In the aftermath of Manchester United’s victory over Arsenal, here are five things we learnt from the tie.
1) Giroud doesn’t like to be bullied
The Frenchman cut a lonely figure yesterday afternoon as he was dwarfed by Nemanja Vidic’s dominance. He had two shots, neither of which tested David De Gea, he was dispossessed on all three occasions and lost 6/8 of his headers.
2) Ramsey isn’t as effective on the right
With the return of Mathieu Flamini, Ramsey was pushed out to the right and he had little effect. Like Giroud, Ramsey failed on all three of his take ons and failed with his three crosses.
3) United are still in the hunt
The three points saw United shift just five points behind Arsenal and a win could see them go second. With only 11 games played, the Red Devils are certainly still in with a shout.
4) Jones can pass
The chunky defender-turned-midfielder completed 19/20 of his passes (95%) and bossed the middle of the pitch like a natural before dropping back into defence.
5) van Persie doesn’t do muted celebrations
While most players stick their hands up after scoring against a former club, van Persie made sure that every away fan knew how much he loved it.