Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says he was "happy" to see his side rescue a point against Manchester United but admits they had not been at their best in the 1-1 draw.
Arsenal came from behind at Old Trafford on Saturday as Olivier's Giroud's late header cancelled out Juan Mata's opener.
United had looked to have done enough to beat an under-par Gunners side until Giroud and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain combined for the last-minute equaliser.
"The result in the end is positive for us because we were 1-0 down with two minutes to go," Wenger told Sky Sports.
"For the rest it was a bit of a scrappy game with two teams well organised who defended well. Our passing was not quick enough, our penetration was not there and in the end we looked like we had good possession of the ball but not many chances. In the second half we suffered for the first 20 minutes and they deserved to be in front.
"The players who came on made a massive difference today. When you are 1-0 down and come back to 1-1 of course you have to feel happy. We lacked a bit of sharpness today, what is it down to I don't know, but at least we came back."
The Gunners have not won at Old Trafford in the league since 2006, and this looked set to be another disappointing afternoon after February's dispiriting 3-2 loss at United.
When asked whether the players could have a mental block about playing at Old Trafford, the Frenchman said: "It's funny you tell me that because I wondered during the game about that. And honestly, you never know.
"In the second half in the first 20 minutes we suffered. We came out of the dressing room in the second half, I think we suffered for 20 minutes and they deserved to be in front. Last year we would have lost maybe this game and today we didn't lose it. So we have improved on that front."
Still, Arsenal lacked any resemblance of the attacking fluency they have shown for large parts of the season, and Wenger acknowledged that their penetration and passing wasn't sharp enough.
"We have shown steel. We want style and steel, and we had more steel than style today," he told the BBC.