Arsenal gave Ruben Amorim his first defeat as Manchester United manager with two second half corner goals at Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Arteta was forced into two defensive changes from the 2-5 win at West Ham, with Jakub Kiwior and Oleksandr Zinchenko came into the starting XI in the absence of Gabriel and Riccardo Calafiori, who both missed the game through minor injures. Thomas Partey also returned to the side with Jorginho making way for the Ghanaian midfielder.
The first half left a lot to be desired, with both teams failing to register a shot on target. Arsenal’s best chance would fall to Partey who’s close range header would go wide of Andre Onana’s post. Gabriel Martinelli would also strike wide following Zinchenko’s deflected shot. Diogo Dalot would come closest for Utd, firing wide right at the end of the half before the interval.
Arsenal needed to improve in the second half in order to get the win, and on the 54th minute they got the big moment they needed. Jurrien Timber’s glancing header from Declan Rice’s delivery at the front post found the far corner and opened the scoring, the Dutchman rose highest from Declan Rice’s corner to blow the game and Emirates Stadium in to life.
Set pieces would once again prove vital for Arsenal as 20 minutes later the lead would be doubled, and again it would come from a corner by Rice. The delivery by the Gunners record signing was nodded on by Thomas Partey and the ball was diverted in by William Saliba to make it 2-0. The Frenchman did not know too much about it but the ball went past the goaline for his first goal of the campaign.
Manchester United could have found an equaliser at 1-0, as a Matthijs De Ligt header looked to be finding the back of the net but David Raya came up with a big save to keep his team in the lead. And that save would prove vital as Arsenal would go on to claim all three points.
Arsenal’s next game is another London derby, as they travel West to face Fulham.
Player Ratings:
David Raya: 7 – Made one big save at 1-0 to deny De Ligt
Jurrien Timber: 8 – Scored his first Arsenal goal and showed great determination all night
William Saliba: 9 – Outstanding. Was the one trying to drive Arsenal forwards in the first half, was imperious at the back and got the 2nd goal
Jakub Kiwior: 7 – Came in and put in a good shift, passes was good
Oleksandr Zinchenko: 6 – Did a decent job before getting a booking and having to be subbed off
Thomas Partey: 6 – Slightly sloppy compared to previous weeks
Declan Rice: 8 – Was excellent especially 2nd half, helped win the ball back on multiple occasions, corner deliveries superb
Martin Odegaard: 6 – Not bad but the captain’s had better games
Bukayo Saka: 7 – Not quite as effective from open play but set pieces were on point
Kai Havertz: 6 – Link up play was good but wasn’t seen much in front of goal
Gabriel Martinelli: 6 – Worked hard but was somewhat frustrating in the final third