Jesse Lingard Goal Rescues Draw for Manchester United vs. Arsenal

Manchester United came from behind twice to share the spoils with Arsenal on Wednesday as they played out a thrilling 2-2 draw at Old Trafford.  

The Gunners took the lead after 25 minutes through Shkodran Mustafi's header, courtesy of a rare mistake from David De Gea. The Spaniard failed to keep hold of the ball, which looped over him and crept over the line before being cleared by Ander Herrera.

Anthony Martial equalised from close range five minutes later when Ander Herrera—who replays showed to be offside—cut back from the byline after Bernd Leno parried a swerving Marcos Rojo free-kick to his left.

Arsenal took the lead again in the 68th minute, when the ball trickled in off substitute Alexandre Lacazette as he was challenged by Rojo and Eric Bailly, following a break from Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

United once again hit back quickly, this time thanks to Jesse Lingard 13 seconds after the restart. Sead Kolasinac failed to deal with a long ball up to Romelu Lukaku, which allowed Lingard to steal in and poke home.

Mkhitaryan had the ball in the net in the 90th minute with a sweetly struck volley from a tight angle, but it was correctly disallowed for offside.

The Red Devils' Premier League winless run now sits at four matches, while the Gunners are unbeaten in 20 games in all competitions.

Mourinho Can't Be Backed in January Window

United boss Jose Mourinho raised more than a few eyebrows with his team selection on Wednesday as he benched Paul Pogba and Lukaku:

It was far from the first time Mourinho has changed his starting lineup this season:

While injuries have played a part in that, it's also indicative that the coach does not know his strongest team and has failed to coax consistent performances from his players.

With Mourinho leaving his three biggest signings out of the starting XI, football writer Graham Ruthven questioned how the club could back him to improve the team in January:

If the manager's lack of trust in his own recruits was not obvious enough from his selection, ESPN's Mark Ogden shared an extract from his programme notes:

Though Mourinho brought on Lukaku and Pogba in the second half, that he seemingly felt they would not "give it their all" reflects poorly and harms his case to be given funds this winter.

While it's clear the Red Devils have areas in need of improvement—particularly at the back, given they've now shipped 22 goals in 15 matches—Mourinho hasn't shown that he can bring in the right players to address them.

Matteo Guendouzi Not Ready to Replace Granit Xhaka

With Granit Xhaka suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card in Sunday's 4-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the north London derby, Matteo Guendouzi was thrown into the starting lineup at Old Trafford.

Xhaka has been a regular fixture in the Gunners' team for quite some time:

For 19-year-old Guendouzi, it was his seventh start in the Premier League this season, as Emery has not been afraid to give him minutes on the pitch. The French teenager was a little out of his depth at Old Trafford, though.

Not for the first time this season, Guendouzi was wasteful at times in possession, with his eagerness to impress sometimes causing him to give away the ball. During United's intense start to the match, that led to a counter-attack from the hosts that, fortunately for Arsenal, did not prove costly.

Football writer Huw Davies was critical of the youngster:

It's important to remember it's still early days for Guendouzi, even if he has enjoyed a reasonable amount of time on the pitch this season, but he's a promising talent.

On Wednesday, though, the Gunners missed Xhaka's distribution and reliability in possession, which would have given them more control over what was a frenetic encounter at times.

What's Next

Manchester United host Fulham on Saturday, while Arsenal welcome Huddersfield Town to the Emirates Stadium the same day.

This article will be updated to provide more information soon.

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