Right, that’s definitely it for the blog. Ta-ra!

Here’s Michael Carrick

“It’s not been an easy decision to make, but I feel it’s the right one. I was meant to take some time off when I finished playing. I promised my family we’d have some time together and it hasn’t happened! I’ll be back around the place, it’s not like I’m disappearing. It’s just the right time, and what a way to finish.

“Yeah, it’s 100 per cent my decision. We’ve worked so hard to try to bring some success here in recent years, and it’s difficult when you don’t quite get to those heights. But I’ll have great memories of working with great people. I told the players just now – it’s a little bit emotional in the changing room. I held it together, just about!

“It’s not been easy to keep quiet about it for the last few days but I had a job to do. I’m not the important one here, and I was desperate to win the game for the players and the fans. It was a big night for us.

“Cristiano has been unbelievable this week. He didn’t start against Chelsea but it wasn’t a big deal for us – he’s just incredible, the way he goes about his business. There was no drama. It’s a helluva group of players in there and I really believe a successful team will emerge.

“I can’t honestly say I’ve given no thought to whether I’ll coach again. I’ve been so focussed on this game that I haven’t even thought about what I’m doing tomorrow! Whatever happens next, happens next. No agenda, nothing going on, just take a deep breath.”

David Hytner’s match report has landed, so I’ll leave you with that. Thanks for your company and emails - goodnight!

This also happened tonight. The race for fourth is getting lively.

That was an imperfect but richly enjoyable game. Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as United - the kings of the comeback under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - recovered from Emile Smith Rowe’s bizarre early goal to secure a vital win. Bruno Fernandes was terrific, Fred even better, and Cristiano Ronaldo did nothing apart from score two goals - the first of which was his 800th (E-I-G-H-T-E-F-F-I-N-G-H-U-N-D-R-E-D-T-H) for club and country.

Arsenal shouldn’t be too perturbed - they played well for the most part and responded admirably to going 2-1 down. Ultimately they lost an end-to-end game that could have gone either way.

90+5 min A throw-in to United on the halfway line. Arsenal are almost out of time.

90+3 min “I know it’s more likely to be evolution rather than revolution under Rangnick,” says Andy Flintoff, “but your mention of Fred having a good game makes me wonder if there are more than one or two players in red tonight who are playing for their places under the new boss.”

I’d say they all are. A few of them are in trouble - Pogba, Wan-Bissaka, maybe Shaw, possibly Ronaldo and Maguire. I think Fred will be an important player for Rangnick, especially if they don’t sign Amadou Haidara in January.

90+2 min Saka’s cross from the left is headed away well by Maguire, who makes another good interception moments later.

90 min Five minutes of added time.

89 min Donny van de Beek replaces Bruno Fernandes, who has been more like his old self tonight.

89 min “Hi Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “But apart from 800 goals, seven league titles, five Champions Leagues, five Ballons d’Or, and a European Championship, what has Ronaldo actually done?”

88 min A weary Cristiano Ronaldo is replaced by Anthony Martial.

88 min: Great block from Tomiyasu! United break three on two from the Arsenal corner. Fred lobs a good pass to Sancho, who runs 60 yards and then tries to pick out Fernandes in the area. It’s not a great pass and, though Fernandes gets to the ball first, his shot is blocked by Tomiyasu.

87 min Tavares’s cross bounces all the way across to Saka on the far side of the area. He has a touch and hits a shot that is superbly blocked by the sliding Fred. After a farcical start, Fred has been outstanding.

85 min Lingard, who is playing as a false nine with Ronaldo on the left, hits a cross shot from a tight angle that is easily saved by Ramsdale.

83 min A tame cross from Saka goes straight to de Gea.

83 min Ronaldo robs the last man Gabriel but is penalised, rightly, for pulling his shirt. United are playing exclusively on the counter now.

79 min Changes galore. Man Utd bring on Jesse Lingard for Marcus Rashford, who had a largely poor game but did make the second goal. Arsenal bring on Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette for Martin Odegaard and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

78 min: Great chance for Aubameyang! Tomiyasu’s cross is met by Martinelli, who mistimes a volley towards goal from the edge of the area. It bounces perfectly for Aubameyang, whose shot is saved at point-blank range by de Gea. Aubameyang should have scored. He was probably just offside, though it was really tight so the goal might have stood.

75 min Odegaard leads an Arsenal break and finds Aubameyang, whose curling shot from the edge of the area is comfortably saved to his left by de Gea. I think there was a return ball on to Odegaard, though I don’t think Aubameyang saw it. And even if he did see it, he didn’t see it.

74 min Free-kick to Arsenal 25 yards from goal, a fair way to the right of centre. Odegaard’s inswinging cross is headed behind by Lindelof.

73 min Saka is playing on the right, with Martinelli moving to the left.

73 min Bruno Fernandes was United’s penalty taker, though he JaapStammed one in the last minute of the defeat at home to Villa so it was no surprise to see Ronaldo take it tonight.

72 min The United fans celebrate with a lusty rendition of “Viva Ronaldo”. It’s been a pulsating night at Old Trafford.

71 min A change for Arsenal: Bukayo Saka is on for Emile Smith Rowe, who was again extremely impressive.

Ronaldo v Ramsdale...

PENALTY GIVEN! Odegaard doesn’t complain, which tells a story.

VAR check Clattenburg Atkinson is going over to look at the monitor. It was a dumb and needless challenge from Odegaard, who didn’t get the ball and slid through the back of Fred.

68 min United appeal unsuccessfully for a penalty when Fred goes down in the area after a poor challenge from Odegaard. This should be overturned by VAR - it was a clear foul.

67 min “Hi Rob,” says Alex Netherton. “Is there any chance you could get someone to replace you for the next 25 minutes or so? You’re not cut out for this.”

You say that but I’ve only been doing it 17 years. You’ve got to give people time to learn their trade Alex!

65 min After a long spell of possession, White drives a long pass down the inside-right channel towards Aubameyang. He gets away from Telles and hammers a shot from a tight angle that is punched away by de Gea. A comfortable save.

65 min Arsenal’s response to going 2-1 down has been impressive - an instant equaliser and now the kind of confident possession they demonstrated at 0-0.

64 min Maguire Scholeses a crossfield pass to Rashford, whose volleyed cross is cleared at the near post by Gabriel.

63 min “Given how routine cheating is in football, it’s always funny to see what counts as crossing the line, leading to scenes of outraged affrontage (sic),” says Paul Ewart. “How do they work it out?”

There’s actually a simple formula: self-interest x entitlement + faux outrage.

62 min Sancho’s inswinging cross is headed away by the stretching Tavares, an important touch with Rashford waiting behind him. The game is very open now.

60 min Tavares tries to run Dalot, who does well to stretch and win the ball. I suspect we’ll see more of Dalot under Ralf Rangnick. He’s not perfect defensively - he had a stinker against Villarreal earlier in the season - but it makes such a difference to have a right-back who can attack.

59 min Fred, who has pressed well tonight, robs Odegaard on the halfway line and gives the ball to Fernandes. He plays a loose pass and that’s the end of that, but it was another good moment for Fred, who has been brilliant at times and hideous at others.

58 min Well this is fun.

Partey swept an excellent pass out to Martinelli in space on the right. He looked up and picked out Odegaard, who dragged a low shot into the far corner from the edge of the area. It wasn’t as well struck as Ronaldo’s but it sneaked into the corner. The passes from Partey and Martinelli were outstanding.

I told you Rashford was useless on the right. He made the goal, though Dalot also deserves a lot of credit for a classy reverse pass down the line to release Rashford. He moved into the area and picked out Ronaldo, who swept the ball decisively into the far corner. Another excellent team goal - and another that came within eight seconds of United winning the ball back.

50 min Fred and Fernandes combine to find Rashford, whose shot from 25 yards bounces awkwardly in front of Ramsdale. No matter: he gets down and holds on with authority. I thought, like most people I suspect, that Ramsdale was a weird, even ridiculous signing. How wrong was I.

50 min Rashford, still playing on the right for some reason, crosses too close to Ramsdale.

49 min “What no one is saying,” says Michael Moore, “is that Fred receives a two-handed shove from the Arsenal player, forcing him off his balance and onto de Gea’s foot!”

I must say, I hadn’t noticed that either - I was concentrating on how Fred managed to nobble his own goalkeeper. But would like to see another replay now.

48 min: And now a fine save from Ramsdale! Ronaldo chops inside Parety on the right side of the area and smashes a left-footed shot that hits the thigh of Ramsdale and flies to safety. I suppose there’s always an element of luck in a save like that, but Ramsdale made himself very big.

46 min: Fine save from de Gea! Odegaard’s corner from the right hits the back of Gabriel, who mistimed his header, and flies towards goal. De Gea reacts very smartly and sticks out his right hand to paw the ball away.

46 min Peep peep! United begin the second half, with no changes on either side.

“The only thing Snith-Rowe did was put the ball out of play so that de Gea could get treatment,” says Alan Reid. “The fact it went in the goal is semantics.”

“No, United shouldn’t have let Arsenal score after the penalty in 2004,” says Neill Brown. “However I’d personally appreciate a refund for the singlet & felt-tip pens I’d bought to make the celebratory vest I was wearing under my sweater that day.”

Was that rumour about Arsenal wearing Nike ‘50 not out’ vests ever confirmed? If it’s true, they’d go for millions on eBay.

Thanks for all your emails, which I’m trying to sift through during the break. Approximately 84.2831243 per cent of you think it was the right decision and that Arsenal shouldn’t have let United equalise.

The consensus of the Amazon Prime pundits - Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer, Patrice Evra and Mark Clattenburg - is a) it was the right decision and b) de Gea should have been more of a man.

Half-time reading

He was before my time, but Scott Murray talks about him almost in hushed tones, so that’ll do for me. And yes, we do have to link to that goal at Derby.

45+5 min “Should Utd have let Arsenal score after Rooney’s dive?” says Patrick O’Brien, who is still in therapy 17 years later.

45+4 min Ronaldo’s ambitious (and that’s being kind) overhead kick from the edge of the area bobbles a few yards wide.

45+2 min Maguire takes a big risk, pulling Tomiyasu’s arm in the United area at a set piece. Nothing is given, but you can make a decent case for an Arsenal penalty.

45+1 min McTominay is booked for a sliding foul on Partey.

It started with Sancho on the left. He threaded a clever short pass to find Fred in a very crowded area. Fred took a touch and reversed an equally good pass back to Fernandes, who opened his body and forced it past Ramsdale from 10 yards. Fernandes celebrated angrily, hoofing the ball miles in the air and screaming in every direction. It’s his first goal in months.

44 min There will be four added minutes, mainly because of the delay while Martin Atkinson decided what the hell to do about Emile Smith Rowe’s goal.

43 min “The goal should not have stood,” says Kieran Bourne. “Under the laws of the game ‘play should continue if the referee deems that the player is not seriously injured... the exception being if the injured player is the goalkeeper’.”

But presumably that only applies if the referee blows his whistle? He thought about it, but delayed and only blew it a split second after Smith Rowe had scored.

42 min Partey’s free-kick - Partey’s free-kick - hits Aubameyang and loops over the bar.

41 min Fred, overzealous and clumsy, fouls Partey 22 yards from goal. The free-kick is slightly to the left of centre, though not far enough to preclude the left foot of Odegaard.

40 min “It’s happened before...” says Paul Cook, showing outstanding knowledge of England B in the Sven years.

38 min: Great chance for Martinelli! Odegaard receives a throw-in on the right edge of the area, spins and pokes a lovely pass into Martinelli. He takes it on the run but then drags a tame shot wide of the near post from 10 yards. That was an excellent chance, the best of the match, and a delightful touch of class from Odegaard.

37 min Maguire wins the ball 30 yards from the Arsenal goal, plays a one-two with Rashford and hits a decent shot that is comfortably saved by Ramsdale. He did well to hold that because, although it was straight at him, it bounced a couple of yards in front.

36 min “Whether Arsenal should have let United score (and I don’t blame then for not doing so) once the decision was delayed for the treatment to De Gea it was never going to happen,” says Gerry Scott. “If it doesn’t happen immediately it doesn’t happen at all. Not sure what that says about sportsmanship.”

Yes, the only way it was going to happen was if Arteta did a Bielsa.

35 min Fred plays a fine first-time pass to Telles in the area. He takes a touch and is about to shoot when White comes round the side to make a vital tackle. The crowd appealed for a penalty but it was a clean challenge.

35 min Fernandes plays a fine pass into the area for Telles, who screws a low cross that is booted clear by Gabriel in the six-yard box.

34 min United have had a lot of the ball since the goal, though Arsenal look comfortable defensively.

33 min “No way the Utd of Cantona/Keane/Ferguson wouldn’t have made a proper melee of this,” says João Santos. “One two or three proper old-style reducers would have been distributed to the spnieless Arsenal players. (Yes they should have let them score, c’mon.)”

I wonder how Norman Whiteside would have reacted.

32 min Now Tavares is down after slipping into Dalot’s elbow. He’ll be fine.

30 min Maguire hoofs over from 30 yards and then tells the referee that the ball isn’t up to scratch. Apparently Telles made a similar complaint a couple of moments ago.

29 min “I thought initially that De Gea had gone down with a head injury, but it was more of a broken shoelace,” says Gary Naylor. “Had he been facing the play, he could have stuck out an (uninjured) arm and saved it. With 21 playing the whistle, why the other one wasn’t, is a bit of a mystery.”

I think that’s a bit harsh, though I’d like to see it again to be sure what happened. He certainly wasn’t trying it on, and only he knows how much pain he was in. I suppose there’s a valid argument that a tougher character wouldn’t have gone down until the ball was safe.

28 min Telles’s corner is headed up and onto the top of the bar by an Arsenal player, Tavares I think. Ramsdale had it covered anyway. Something similiar happened at the other end just before the goal, when Lindelof’s stray header looped onto the top of the bar as de Gea watched it to safety.

27 min Fernandes plays a dangerous pass inside Tavares towards Rashford. Tavares shows good pace to nip in front of Rashford and put the ball behind for a corner.

26 min The United players look a bit stunned by the weirdness of the goal, though that doesn’t excuse such a meek response. It doesn’t help that Sancho and Rashford, two of their most creative players, are on the wrong wings.

25 min There was also, of course, the Sheffield United game that Arsene Wenger offered to replay after a dodgy winner for Arsenal in 1999.

24 min United haven’t responded to that goal with the vigilante ferocity we might have expected. I think we can all imagine how Roy Keane or Paul Scholes would have reacted to such an incident.

23 min To recap, Fred accidentally stood on de Gea’s foot, and he was down on all fours as Smith Rowe snapped a left-footed shot into the net. The closest precedent I can think of, certainly in the Premier League era, is Paolo Di Canio stopping play at Goodison Park. One big difference is that I don’t think Smith Rowe realised de Gea was down.

There was also Marcelo Bielsa ordering Leeds to let Aston Villa score a couple of years ago. Anyway, onwards.

22 min Should Arsenal have let United score? Come on, let’s have a row about it.

21 min Ronaldo is lining up for an overhead kick when White gets a slight but vital touch on the ball.

20 min “That,” says Justin Kavanagh, “is one of the best tackles Fred has put in all season.”

19 min Ronaldo cuts inside dangerously from the left but then mistimes a shot that is comfortably saved by Ramsdale. The atmosphere is pretty lively now.

18 min United kick off, and there’s no sign of Arsenal letting them score.

16 min It turns out that Fred, god bless him, stood on de Gea’s ankle and sent him flying. Martin Atkinson is still thinking about what to do.

15 min de Gea is still being treated. Martin Atkinson had the whistle to his lips but didn’t blow it. The goal should be given.

14 min De Gea twisted his ankle, possibly after colliding with Fred, as a corner was headed away. It was nodded down to Smith Rowe, whose 20-yard snapshot went into the net. De Gea was on the floor in a lot of pain, and now he’s being treated. I don’t know whether the goal has been given or not.

14 min: Smith Rowe scores with de Gea lying down injured! This is going to be very interesting.

11 min Fred pinches the ball off Partey near the halfway line. He feeds it intto Ronaldo, who turns and shoots well wide from 25 yards. Not his finest work.

10 min And now de Gea makes a comfortable save from Aubameyang’s scuffed shot. It was a lovely move, though, involving Partey and Smith Rowe. Arsenal look really sharp.

10 min “The mentions of Willian had me look up how his Corinthians are doing in the Brasileirão,” says Kári Tulinius. “They’re fourth, but more interestingly, Atlético Mineiro are on course to win the championship, for the first time since 1971, which is their only national title. That would be a bit like Derby County winning the Premier League. Admittedly, the analogy breaks down fairly quickly, since Atlético Mineiro won the Copa Libertadores a few years back, and it’s been a bit longer than that since Derby troubled the European stage.”

That last comment shows a frankly disgusting lack of respect for the Uefa Youth League.

8 min Dalot cuts inside and hits a left-footed shot from 22 yards that is comfortably saved by Ramsdale.

7 min Aubameyang wins the ball off Lindelof in a dangerous area. Nothing comes of it but it’s another statement of Arsenal’s intent. They bullied United here last season, when they deservedly won 1-0, and they’ve made an aggressive start here.

5 min Sancho has his first run at Tomiyasu, who wins the ball with calm authority.

4 min United, at home, have played six games in the league this season and collected seven points. Arsenal, away, have also played six games and won seven points. United are 15th in the home table, and Arsenal are 11th in the away table – despite having scored only three away goals all season, or less than one a month.

3 min A slight surprise in the United team - they have started with Sancho on the left and Rashford on the right.

2 min: Rashford clears off the line! The resulting corner, swung in by Odegaard, is headed towards goal by White and sliced over his own bar by Rashford. That could easily have gone into the roof of the net.

33 seconds Sancho’s very loose pass is collected by Aubameyang just inside the area. He moves around McTominay and thrashes a shot from a tight angle that hits Maguire and goes behind for a corner.

1 min Peep peep! Arsenal, in their yellow away strip, kick off from right to left.

There’s a decent atmosphere as the United players march onto the field. The camera briefly cuts to Ralf Rangnick, walking to his seat in the director’s box. It’s time for United to start again, again.

“Thanks for mentioning Willian – a name that Arsenal fans had almost succeed in managing to forget,” says Charles Antaki. “But he can be popped back into the memory hole in favour of tutting and puzzlement over Lokonga, who had a more telling game against Newcastle than did Partey, who needs to pull his socks up a little bit… Shame about Saka … Martinelli was good though…. See? It’s quite easy to forget what’s-his-name.”

I’m surprised Partey hasn’t had more of an impact – I loved him at Atletico and thought United should have bought him. Sounds like he has been good but not spectacular. And that he should never, ever shoot from outside the penalty area again.

I notice that many outlets (sic) have listed United’s formation as 4-2-3-1 and Arsenal’s as 4-4-1-1. What’s the difference? Have I been looking at the wrong average positions graphic?

Ten minutes to kick off. While you wait, here’s a piece on the origin of the modern rivalry between Arsenal and United: four vicious games in 1983.

If you like Manchester United and/or great writing, you really should read Tim de Lisle after each United game. Here’s his piece on the 1-1 draw at Chelsea.

“I think United might be up for this one,” writes Bill Hargreaves. “One game on the bench for local heroes Maguire and Ronaldo as a pick-me-up; unburdening of the guilt associated with growing disrespect for our boy Ole; turning over a new leaf and showing the best side to new boy Ralf. Gooners without Bukayo, and Odegaard not yet firing. Heart says COYG, head fears a United show.”

Remember When department

“I remember watching the 2001-02 edition of this match up,” begins Matt Dony, “with a good friend who was an arrogant United fan. (Was there any other type, back then? In fairness, they had much to be arrogant about.) He knew that Arsenal were the superior side at that point, but even so, he was so devastated by Wiltord’s goal that I couldn’t bring myself to laugh at him. That game dominated the week before and after. This week, I’d almost forgotten that it didn’t happen yesterday with most of the other fixtures. I dislike both teams, but it still feels ‘wrong’ to see them struggling so much. They’ve stockholmsyndromed me into wanting to see them both challenging for the title.”

I made the same mistake with Liverpool in 2004-05. The atmosphere at the Champions League semi-final win over Chelsea was so infectious that I was kinda chuffed for them, safe in the knowledge that they had no chance against Milan in the final.

It’s fair to say both teams have had their trousers handed to them, neatly folded, whenever they’ve faced proper opposition this season.

Scott Murray is the funniest football writer in the world, the end.

Three changes for United from the 1-1 draw at Chelsea. Cristiano Ronaldo, Diogo Dalot and Harry Maguire replace Aaron Wan-Bissaka (injured), Nemanja Matic (also injured) and Eric Bailly (not injured).

Bukayo Saka is only fit enough for the bench, so Gabriel Martinelli gets a rare Premier League start. I assume that’s why Saka’s been left out, anyway. Either way it’s one of two changes for Arsenal, with the experienced Mohamed Elneny preferred in midfield to Albert Sambi Lokonga. Elneny started when Arsenal won at Old Trafford last season. So did Willian, mind you, so I’m sure what the moral of this particular story is.

Manchester United (4-2-3-1) de Gea; Dalot, Lindelof, Maguire, Telles; McTominay, Fred; Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford; Ronaldo.
Substitutes: Henderson, Bailly, Jones, Lingard, Mata, van de Beek, Amad, Greenwood, Martial.

Arsenal (4-2-3-1) Ramsdale; Tomiyasu, White, Gabriel, Tavares; Elneny, Partey; Martinelli, Odegaard, Smith Rowe; Aubameyang.
Substitutes: Okonkwo, Tierney, Holding, Maitland-Niles, Lokonga, Pepe, Saka, Lacazette, Nketiah.

Referee Martin Atkinson.

Michael Carrick is in charge of United tonight, though Ralfie Boy will be at Old Trafford.

Should you need a liveblog fix - what the hell, it’s Christmas - this game kicks off at 7.30pm.