Manchester United recorded an impressive 3-1 win against old foe Arsenal as their slick counter-attacking was too much to handle for the Gunners at Old Trafford.
A brace from Marcus Rashford and a goal from debutant Antony were enough for Erik ten Hag’s men to record their fourth straight win in the top flight , while ending Arsenal’s unbeaten start to the campaign. It was a classic encounter between these two historic rivals and there were certainly positives to take for both sides for different reasons.
Mikel Arteta will receive some criticism for his bold substitutions in the second half when his side went behind for the second time in the match. He brought more attackers into the fray to try and make the most of his side’s performance on the ball, but as we saw with United’s third goal, it backfired. But his side were on top and they were playing some great stuff that was more than pleasing on the eye.
This match was always going to be Arteta’s first real test of the season, and it certainly proved to be one. Despite playing better football, they were undone by two moments of quality - particularly with the sublime pass made by Bruno Fernandes for the Red Devils’ second of the match, and by Arteta’s bold substitutions.
READ MORE:
-
The cost of success: Leicester’s 2022-23 season is their most important in years
-
Steven Gerrard earns breathing space with Manchester City draw
He brought off captain Martin Odegaard, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Oleksandr Zinchenko for Eddie Nketiah, Fabio Vieira and Emile Smith Rowe. It was a gamble the Spaniard thought was worth taking given how good his side were on the ball, but it just gave United a better opportunity to wrap the game up with their slick counter-attacking.
Credit must go to his Dutch counterpart, however. Ten Hag has not only gotten two great results against top four rivals so quickly after last month’s humbling at Brentford, but he has got his players firing. Everyone knows that Rashford has been a shadow of himself in recent years but he seems to have been given a new lease of life in recent weeks. His two goals today will do his confidence the world of good, along with the faith his manager has put in him to lead the line.
It's a dream debut goal for Man Utd's new star signing! 🇧🇷
As far as the game itself went, Christian Eriksen had the first chance of the game as he ran in toward the back post to volley Diogo Dalot’s cross, but he fired his effort wide. United were given an early let off as Arsenal had a Gabriel Martinelli goal chalked off by VAR because of a foul by Odegaard in the build-up.
Despite the momentum being with Arsenal, it was Manchester United who struck first. A neat passage of play saw Marcus Rashford perfectly tee up debutant Antony to slot past Aaron Ramsdale to give himself a dream start to life at Old Trafford. It was the perfect opportunity for Sky Sports commentator Martin Tyler to reuse his famous line when Anthony Martial scored on his debut for United, but sadly we didn’t get it.
Minutes after the restart, Arsenal had a great chance to equalise. Gabriel Jesus worked his way into some space on the right side of the box and pulled the ball across to Odegaard, who sliced his effort wide. In the following phase, Bukayo Saka dragged an effort wide, spurning another great chance to level the scoreline.
Arsenal were playing some excellent football and were the better side, it was just a case of them being more ruthless with their chances. And just before the hour mark, they got their reward as Saka coolly slotted into the back of the net as he latched on to a loose challenge from Lisandro Martinez.
Then, against the run of play again, Manchester United took the lead again. A beautiful weighted pass from Bruno Fernandes played Rashford through on goal and he made no mistake to find the bottom corner. This seemed to have a psychological effect on the Gunners as a mistake from Ramsdale nearly gifted United a third goal. After Arteta made his substitutions, the third United goal soon followed. Eriksen beat the offside trap and layed the ball across to Rashford to finish the game off.
For United, they will know that they were bested when it came to possession, but for them to walk away with the three points, three goals and having ended Arsenal’s winning streak, this will only help with their rebirth under Ten Hag.
As for Arsenal, while Arteta will likely hold his hands up for his changes, for the way his side played against their biggest test to date, they are going to win more matches than they lose if they deliver performances like that consistently.
