Given what happened on Monday at Crystal Palace, their continued injury problems and the fact they were facing Arsenal, the second-best team in the league who were still fighting for the title, this could have gone a lot worse for Manchester United.
After conceding a frustratingly avoidable goal due to Casemiro's apparent lack of knowledge of the offside rule and Aaron Wan-Bissaka's inability to track Leandro Trossard, Erik ten Hag's side regained their composure and showed fighting spirit. They were the better team in the second half and had Arsenal begging for the final whistle. But they still sank to a 14th Premier League defeat of the season, and it rarely looked like they were actually going to score.
There are still two games left of this dire league season and two opportunities for things to get even worse. And yet, this was also a reminder that, when the team stands up and fights, they can at least compete with the very best.
GOAL rates United's players from Old Trafford...