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Arsenal missed the chance to finish second in the WSL after failing to overcome 10-man Manchester United in a goalless draw at the Emirates.
After Anneke Borbe superbly kept away Fridolina Rolfo’s header, Arsenal dominated Man Utd without ever really threatening to score.
The match turned further in Arsenal’s favor when Jayde Rivière was sent off for two bookable offenses in the 65th minute, but the Gunners were unable to capitalize on their player advantage.
Arsenal had 25 shots as they dominated possession, but they had just six shots on target in a performance that summed up their season so far.
This is the first time under Renée Slegers, who signed a new deal with the Gunners on Fridaythat they failed to score at home in the WSL as they missed the opportunity to overtake second-placed Chelsea and close the gap on WSL leaders Man City to five points.
Man Utd, who remain fourth and a point behind the Gunners, were determined and held on for a point as the two sides played out a second consecutive goalless draw this season.
“The story of Arsenal’s season”
Izzy Christiansen on Sky Sports:
“Arsenal had the momentum and they dominated Man Utd all over the pitch, but they had nothing to show.
“This paints the story of Arsenal’s season so far.
“It was frustrating and they weren’t as ruthless as they could have been in the final third.
“On the other hand, it was a really resolute performance from Man Utd, going down to 10 players.
“They had a lot of defensive work to do and a lot of ground to cover. They executed a good game plan to come away from the Emirates with a good point.”
Slegers: Two points lost for Arsenal
Arsenal boss Renee Slegers on Sky Sports:
“A game of domination, apart from that first header they had in the first half. A game of domination without reward unfortunately.
“I think I was happy that I had more shots today than at the start of the season, around 25, which is good because it means we had more situations in different phases of the game – counter-attacks and longer attacks with more players in the box.
“Not enough shots on target so we will definitely see how we create clearer chances. Play players to their strengths and repeat that last ball and keep working on confidence with the team because we have great finishers and when we are really calm and believe in what we are doing we can score goals.
“We want to climb and look up. We lost two points today, that was very important for us today so it makes things a little more difficult but we keep going.”
‘Man Utd were ready for the fight’
Manchester United manager Marc Skinner on Sky Sports:
“Once we get down to 10 players, it becomes a challenge and a fight, and my players were ready for the fight.
“I can’t dispute the referee’s decision-making,” she said. [Jayde Riviere] put yourself in a position where the referee can make a decision. No matter how hard or soft I thought it was, we can’t put ourselves in that position.
“You have to be prepared that Arsenal want that counter-attack, you have to be aware of that. We had to be solid defensively, collective and then counter, which is natural in this situation. [with 10 players].
“We started the game really well, hit the bar then let Arsenal get into the rhythm, we were our own downfall, then in the second half we should have been more dominant, we made the changes and didn’t have the chance to use them.
“A point at the Emirates is OK for this one, especially with 10 players.”
