Rating: Arsenal V United

Edwin van der Sar
Little he could do with either Arsenal goal, van der Sar was otherwise called into action on crosses, as Arsenal targeted Nicklas Bendtner up front.

Gary Neville
Young Nasri was brilliant on the wing and would have caused trouble for any defender on this day. Gary was desperately unlucky to deflect Arsenal’s first past Edwin.

Rio Ferdinand
But for some timely interventions and brave work in the air from Rio, Arsenal may have had even more joy. He may have just turned 30 but you wouldn’t know it.

Nemanja Vidic
Nemanja was given a thorough examination by bustling centre-forward Nicklas Bendtner. Vida kept his composure though and, one-on-one, tackled superbly.

Patrice Evra
Patrice’s forays forward were rare in the first hour, but he was livelier as the Reds pushed to get back into the match.

Cristiano Ronaldo
Fouled with alarming regularity in the first half, Ronny struggled to gain a foothold on the game. He consistently beat his first man, but was ultimately left frustrated.

Anderson
The Brazilian made a bright start, picking his passes well in midfield. Try as he might, however, he couldn’t provide the killer final ball.

Michael Carrick
Playing as a deep-lying midfielder, Carrick offered support to United’s back four, tackling well and spreading the ball across the pitch. Unlucky to be booked for his challenge on Almunia.

Ji-sung Park
Park worked hard all afternoon and almost snuck a low shot past Almunia in the first half. He made clever runs from deep, tackled well, and was generally one of the Reds’ best.

Wayne Rooney
A frustrating outing for Wayne, who’d previously had much joy at the Emirates. Little came off for the striker, although his luck did start to change in the second half.

Dimitar Berbatov
The Bulgarian thrives with the ball at his feet but at the Emirates the service simply wasn’t there. Instead, the Reds’ usual short passing game gave way to long balls.

SUBSTITUTES

Rafael (on for Neville, 63)
His first United goal was a cracker and it’s unfortunate this was an occasion most United fans will want to forget. On as a defender, he also did well in that department, clattering into Denilson near the halfway line.

Ryan Giggs (on for Anderson, 72)
Brought on to add some composure to United’s midfield, his experience seemed to help edge the Reds back into the match.

Carlos Tevez (on for Rooney, 77)
A fleeting appearance, Tevez had little chance to make much impact.