A breathless encounter at the Emirates Stadium saw Manchester United see off Arsenal 3-1, breaking the Gunners’ unbeaten run at home this season in what will go down as a Premier League classic.
Both sides fielded the same teams that beat Watford and Huddersfield Town in midweek, with Nemanja Matic being passed fit to play for United, while Alexandre Lacazette was a surprise starter for Arsenal having been taken off with a reported groin injury.
Twitter: LINGARD 2-0 #mufc https://t.co/aFaFh40oa3 (@mufcgif)
But it was United who took the game by the scruff of the neck in the opening stages, scoring two goals in 11 minutes to stun the home crowd. United captain Antonio Valencia drilled home the first after being set up by Paul Pogba, before Jesse Lingard continued his fine form by finishing off a delightful United move.
However, Arsenal piled the pressure on José Mourinho’s side and it was a minor miracle that they did not score in the first half, denied by a combination of the woodwork and some wonderful saves from David de Gea. Eventually, they found their way through, albeit somewhat fortunately as Lacazette blasted home from short range after Aaron Ramsey’s poor first touch fell to the Frenchman.
It looked as if the momentum had turned towards the Gunners, but United killed the game off just past the hour mark, with Lingard tapping home from point-blank range after some majestic close control from Pogba in the build-up saw him dance past Laurent Koscielny with ease.
Twitter: LINGARD 3-1 #mufc https://t.co/z1E9KGvd5k (@mufcgif)
There was one last twist in the tale: Pogba saw red for an overzealous tackle on Héctor Bellerín with 15 minutes remaining and that means that he will miss out on a titanic Manchester derby next week.
Here are the player ratings from North London:
