Ruben Amorim had set the bar low, as he has regularly sought to do ­during his tumultuous four months in charge at Manchester United. ­Expectation management is the name of the game. “We just need to survive,” the head coach said as he assessed the one-time must‑see ­fixture of the English calendar, wary of a selection crisis that would deprive him of 11 players.

United did more than that and they were so close to cutting through the gloom at Old Trafford with an overdue victory. The United We Stand fanzine had a nice front cover. “Well, at least we’ve got Bruno,” went the wording. When it was over, Amorim sang from the same song sheet. “We need more Brunos,” he said.

It was Bruno Fernandes, of course, who put United in front at the end of a dull first half, shaped by United’s low-block tactics. And, after Declan Rice had equalised for an Arsenal team that flattered to deceive, who lacked punch where it mattered the most, it was Fernandes who almost nicked it at the end.

United had turned the screw, casting off the shackles and, when Alejandro Garnacho and ­Noussair Mazraoui combined up the right, there was Fernandes. His shot was half-stopped by David Raya and yet the ball looped up and bounced towards goal. Raya, who had been at fault on the Fernandes free-kick, got back to claw to safety.

It was Mikel Arteta’s 200th Premier League game and yet it was not one to remember for him. Arsenal dominated possession and they moved the ball in fairly unhurried fashion. Yet they ran into walls in the final third, unable to find the right action.

Arteta did not want to concede the title, which was commendable. But the race is surely run for his team, Liverpool 15 points clear at the top having played an extra game. ­Arsenal’s difficulty in breaking down ­deep-sitting opposition is one of the reasons why they are where they are.

United’s approach was coloured by caution. They sank into a 5-4-1 at the outset and invited Arsenal on. Containment was the plan. And if it meant getting precious few men forward when they countered then so be it. Amorim said it was not how he wanted to play in the longer term but it is as needs must.

It is significant that United’s best results under Amorim have come against the very best teams. Then again, as he noted, it is more acceptable to play in a defensive style in these fixtures.

The occasion was framed by the pre-match protest against the Glazer family, against the drain, decay and absenteeism of their ownership and there was plenty of bile for Sir Jim Ratcliffe, too. A few thousand United diehards had marched from the Tollgate pub to the stadium; so much frustration and anger. Will the Glazers get the message which was articulated so industrially? Not a chance.

Bruno Fernandes celebrates his goal against Arsenal, helped by some questionable positioning by David Raya in goal. Photograph: Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images

The first anti-Glazers chant inside the stadium was heard just before kick-off and there were intermittent exhortations for people to stand up and show their opposition to them. There were plenty of takers. The first half meandered, defined by André Onana’s erratic distribution, United’s overly predictable play-out-from-the-back patterns and some solid last-line defending from them.

Mikel Merino blasted an early chance wide for Arsenal and ­Leandro Trossard flashed another just off-target. Arteta’s team missed too many passes; the timing of too many of their runs was off. Then, out of nowhere, United blew the game open, Garnacho driving forward and being tripped by Trossard.

Arsenal’s defensive wall looked quite a way back, or did Fernandes move the ball to give himself more room? And what about Raya’s positioning? It was strange to see him leave such a big space to his left-hand post, which was clearly where ­Fernandes was going to aim.

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Although Raya shuffled across when the United captain stepped up, he was still to the right of the centre. Fernandes’s kick was hardly in the corner. Raya’s dive was marked by desperation.

United brought more intent after the interval. Joshua Zirkzee, playing as the No 9 after Amorim dropped Rasmus Højlund, finally got a hold-up move to work, releasing Diogo Dalot and Mazraoui met the cross with a volley. Raya saved brilliantly with his legs. The goalkeeper would have to work again when Zirkzee flicked a deflected Garnacho cross goalwards with his trailing leg. Raya’s reflexes were on point.

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Martin Ødegaard had gone close shortly after the restart, Onana helping his drive over the crossbar, but when the Arsenal captain hit the wall from a well-placed free-kick on 70 minutes it was looking bleak for his team. The feeling only ­hardened when Ayden Heaven, on for the injured Lenny Yoro to face his old club, appeared to get away with a handball inside the area. Step forward Rice. It was a run and cutback from the right by Jurriën Timber and with no United defender getting out, Rice bent a superb shot into the far corner.

It was the prompt for a frenetic finale. Gabriel Martinelli, back as a substitute after injury, worked Onana, who also spilled a late Ødegaard effort. But United looked the likelier scorers. If only Højlund, who came on for Zirkzee, had been quicker when Casemiro played him in; Rice got back to make a saving tackle.

Højlund was also denied by a robust Gabriel Magalhães challenge. The scene was set for Fernandes at the very last. Raya’s intervention was decisive.