos that have been heard here, by any measure. Yet boos, nonetheless.
As these fixtures go, it was certainly not a classic. A streak of carelessness ran through the occasion and it was strange to see two sides who pride themselves on control and assurance losing the ball so frequently. The sheer pace of the game was always going to mean lapses and, for Arsenal, it is clear the 5-1 pummelling at Liverpool on Saturday has jarred their usual flow.
The most encouraging part was probably the strength of personality Mesut Özil demonstrated. He could not conjure up the killer ball and there were times, in keeping with the rest of the match, when his passes were misjudged. He was always willing, however, to take responsibility. Özil played like a man who wanted to disperse some of the criticism that has accompanied his recent performances. Their problem, however, was a lack of penetration in the final third and it was not entirely reassuring to hear Wenger talk of them being "nervous" on the back of their Anfield ordeal. "We are only human beings," Wenger said. Yet teams with butterflies in February do not tend to win many championships.
Giroud created problems in the air but Arsenal lacked any variation of speed and did not do enough to examine whether there was a lack of pace at the heart of the United defence, especially when Rafael da Silva's concussion meant Rio Ferdinand renewing his old partnership with Nemanja Vidic at half-time. All of Giroud's chances came from crosses whereas, through the middle, the home side played with a disappointing lack of creativity.
The same could be said of their opponents. There were only brief spells when United carried any considerable threat and, for the first time since swapping clubs, this was not a night when Van Persie tormented his former employers. Wojciech Szczesny produced a brilliant save to turn his 80th-minute header against the woodwork, after the kind of link-up play between Van Persie and Wayne Rooney that has been conspicuous by its absence in recent weeks.
Yet David Moyes was more disappointed afterwards about his striker's failure to score within the opening 90 seconds when Szczesny passed the ball to Mikel Arteta, who probably did not want it, and Van Persie stole it off him before advancing into the penalty area. Arsenal were lucky because Van Persie slightly lost his footing just as he was shaping to shoot and could only fire his shot straight at Szczesny.
It was mediocre, for the most part. Rooney, struggling to exert any real influence, spent so much time nagging the referee, Mark Clattenburg, he was called over more than once and ordered to quit the backchat. Juan Mata was playing on the left and has now operated in three different positions since his transfer from Chelsea. His input here did not alter the sense that he does his best work centrally – or, to put it another way, in Rooney's position.
With Özil growing in influence and Jack Wilshere, Santi Cazorla and Tomas Rosicky beavering away behind Giroud, Arsenal had their first real period of sustained pressure midway through the second half.
Giroud missed with a header, to go with the two he could not direct on goal from first-half corners, and the same player could not turn in Bacary Sagna's cross for his most inviting chance. Another header, this time from Laurent Koscielny, was dropping past David de Gea until Antonio Valencia cleared the danger from under the crossbar.
Slowly but surely, United reasserted themselves. They are now nine wins and 23 points worse off than at the corresponding stage last season but Moyes seemed happy enough afterwards and was still talking up their chances of finishing in the top four. Not many teams have subdued Arsenal this effectively on their own ground but, 11 points behind Liverpool, it was difficult not to suspect it was wishful thinking.
