A STROKE of luck and then a stroke of Fleck left it honours even at the Emirates.
Arsenal were heading for a much-needed victory after Gabriel Martinelli – tipped to becoming a future superstar by banned Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – made the most of a deflected cross to give the Gunners an undeserved lead.
John Fleck scored a late equaliser to spoil Arsenal’s dayCredit: AFP
Sheffield United celebrated wildly after Fleck’s levellerCredit: AFP
But John Fleck’s late equaliser earned the dogged Blades a point and Chris Wilder will be happier than Mikel Arteta.
There were no boos at the final whistle and as the game entered stoppage time, just one lone voice shouted: “Sort it out, Arteta.”
But it’s now just one win in five Premier League games for the new Emirates boss.
Without suspended captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, his team lacked cutting edge up front and their weakness at the other end cost them dearly.
Earlier in the afternoon, Aubameyang had caused a minor outbreak of hysteria on the Hornsey Road as he rolled up to attend the game in his silver supercar.
It was unclear whether it was the same vehicle he had crashed on the M25 in November, in what had seemed like a metaphor for Arsenal’s stalling season.
But just when Martinelli’s goal seemed to have won the game and put the Gunners on the right road to snatch a top-four place, Fleck smashed home the equaliser.
Arsenal’s miserable 1-0 defeat at Bramall Lane in October had been the start of a run of winless Premier League games that ultimately cost Unai Emery his job.
The question was whether the return fixture would mark the end of Arteta’s honeymoon period or demonstrate real progress.
Until Fleck’s late intervention, the answer looked like being the latter.
After all, United had lost only two games away from home all season and those had been either side of the New Year against Liverpool and Manchester City.
Wilder’s team were far from their best yet found a way back into the game, taking advantage of some unconvincing defending to earn a point.
Emery left fellow Spaniard with plenty of problems to solve, not least at the back, and there were some early indications of the Gunners’ ongoing fragility.
Shkodran Mustafi had used official club channels to express his frustration at being made the scapegoat for bad results even when he had not been on the pitch.
But the way he was outmuscled by Oli McBurnie hardly helped his cause.
Then Ainsley Maitland-Niles gave the ball away in his own half and Lys Mousset should have done better with a header from an Enda Stevens cross.
Gabriel Martinelli gave Arsenal the lead in the first-halfCredit: Getty
Martinelli was mobbed after scoring his second Premier League goalCredit: Reuters
And the Frenchman was lucky that an offside flag made his another off-target header irrelevant moments later.
Arsenal’s first show of competence almost led to a goal, though. Lacazette brilliantly found Nicolas Pepe down the right, the Frenchman’s cross was decent but Gabriel Martinelli’s finish, on the volley, wasn’t.
Martinelli sent another effort wide from the same provider and that was pretty much it for meaningful action in the first half until Martinelli’s goal.
It said a lot about the level of entertainment that the most memorable moments were also painful ones.
McBurnie took an accidental kick in the knackers from Mesut Ozil and, to even things out, Lucas Torreira was later poleaxed when John Fleck’s attempt to hit a volleyed pass caught him flush on the face from close range.
But just as you were almost yearning for Mike Dean to stamp his authority on his 500th game with some look-at-me refereeing, Arsenal got their break.
The move that led to Saka having space in the penalty area was good, but the deflection his cross took off George Baldock was crucial.
GAB’S GIFT
The ball looped into Martinelli’s path and he bundled it in from three yards out.
Thankfully, there was more incident and excitement in the opening minutes of the second period than there had been in the whole of the first.
Baldock had been unfortunate with the goal but was deservedly booked for the second of two clashes in quick succession with Saka.
Mousset was inches away from rounding off United’s best move of the afternoon and then Xhaka stopped McBurnie’s goal-bound header with his chest, with the away fans nearby screaming for a penalty.
Suddenly there was more volume in the stadium and more urgency to the game, which flowed from end to end.
Clear-cut chances remained at a premium, however. Arsenal wanted a penalty of their own when Pep went down after a challenge from Jack O’Connell but VAR Martin Atkinson saw no need to overturn Dean’s decision not to point to the spot.
There was plenty of huff and puff from United but not enough quality.
When they did fashion an opening, McBurnie sent a tame header from a corner straight at Bernd Leno, who did not have a tough save to make all afternoon.
But the German keeper soon found himself picking the ball out of the net nonetheless.
Substitute Billy Sharp made a nuisance of himself in the air against Maitland-Niles and the ball fell for Fleck.
The midfielder struck the ball hard into the ground and it bounced up and over Leno into the far corner.
Only desperate blocks in quick succession stopped McBurnie and Fleck scoring a winner.
A point each was fair, but Arsenal need to do better and fast.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
