Dour draw

OK, so we were solid at the back. We had good shape. And we had a few chances up front to steal the game.

But seriously, RVP and Rooney are just not getting the service they should be getting. That pass from Rooney to RVP for a header which produced a sterling save from Szczesny was fantastic. But nothing else really worked.

Vidic, Smalling and Ferdinand were easily the best players for United yesterday. Evra was not his usual attacking force, and poor Rafael played his heart out as usual, but that horrible fall really took the wind out of him.

The ref didn't do too badly, though I was left scratching my head as to why there were only two minutes of time added on in the first half when Rafael was down for at least three and there was an injury to an Arsenal player before that (can't remember who, exactly).

Mata still needs time to really integrate into the team, although his sheer talent is carrying him by right now.

But there are still lots of problems. That Daily Mail report saying things are frosty between RVP and Rooney doesn't really play out for me. Yes, they have not been passing the ball to each other as much as they used to, but I don't think that's the reason. The whole team is just not playing properly right now and Mata is the one who has been tasked with making the passes, it seems.

The Dubai break should (hopefully) do the team some good. Let's hope they come back playing better.