Sunday afternoon at the Emirates, the Gunners defeated Manchester United 3-1 thanks to goals from Declan Rice, who scored his first for the club, and Gabriel Jesus in the 101st minute.
After United took the lead thanks to a fantastic goal from Marcus Rashford, the visitors promptly lost it when Martin Odegaard scored the equalizer at the end of a beautiful Arsenal move.
The visitors couldn’t hold on for a point as Rice controlled Bukayo Saka’s corner and fired in at the near post.
Lisandro Martinez left the game injured and was replaced by Harry Maguire.
Veteran Jonny Evans was also called up late.
Jesus ran through, sat down one defender, and coolly finished beyond Andre Onana as United threw players forward but were left bare at the back
Arsenal now has ten points, which puts them on par with Tottenham, Liverpool, and West Ham going into the international break.
United is now in 11th place after losing twice on the road to top four competitors.
How the game progressed.
Arsenal had the better of the opening 20 minutes, picking their moments to press the ball and regain possession as United found it difficult to get into the defensive third of the visitors.
Following some nice build-up play, including a vicious tackle from Declan Rice on Bruno Fernandes, Kai Havertz committed a terrible error by scuffing wide in the middle of the United box.
Before Man Utd kicked into gear with their first decisive foray of the afternoon, the game simply deflated over the course of the next ten minutes.
Christian Eriksen quickly galloped forward and slipped Rashford in after snatching Havertz’s pass. The left forward entered the box, confronted Ben White, and reached out to unleash a powerful shot that brushed Aaron Ramsdale’s fingertips before bouncing off the post and going in.
Rashford scored his first league goal of the year with that strike, but only 35 seconds later, Arsenal had equalized.
Martinelli’s nice flick was followed by Zinchenko’s pass into Nketiah in a surgical attack that split open United. Martinelli reappeared and set up captain Odegaard, who scored from the edge of the box to tie the game and elicit another roar from the Emirates.
While United had 55 percent of the ball in the first half, Arsenal had nine shots to United’s three, with the latter team appearing more dangerous in their offensive attempts.
Despite this, United capitalized on the first significant opportunity of the second half.
On the left, Fernandes found Martial, but Ramsdale rushed in and blocked his shot.
Rashford received the rebound, but Gabriel recovered and made a strong challenge to stop the threat.
When Havertz lost his balance while being pressed by Casemiro and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, it appeared that Arsenal had earned a chance to take the lead. Anthony Taylor, the referee, initially pointed to the spot but was soon called over to the pitch-side monitor and determined the contact wasn’t sufficient to send the former Chelsea player over.
When Martinez sustained an injury and Raphael Varane was already sidelined, Erik ten Hag looked to Harry Maguire to make his first league start of the year.
Rasmus Hojlund, a Danish striker who was acquired by United from Atalanta in the summer and made his debut after returning from injury, was introduced shortly after the substitution.
Andre Onana came up big to stop Saka from scoring a second goal for Arsenal as the match entered its final ten minutes of regulation time.
The England international was in a perfect position to score.
Thanks to a pass from Casemiro, Alejandro Garnacho sprinted toward goal and curled a low shot into the corner.
He appeared to have given United the victory, but the VAR decision determined the Argentine was offside.
As Mikel Arteta sought his third league victory of the year, Gabriel Jesus, Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Fabio Vieira were introduced.
The goal arrived as late as the Spanish manager could have hoped for.
Rice was unoccupied when Saka’s cross landed at the back post.
Onana was somewhat taken off guard as the midfielder controlled the ball and shot toward the near post.
United made an effort to tie the score, but Arsenal scored the game’s fourth goal in place of them. The home team regained control, and Fabio Vieira found Jesus, who sped past Evans with ease and rolled into the far corner.
Player rankings for Arsenal (4-3-3).
Aaron Ramsdale, goalkeeper, received a finger to Marcus Rashford’s strike, but it wasn’t enough to keep it out.
Ben White, RB, scored a 7 out of 10, failing to stop Rashford from moving the ball inside and scoring United’s opening goal.
In possession, people are usually precise.
William Saliba, a cornerback, earned a 7/10 for his nice interceptions.
struggled to decide whether to close down Rashford for the goal or cover space, but the second half was much better.
CB Gabriel Magalhaes earned a 7 out of 10 for his aggressive intent as he pursued United’s attack.
LB: Oleksandr Zinchenko – 6/10 – Improved the home team’s build-up play, which had been sluggish in his prior absence.
CM: Martin Odegaard (8/10) – Walked onto his strike with such confidence and composure to tie Arsenal.
CM: Declan Rice – 8/10 – A few hard tackles early on set the pace.
As the game dragged on, he lost more control but was able to find space and score Arsenal’s second goal.
CM: Kai Havertz – 4/10 – Poor miskick with Arsenal’s first significant opportunity and gave the ball away for United’s goal.
appeared to have earned his team a penalty, but the decision was reversed.
Bukayo Saka, a right winger, received an 8/10 for his role in helping Arsenal move forward offensively.
Rice’s corner kick received a critical assist.
Before Odegaard scored Arsenal’s equalizer, Eddie Nketiah and Martinelli formed a connection.
LW: Gabriel Martinelli – 8/10 – A great flick sped up Arsenal’s counterattack before he fed Odegaard on the edge of the box.
a persistent danger throughout.
Substitutes.
Gabriel Jesus (76′ for Nketiah) – 7/10 – Snuck into space and scored his team’s third goal with calmness.
Takehiro Tomiyasu (76th minute for Zinchenko): 6/10 – Nice and effective in the game’s closing stages.
Jesus was rolled in for the third goal by Fabio Vieira (77′ for Havertz) (7/10).
Jorginho (90 seconds for Odegaard): N/A.
Leandro Trossard, Reiss Nelson, Emile Smith Rowe, Jakub Kiwior, and David Raya were the substitutes not used.
Manager.
Mikel Arteta earned a score of 7/10 for maintaining his team’s equilibrium as they increased their stranglehold on the game in the second half.
Ratings for Manchester United (4-2-3-1).
Andre Onana, United’s most confident passer in the first half, received a 6/10 from the goalkeeper.
When Rice was on strike, things might have gone better.
RB Aaron Wan-Bissaka received a score of 6/10 for what appeared to be a penalty that was later reversed by the referee.
Generally sound.
CB Victor Lindelof received a rating of 5/10 for his struggles at times to keep up with Arsenal’s shifting attack.
Without his regular partner Varane by his side, CB Lisandro Martinez only receives a 5 out of 10.
caused another setback for Ten Hag’s defense when he left the game injured in the second half.
Diogo Dalot, a left winger, performed admirably against Saka for the majority of the first half before stumbling as Arsenal gained more control.
CM: Casemiro (4/10): Hoofed the ball a bit too much when United was having trouble entering Arsenal’s defensive third.
Rashford was set free by Christian Eriksen’s excellent interception and perfectly timed pass to give United the lead.
RW: Antony – 6/10 – A fantastic turn was followed by a humorous fall to lose possession, which felt quite fitting.
The Brazilian did, however, make a contribution with a few courageous defensive challenges.
AM: Bruno Fernandes scored a 7 out of 10 for his performance.
He started the game a little slowly but picked up speed as the game went on and started finding teammates in perilous situations.
LW: Marcus Rashford – 7/10 – His talismanic opening goal completely surprised everyone, but it was just compensation for Rashford’s tenacity and quickness.
ST: Anthony Martial – 3/10 – Although he was put in some good positions, he doesn’t seem to be able to consistently help this United team.
Substitutes.
Rasmus Hojlund (67′ for Martial) – 6/10 – Contributed in his United debut.
In his first league outing of the year, Harry Maguire (67′ for Martinez) earned a score of 4/10 after two late goals were scored.
Alejandro Garnacho (84′ for Antony) – 6/10 – Appears to have given United the victory but was flagged for offside.
Jonny Evans, who replaced Lindelof in the 84th minute, received a score of 4/10 for his inability to help United win.
Altay Bayindir, Facundo Pellistri, Daniel Gore, Hannibal Mejbri, and Sergio Reguilon were the substitutes who were not used.
Manager.
Erik ten Hag: 4/10 – Presently severely limited by injury.
Despite scoring, United had trouble maintaining pressure and lost its composure in the closing stages.
Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal) was named the game’s MVP.
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