Manchester United 3-1 Arsenal
A week is a long time in politics and, based on this enthralling Premier League encounter, two weeks is a long time in football.
It was less than a fortnight ago that Manchester United were being mocked, and deservedly so, for two embarrassing opening defeats, the second of which was nothing short of a humiliation.
Since then, four straight wins – two of them against established rivals – have ensured the club is unrecognisable from the Brentford debacle.
Yes, belief, confidence and momentum are all powerful traits – but combined they can be emphatic and, in this battle between two big guns with reasons to believe again, all three were on display.
Of course, this is just one result and it must be noted that both United and Arsenal, who remain top of the table, are works in progress.
Yet a result like this can go some way to laying a foundation for the longer-term.
Highlights of the game
United handed £80 million signing Antony his debut in the only change to the starting XI that defeated Leicester with Anthony Martial still unavailable because of an Achilles problem.
Meanwhile, Aaron Ramsdale and Martin Odegaard both overcame knocks to start for the Gunners with Oleksandr Zinchenko returning after missing the last two games – back-to-back victories over Fulham and Aston Villa – with a knee injury.
There was a time when this was the definitive fixture in Premier League history and during the build-up Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told his players to shed any inferiority complex when they visited Old Trafford.
They certainly displayed no nerves and, but for VAR spotting a foul on Christian Eriksen, would have taken the lead after Gabriel Martinelli coolly finished a defence-splitting Bukayo Saka ball.
David De Gea then kept out a Martinelli header before Antony marked a dream debut with a confident 35th minute opener from a threaded Marcus Rashford ball.
Amid end-to-end Premier League highlights, Arsenal showed real moments of class and deserved their equaliser on the hour when a defensive error allowed Odegaard to aim a ball for Gabriel Jesus which fizzed off Diego Dalot for Saka to slot home.
The SBOTOP Premier League betting odds remained finely balanced and Arsenal, who had won their opening five league matches in a season for the first time since 2004-05 (when they went on to finish second), arguably had the momentum at that point.
However, two clinical counter attacks swung the match back in the home side’s favour as Old Trafford bounced with delight,
First Rashford made no mistake when the impressive Eriksen tapped to Bruno Fernandes who released the forward to crash the ball past Ramsdale.
Then Eriksen was involved again, supplying the final touch for Rashford to make it 3-1.
From that moment, the hosts never looked like being beaten.
Manager Erik ten Hag issued a timely reminder afterwards that there is a ‘long way to go’ before United become genuine challengers and I suspect the same is the case for Arsenal.
Yet afternoons like this show that, after campaigns full of false dawns and mediocrity, both sides now have something to tangible to work with.
Key statistics
United have secured four consecutive Premier League victories for the first time since April 2021 and won successive home league games for the first time in 2022.
Fernandes has now assisted 23 goals in open play in the Premier League, the most of any player in the competition since his debut (Feb 1, 2020).
Arsenal have failed to win any of their last seven Premier League matches against United when starting the day top of the table (drawn two, lost five).
Arsenal’s only win in their last 16 Premier League games at Old Trafford was a 1-0 victory in November 2020.
The Gunners have lost 18 Premier League matches away to United, more than against any other opponent.
They have lost their last four Premier League fixtures on a Sunday – their longest losing streak on this day in the league since a run of five between December 1989 and November 1990.
After scoring twice on his Premier League debut against the Gunners in February 2016, Rashford failed to net in the following 13 appearances against them until today.
What’s next?
The Thursday-Sunday combination is now going to be become a regular pattern for both these clubs. They begin their Europa League campaigns on Thursday (September 8) with matches against Real Sociedad and FC Zurich respectively before Premier League encounters at Crystal Palace and home to Everton next weekend.
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