Arsenal 2-0 Manchester United: Hits and Flops

Ole Gunner Skolskjaer's perfect start to reigns at Manchester United finally came to an end following a 2-0 loss to Arsenal at the Emirates.

Granit Xhaka with a long range blinder and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from the spot got the job done as the Gunners move back within the top four standings.

The Red Devils looked to have momentum in their favor following the contrasting nights for these sides in France in European competitions. But things didn't click for the visitors right from the start. Even the blistering attacking duo of Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford looked out of sorts, as a couple of chances early on went begging.

The victory propels Arsenal back within a point of third-placed Tottenham Hotspur, and blew open the race for a top-four finish.

Here are the hits and flops from the match:

Hit: Granit Xhaka

After a night to forget in Rennes, the Swiss international redeemed himself with a heroic performance today.

Manning the midfield with great poise and power, Xhaka was crucial in cutting off the supply lines to United's front two. He also opened the scoring for the hosts with a belter of a shot from outside of the box that totally bamboozled David De Gea in his tracks.

And for the record, that was his second goal against the Red Devils, and a fourth in the league, the highest he has managed in his career so far in a single campaign.

But Xhaka didn't rest on his laurels. The 26-year old continued to push his side forward with brilliant through-balls and troubled the visitors with his excellent passing range. He not only laid two key passes, but also made the most accurate passes by any player in the match with 51.

Xhaka's evening appeared to come to a premature end following a knock from Rashford in the first half, but he was alright and came back for another stellar half.

Flop: United's attacking duo

Rashford was out of sorts, and so was Lukaku

Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford combined to produce a historic night in Paris in the midweek that saw Manchester United comeback from a two-goal deficit to drive out PSG. But all the magic appeared to have dissipated by the kick-off.

Neither of these could really impose themselves besides a couple of close calls. The Belgian in fact, rattled the bar in the ninth minute, and that pretty much summed up his evening. His four shots that followed, lacked the cutting edge to trouble Bernd Leno and also lost possession in key areas.

So while Lukaku was a far cry of his rip-roaring self that knocked a brace in each of the last three games, Rashford had a stinker of his own too. He struggled to beat his marker and was dispossessed on three occasions.

For all his efforts, the English youngster could muster just a single shot on target, though he laid three key passes - but that's the only highlight of an otherwise forgetful outing.

Hit: Alexandre Lacazette

Lacazette was indirectly involved in both goals tonight

Since his mega-money move from Lyon in 2017, Lacazette has been fair to middling at best. He is yet to scale the heights he once did with the French side but nevertheless an important figure in the Arsenal line-up. Today, even without scoring a goal, he showed exactly how.

The Frenchman set up Xhaka for the opener with an accurate pass and then won a penalty in the second half. He was brought down inside the area by Fred and gleefully let his counterpart Aubameyang have a crack at the resulting penalty, which the Gabonese striker didn't miss.

He also laid a key pass, completed a dribble, won two aerial tackles and often tried to feed his attacking cohorts with short, slick passes in or around the penalty box.

Despite his involvement in the proceedings, Lacazette's only sore note on the night was he couldn't muster a single effort on target in five attempts.

Flop: David De Gea

The bigger you are, the harder you fall. And De Gea didn't just fall, he fell hard.

The Spaniard, widely touted to be one of the greatest Premier League goalkeepers in modern era, today showed his human side with a rare mistake that set Arsenal on their way to a win.

Xhaka's long-ranger did swerve into a different direction on its way, but De Gea was slow to respond. On any other day, thwarting shots like these are a common place for him. But today was just not meant to be his day, was it?

He didn't make a single save and was also sent the wrong way from the spot by Aubameyang in what was a realistic chance of redeeming himself after the clanger early on. His ball distribution was poor too, as he lacked his usual composure in the nets.

De Gea would want to forget this night as soon as possible, but this might just an off-day for him at the office. Cut him some slack.