Arsenal rallied from behind to secure a 3-1 win over rivals Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium.
Premier League
Result: Arsenal 3-1 Manchester United
Date: 03 September 2023
Venue: Emirates Stadium
Man United finally named summer signing, striker Rasmus Hojlund on the bench for the first time following his injury as they made one change from their win over Nottingham Forest, with Victor Lindelof taking the place of the injured Raphael Varane.The Red Devils enjoyed much of the ball in the opening exchanges but they nearly went behind on 14 minutes after a loose ball fell kindly for Kai Havertz in the box but he miskicked his shot in the six-yard box.
Arsenal gained momentum after that but they were punished on a counter-attack just before the half-hour mark after Christian Eriksen pounced on a sloppy pass by Havertz and slid Marcus Rashford through on goal, who cut inside and fired a shot in off the far post.
The Gunners responded almost immediately, as Martin Odegaard levelled matters with a side-footed shot in the box after a cut-back by Gabriel Martinelli.
The game was tightly contested in the latter phase of the first stanza but neither side could get clear chances, as they went to the half-time break level pegging.
Mikel Arteta's charges were more on the front foot coming from the break and they were initially awarded a penalty on the hour-mark after Aaron Wan-Bissaka brought down Havertz in the box but after reviewing the incident on the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) monitor, the referee reversed his own decision.
Erik ten Hag eventually gave Hojlund his debut on 67 minutes in place of Martial and Arsenal also refreshed their front line with 14 minutes to go, as Gabriel Jesus replaced Nketiah.
Arsenal nearly paid the price for that miss, as they were caught on a counter-attack in the last two minutes after Alejandro Garnacho raced through on goal and fired a low shot into the bottom corner but the goal was belatedly disallowed for offside by the VAR.
The Gunners' pressure continued in the dying minutes and it paid off in stoppage time after Declan Rise fired home a low shot at the back post that took a deflection and wrong-fooree Onana from a corner.
As United pushed numbers forward, Jesus settled the contest on a counter-attack at the death, after he raced through on goal from the centre circle, skipped past a defender and fired a low shot past Onana.
You must be SIGNED IN to read and post comments
