Arsenal missed out on a chance to finish second in the WSL after failing to dismantle a 10-man Manchester United side to a goalless draw at the Emirates.
Arsenal dominated Man Utd without threatening to score after Anneke Borbe brilliantly blocked Fridolina Rolfo’s early header.
The game swung further in Arsenal’s favor in the 65th minute when Jayde Riviere was sent off for two bookable offenses, but the Gunners were unable to capitalize on their man advantage.
Arsenal had 25 shots on target as they dominated possession, but had just six efforts on goal in a game that has summed up their season so far.
It was the first time they failed to score at home in the WSL under Rene Sledgers, who renewed his contract with the Gunners last Friday, as they missed the opportunity to move past Chelsea into second place and reduce the gap on WSL leaders Manchester City to five points.
United, who remain in fourth place, one point behind the Gunners, were resolute and remained level as the two teams were held to a second successive goalless draw this season.
‘Arsenal’s season story’
Sky Sports’ Izzy Christiansen:
“Arsenal had the momentum and dominated Manchester United all over the field, but they had nothing to show.
“This paints the story of Arsenal’s season so far.
“It was disappointing because they weren’t as ruthless in the final third.
“For Manchester United, on the other hand, it was a really decisive game where they were 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 leave the Emirates with a good point.”
Sledgers: 2 points lost to Arsenal
Arsenal manager Rene Sledges told Sky Sports:
“Apart from the first header in the first half, it is a game of dominance. Unfortunately, it is a game of dominance with no rewards.
“I think we were pleased that we had more shots today than we had at the start of the season, about 25, which is good because it means we had more situations at different stages of play (counter-attacks and longer attacks with more players in the box).
“There are not enough shots on target so we will definitely look at how we can create more clear-cut chances. Play the players to their strengths and try to repeat the last ball and keep believing with the squad because we have good finishers and when we are really calm and believe in what we are doing we can score goals.
“We want to go up and look upward. Today we lost two points. Today was very important for us, so it’s a little more difficult, but we keep going.”
‘Manchester United were ready to fight’
Manchester United manager Mark Skinner told Sky Sports:
“When we got down to 10 players it was a challenge and a fight and our players were ready to fight.
“You can’t argue with the referee’s decision. She (Jade Rivière) put herself in a position where the referee could make the decision. I think no matter how hard or soft it is, we can’t be put in that position.”
“You have to keep in mind that Arsenal want to counter-attack. We had to be defensively solid and collective and have a natural counter-attack in that situation (10 players).
“We started the game really well, hit the bar and let Arsenal get into a rhythm, then we broke ourselves and in the second half we should have been more dominant, we made changes but didn’t get the chance to use them.
“In this game, a one-point gap over Emirates is fine, especially with 10 players.”
