- Arsenal defeated Manchester United to go five points clear in the Premier League
- Eddie Nketiah scores a brace, including a late winning goal in the 90th minute
- Marcus Rashford and Lisandro Martinez scored for Manchester United
Eddie Nketiah scored a brace, including the game-winning goal in the 90th minute, as Arsenal defeated Manchester United 3-2 at the Emirates Stadium.
Nketiah and Bukayo Saka cancelled Marcus Rashford’s sublime opener before Lisandro Martinez levelled the scores in a spectacular display between two phenomenal attacking forces.
Nketiah, on the other hand, intelligently flicked home his second of the game with minutes remaining to spark unrest in North London, as Arsenal moved onto 50 points after 19 games.
Arsenal and Manchester United played like two teams with title ambitions from the start, contributing to a frantic start to the game, despite sloppiness on the hosts’ part.
Misplaced passes plagued Thomas Partey and Gabriel Martinelli in particular, with the former being run ragged by Rashford for the game’s opening goal in the 17th minute.
Rashford opens the scoring
Marcus Rashford opened the scoring with a wonder strike.|PHOTO: SkySports|
The England international intercepted Partey’s pass, received the ball from Bruno Fernandes, and weaved his way past the Arsenal defender before burying a brilliant strike from outside the area.
Rashford witnessed the Arsenal fans roar their team on for a response, which nearly came in the 22nd minute when Martinelli fired just wide from Saka’s short corner.
Granit Xhaka whipped in an inch-perfect ball from the left to the back post, where Nketiah caught Aaron Wan-Bissaka off guard and headed home the equalizer.
Their goal energized Mikel Arteta’s side. Still, Manchester United remained a constant threat on the break, with Scott McTominay having a goalbound curler saved by Aaron Ramsdale in the 28th minute.
Arteta’s protests earned him a yellow card from referee Anthony Taylor in the 33rd minute. The Spaniard made an intelligent substitution at halftime to avoid further disciplinary infringements, hooking the booked Ben White for Takehiro Tomiyasu.
The Premier League leaders dominated the second half, and anything Rashford could do, Saka could do better, as the 21-year-old cut in from the right and fired a sensational long-range effort into the far corner to put Arsenal ahead in the 53rd minute.
After twisting and turning Tomiyasu inside out, Rashford forced Ramsdale into a brilliant save down low only three minutes later.
Gareth Southgate was in attendance to see the Three Lions crop steal the show. Still, Ramsdale would not have impressed him in the 59th minute, when he came to claim a corner but could only parry the ball into the path of Martinez, whose looping header found the net despite Gabriel Magalhaes’ best efforts.
Arsenal’s late pressure
Eddie Nketiah’s crucial touch saw Arsenal secure the win at the Emirates Stadium.|PHOTO: Sky Sports|
Saka’s deflected shot off nearly scored a carbon copy of his wonder strike. Christian Eriksen hit the post on his way behind in the 70th minute as Arsenal huffed and puffed for a late winner.
As Arsenal piled on the pressure, Arteta introduced Leandro Trossard, but Nketiah forced David de Gea into a fantastic reaction save low in the 84th minute.
The Gunners’ pressure paid off in the 90th minute when Oleksandr Zinchenko’s cross from the left found Martin Odegaard, whose scuffed shot fell kindly for Nketiah to backheel home.
Arsenal survived a few minutes of stoppage time to earn an impressive victory in front of their supporters, regaining a five-point lead over Manchester City, who have played one more game at the top of the standings. The Englishman had just managed to stay onside.
Next up for Arsenal is an away FA Cup fourth-round match against Manchester City next weekend. Erik ten Hag’s team, who are currently fourth with 11 points, play Nottingham Forest in the first leg of their EFL Cup semifinal on Wednesday.
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