Arsenal left it late but they came from behind to defeat Manchester United 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium thanks to goals from Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus.
Here are five things we took away from an impressive from Mikel Arteta’s men.
Individual mistakes hamper Arsenal again
When Marcus Rashford blasted the ball past the helpless Aaron Ramsdale in the Arsenal goal to give Manchester United an unexpected lead, the Emirates let out a frustrating groan. Kai Havertz’s weak pass was pounced on by Christian Eriksen and the Dane released Rashford to power towards goal and fire past Ramsdale as Arsenal fell behind again. Only a weak after Bukayo Saka’s loose pass led to Fulham’s first minute opener, the devastating ending from these mistakes should be a wake-up call for Mikel Arteta as he strives for further perfection.
Captain Odegaard steps up
It has been a rather quiet start to the season for Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard, with one goal to his name and some below-par performances to show for his season to date. It seemed that would remain the case today and he, along with his Gunners teammates, struggled to break down United’s stubborn defence. Then a moment of Arsenal brilliance a mere minute after falling behind changed the complexion for Odegaard’s game. After firing the equaliser past Andre Onana, the Norwegian took control of the midfield and showed the Arsenal faithful he had not lost his spark.
Hojlund will improve United
When Rasmus Hojlund entered the Emirates pitch with 23 minutes remaining, it was an opportunity for the young Dane to put his name into United folklore with the match finely poised. Whilst the result went the way of the hosts, Hojlund’s performance was definitely a positive from what was a rather negative Red Devils showing. Within two minutes, the former Atalanta striker had shown more in the game than Anthony Martial, who started the match, had done in the proceding 67 minutes. A bright performance which United fans should get excited about regardless of the result.
Arsenal leave it late again
This is becoming an unwanted habit from Arsenal, with two of their three goals coming deep in injury time. This was reminiscent of their last minute equalisers or winners at the back end of last campaign, when they saw their title challenge crumble. Unlike their north London rivals Tottenham or title rivals Manchester City, it has been a while since Arsenal were able to kill off the match early on. This may be down to Arteta’s insistence on experimenting with his squad, but if they are to be considered as one of the favourites to win the Premier League, they need to start producing more comfortable performances.
Referee performance overshadows crazy ending
Referee Anthony Taylor is probably the last person Erik ten Hag wants to see right now, as a raft of decisions went against Manchester United, including a possible late winner. It was not just United who should have felt aggrieved, as a couple of questionable decisions went the way of the visitors to the dismay of Arsenal. Victor Lindelof was lucky to escape a red card after flying into Eddie Nketiah, whilst Declan Rice’s dramatic late winner maybe should have been ruled out after Gabriel was seen apprehending Jonny Evans. Another poor officiating performance.
