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Arsenal bagged an impressive 3-1 win over Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League on Sunday, September 3.
The Gunners entered this contest on the back of two wins and one draw from their opening three games. Their last outing was a disappointing 2-2 draw at home against 10-man Fulham. However, Mikel Arteta's side were looking to put in a strong display in their second home game in a row.
The Red Devils, on the other hand, secured two wins and suffered one defeat in their opening three fixtures. Their last game was a heroic comeback from two down to defeat Nottingham Forest 3-2 at Old Trafford. Erik ten Hag was looking to put his team's injury woes aside and get a positive result away from home.
Both teams made positive starts to the game as it was largely a fierce midfield battle between the two sides. Tackles flew in from both sets of players and Bukayo Saka and Victor Lindelof were cautioned in the first period following reckless challenges.
Marcus Rashford opened the scoring for Manchester United with a goal from a counter-attack, as Christian Eriksen provided the assist. However, the visitors were hit right back as skipper Martin Odegaard equalised for the Gunners just moments later. Arsenal broke forward from the kick-off and the goal was scored just 35 seconds after the restart.
Arsenal and Manchester United were tied at 1-1 at half-time.
It was all Arsenal to begin the second half as they controlled possession and as a result, the tempo of the game. They were awarded a penalty 15 minutes after the restart after Kai Havertz was brought down inside the box. However, the decision was reversed due to minimal contact following a review.
Both managers made several changes as the game edged towards conclusion.
Alejandro Garnacho seemed to have come off the bench and won the game for Manchester United in the 89th minute with a lovely, composed finish. The goal was reviewed and later cancelled for offside by the tightest of margins.
Arsenal made the most of this as they scored two late goals courtesy of Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus to walk away winners at 3-1.
On that note, let's take a look at the five talking points from the game.
#5. The game got off to a fiery start with a tense midfield battle
Both Arsenal and Manchester United made strong starts to the game as the hosts pressed forward but the visitors defended well. Strong tackles flew in from both sets of players that left some in a heap, while others received cheers and boos from the crowd.
Both Victor Lindelof and Bukayo Saka were involved in incidents and were booked for bad challenges on their opponents. The former brought Nketiah down by the sideline and escaped a red due to distance from goal. The latter lashed out at Bruno Fernandes and was quite lucky that it was a yellow as he left his studs high on the Portuguese midfielder.
#4. Manchester United scored but Arsenal responded within a minute
As they do, United broke forward on the counter-attack following a ball recovery in their own half. Christian Eriksen played a pass to Marcus Rashford, who drove forward from the left wing and into the box. Ben White and Oleksandr Zinchenko were caught ball-watching as Rashford cut in and fired a shot into the net to make it 1-0 to Manchester United after 27 minutes.
Arsenal did not take long to respond as they scored just 35 seconds after the resultant kick-off. This time around, the Red Devils' defence was caught napping as Gabriel Martinelli provided a simple assist for Martin Odegaard to convert to make it 1-1.
#3. Kai Havertz's second-half penalty appeal was reversed
Arsenal looked bright in the second half and tried to make inroads into Manchester United's 18-yard box. They succeeded on a few occasions and on one such instance, Kai Havertz broke into the box and was closed down by Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
The visitors' full-back made very little contact with Havertz but he went down and referee Anthony Taylor awarded the penalty straight away. However, he was asked to review his decision by VAR and duly reversed it after seeing the footage himself.
#2. Alejandro Garnacho's goal was ruled out by the finest margins
As the game neared its conclusion, Manchester United started to come into their own with substitute Rasmus Hojlund causing problems for the hosts. The Dane played a key role in the build-up to Garnacho's lovely breakaway goal in the 89th minute. His delicate flick allowed the ball to progress near the halfway line and be played forward.
The Argentine broke forward after being played through and kept his cool to roll the ball past Aaron Ramsdale and into the net. However, replays showed he was played offside by William Saliba, who jumped at the very last second to play Garnacho off.
#1. Arsenal sealed a dramatic win with two goals in stoppage time
Having survived the scare of dropping the game late on following Alejandro Garnacho's disallowed goal, Arsenal looked to regroup and brace themselves for a minimum of eight minutes of stoppage time.
Martin Odegaard won a corner following a wayward attempt and Saka stepped up to take it. His corner went all the way to the far post and found Declan Rice, whose shot took a slight deflection off Jonny Evans before beating Andre Onana.
Arsenal then sealed the deal as Fabio Vieira played Gabriel Jesus through on goal. The Brazilian performed a lovely dummy to fake Evans out before slotting the ball into the net to make it 3-1.
