LONDON -- For 95 minutes, Manchester United had done just about enough to secure their first win of the season. They defended far better than they had since Eva Olid's appointment in the summer, they looked confident and composed on the ball and had struck gold to pounce on a poor pass to take a narrow 1-0 lead.
That was until Arsenal spoiled the party with less than a minute of stoppage time left to play. Smilla Holmberg, off the bench, riffled Leah Williamson's pinpoint cross into the roof of the net to ignite the Emirates.
The scenes painted a contrasting picture. United looked dumbfounded. They had come so close to ending their dire start to the season off the back of a 5-0 loss to Chelsea. Arsenal, meanwhile, looked utterly relieved to have rescued a point.
It was comparative to how United's goal unfolded. Georgia Stanway gave the ball away with a skewed pass straight to Julia Zigiotti Olme, who took her chance.
If United were going to score, it was not going to come from some beautiful, well-worked buildup. It was always going to come from one moment of genius and a bit of luck.
The Sweden international barreled down with no defender able to catch her and took goalkeeper Misa RodrÃguez one on one, picking her spot and slotting home.
The goal had stunned the Emirates. Jaws hung on the floor and Arsenal immediately huddled to regroup, looking bewildered at how their profligacy had led United to taking a shock lead.
The visitors owed their chance of three points, and eventual point, to Arsenal. Had it not been for the Londoners' wastefulness, United would not have had the confidence to continue pressing for a goal.
In their 5-0 humbling to Chelsea last weekend, heads dropped after the first goal hit the back of the net. Their forms sunk and the players had all of their energy sapped out of them with more than 70 minutes left to play.
Had Arsenal handed the visitors the same treatment, they may have had the same outcome.
But this did not look like the same team who shipped five to Chelsea and had given up by halftime, having only had two shots all game, with one on target. That followed a disappointing performance against London City Lionesses in the opening game in which they went all of the first half without a chance.
This was a team who had hit rock bottom early and only had one way to go.
Olid admitted the team reflected on last week's performance and had to have some hard conversations to turn the performance around. She had stated that her plan was to stick to her style of playing attacking football and doubled down, saying that doing so would build confidence. A big piece was missing in their ability to defend.
"The focus this week was the defensive shape, tactics in defense and basics in defense," Olid said after the match. "I think the attack will come. If you implement a new style of play, you need time. That effort, that intensity can never be missed.
"Nobody wants to lose 5-0. We grew as a team. The first day after losing 5-0 is not easy for anyone. We spoke and said we needed energy this week and a positive mindset. The focus was the defensive shape. It's trying to get them more confidence."
The adaptability Olid showed, to forgo her original plan to play attacking football to focus on the defense allowed the team to have a remarkable turnaround.
Perhaps having such a poor start to the season was a blessing in disguise. It allowed Olid and United to have some hard conversations early, reassess their plan and begin to lay the foundations for their season to move on an upward trajectory. Their body language reflected a team far more aligned with the manager and each other.
They are not out of the woods yet, though. United clung on as long as they could and their backs-to-the-wall approach was risky, ultimately leading to their undoing.
A similar reassessment and refresh is something that Arsenal could benefit from. While the Gunners are by no means in a dire position, they left it incredibly late to equalize.
A chorus of "shoot" accompanied every touch Arsenal had in United's box. Fans had grown weary of Arsenal's profligacy for a second game in a row, and so had the players.
They had not scored since the 10th minute of their opening game, a 1-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion, and right until the final minute, looked like they were going to go a second consecutive game without scoring after stumbling to a 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace last week.
It doesn't seem like a lot, but for a team that has not won the Women's Super League title in seven years and strengthened immensely in the summer to make this a trophy-laden campaign, this couldn't be further from the intended start.
A draw will not be enough to eradicate concerns from both camps about how far behind the teams seem to be slipping already.
Only Manchester City have claimed all nine points this season. United are eight points behind already; Arsenal have dropped four points.
Despite the league expanding to 26 games, a slow start can be detrimental to their title hopes. Just ask the Arsenal from last season, who, even when City dropped points, were already too far behind to really make a late title charge.
It may only be the third game of the season, but Arsenal have two away trips to Chelsea and City back-to-back up next amid the start of their UEFA Women's Champions League campaign. Their wastefulness will surely be punished against two sides who look hungry to prove they're still top dog.
If they want to end their seven-year title drought, they need to start scoring.
