Sheffield United traveled to North London to take on a rejuvenated Arsenal side on Saturday at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal were in desperate need for a win while the Blades were also looking to salvage something from the match to keep fighting in the race for the top six.
The Gunners dominated possession for a major part of the first half, and created few great chances. Chris Wilder’s men also had some chances in the early stages of the first half, but were not able to convert any of them.
However, the deadlock was broken at the end of the first half, when Lacazette played a great ball to Bukayo Saka, who delivered a cross which was deflected and fell into the path of Gabriel Martinelli, who steered the ball home to give Mikel Arteta’s side the lead at half time.
Sheffield United started creating chances in the second half and were dominant in their attacks. And they were rewarded for their efforts in the 83rd minute when Callum Robinson’s cross into the Arsenal box was cleared, only to reach John Fleck, who smashed a volley into the ground which bounced past Leno to equalize for the Blades.
Arsenal tried desperately to find the winning goal in the closing stages of the match, but were not able to finish their chances as the match ended in a 1-1 draw and points were shared at the Emirates.
Sheffield will be highly joyful with the result as they now sit in 7th place, just a point behind Wolves in 6th. Arsenal on the other hand, have a mountain to climb if they are to finish in the top six this season, as they currently sit 10th, 5 points off Wolves in 6th and 10 points behind 4th placed Chelsea, who they face on Tuesday in the Premier League.
Player Ratings:
Arsenal:
Bernd Leno- 6
Ainsley Maitland-Niles- 6
Shkodran Mustafi- 7
David Luiz- 7
Bukayo Saka- 7
Granit Xhaka- 6
Lucas Torreira- 6
Nicolas Pepe- 6
Mesut Ozil- 7
Alexandre Lacazette- 6
Gabriel Martinelli- 7
Subs:
Edward Nketiah- 6
Sheffield United:
Dean Henderson- 6
Jack O’Connell- 6
John Egan- 7
Chris Basham- 7
Enda Stevens- 7
John Fleck- 8
Oliver Norwood- 6
John Lundstram- 6
George Baldock- 7
Lys Mousset- 7
Oliver McBurnie- 7
Subs:
Billy Sharp- 5
Callum Robinson- 6
Muhamed Besic- 6
