Eddie Nketiah’s stoppage-time winner kept Arsenal five points clear at the top of the Premier League as they beat Manchester United 3-2 in a thriller at the Emirates on Sunday.
Marcus Rashford gave United the early lead with a superb goal from long range, before Nketiah equalised by heading in a Granit Xhaka cross.
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It was then Arsenal’s turn to go ahead through a brilliant goal by another England international, with Bukayo Saka firing the league leaders 2-1 ahead, only for Lisandro Martinez to head in after Aaron Ramsdale spilt a corner.
Mikel Arteta’s side ramped up the pressure as the clock ticked down and were rewarded when Nketiah prodded home in the 92nd minute.
The Athletic’s Carl Anka, Jordan Campbell and Mark Carey analyse the main talking points…
Are Arsenal really going to do this?
Could this be the day that Arsenal eventually look back on as the defining moment in the 2022-23 title race?
To overcome a rival is one thing but to do it from behind, to do it with back-to-back champions Manchester City breathing down their necks after beating Wolves 3-0 earlier in the day and to rescue the win in such dramatic fashion could have a huge psychological impact.
The tests will keep coming, but to follow a dominant north London derby away triumph a week ago with this type of memorable evening at home should help settle any nerves that may be building as the fight to win the Premier League intensified.
There is often a feeling of inevitability with teams who go on to win championships. They grind opponents down and eventually find a way. That is what Arsenal did here as, for the final 20 minutes, it felt like a matter of time the way they harried Manchester United and maintained wave after wave of attack.
In years gone by, they may have run out of steam but there is a persistence about this Arsenal side and a willingness to take ownership of such testing moments. Whether it is Bukayo Saka, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Granit Xhaka or Eddie Nketiah, enough players are stepping up when the pressure is on.
Arsenal managed to play like a team in a rush but also a team that knew they still had time to keep shifting the ball until the gap appeared.
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It finally did and they have now hit the 50-point threshold at the halfway mark of the season, another psychological boost.
Jordan Campbell
Rashford produces one of his best moments yet
The stunning goal that put Manchester United 1-0 up was Marcus Rashford’s fifth in the league since the World Cup (across all competitions it’s nine in nine games) and owed as much to good collective counter-pressing as it did to individual brilliance.
A headed clearance from Ben White went to Saka, who was quickly seized upon by Luke Shaw and Rashford before the loose ball found its way to Thomas Partey. The Ghanaian is typically secure in possession in such areas but had a particularly sloppy first half, and compounded issues by attempting to overplay the ball here. A fortuitous ricochet off Rashford found Bruno Fernandes, who returned the ball to United’s England forward.
If that was a hectic paragraph to read, here comes the straightforward bit of calm…
Rashford jinking past Partey with a moment of brilliance before striking the ball hard and low towards the near post. Like Fernandes’ goal against Crystal Palace at midweek, the strike was helped by a run ahead of it from new striker Wout Weghorst, who opened up a fraction more space with off-ball movement that occupied Arsenal’s centre-backs.
It was goal number 110 for the 25-year-old — he is 19th in the all-time club rankings — and one of his best yet. Rashford is the in-form player in Erik ten Hag’s side, and probably the in-form attacker in the league.
Carl Anka
United play a game of risk and reward
Arsenal have rarely been behind in games this season, but when they did go a goal down here they rarely looked flustered.
Rather, Arsenal continued to be on the front foot, and it was their closing down of a Manchester United goal kick that ultimately brought their equaliser. When David de Gea played the ball out to Aaron Wan-Bisaka, Gabriel Martinelli did brilliantly to win possession back high up, which allowed Arsenal to pin United back and win a corner that subsequently led to Nketiah making it 1-1.
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Research has looked at the efficacy of short versus long kicks in comparing a team’s overall ball progression within a sequence of play, and the findings suggest that short goal kicks are more productive overall.
So… United made the right decision?
Yes and no.
The balance of risk and reward is crucial, as Arsenal were able to sustain an attack from pressing high during United’s poorly-executed short goal kick. It might have seemed subtle, but it was crucial in allowing Arsenal back into the game.
United have previous here, if anyone cares to cast their mind back to that 4-0 horror show at Brentford in August.
When it works, short goal kicks are effective. When they don’t work, you can leave yourself very vulnerable — as United showed.
Mark Carey
Nketiah is more than just a stopgap
If there were questions being asked of Nketiah’s ability to fill the void left by Gabriel Jesus’ knee injury, then he is continuing to give the most emphatic of answers.
His equaliser made it 18 goals in his last 26 starts for Arsenal — and 12 in his last 13 starts at the Emirates. He is above Jesus in the goal stakes in all competitions this season but it was never just about finishing with the Brazilian and neither is it with the Londoner.
There were a few players who were below the technical level expected in the first half on Sunday but Nketiah’s ability to secure possession and inject impetus into a move was as impressive here as it was in the draw with Newcastle when they visited earlier this month.
His first goal showed a poacher’s instinct in the way he manipulated Aaron Wan-Bissaka out beyond the back post as Arsenal reworked the angle from a short corner. Oleksandr Zinchenko was key to keeping the move going but Nketiah immediately pulled out into Wan-Bissaka’s blind spot and timed his dart towards goal perfectly to meet Granit Xhaka’s delivery.
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Nketiah was less influential after the break as Arsenal looked to isolate Saka but, having been the man to put the icing on the cake in recent weeks, this time he had a decisive impact to help calm the nerves.
It looked like he had missed the chance to be the hero when he hit a snap-shot straight at David de Gea but he showed great reactions in the final moments to redeem himself. He quickly adjusted his body to hook Martin Odegaard’s ball into the net, rounding off a mature individual performance and sealing a momentous victory.
Jordan Campbell
Saka vs Antony is a no-contest
With Rashford in his current scintillating form, it was clear that Manchester United’s attacking threat was going to be channelled more down the left side.
That was indeed the case, with 42 per cent of United’s attacking touches coming down their left-hand third of the pitch. Therefore, Antony did not have much in the way of a highlights reel over on their right side, and was largely ineffective during his 71-minute stint.
You had the typical moments of flair — the roll of the ball under the studs, the neat touches — but just one touch in the opposition box and one chance created is evidence enough that we did not see Antony on his best day.
By contrast, Arsenal’s right-sided attacker enjoyed a far more productive day.
Saka simply loves playing against United, having now scored in three consecutive meetings with them — only the third Arsenal player to do so after Thierry Henry and Freddie Ljungberg.
No player had more than his 13 touches in the opposition box. No player created more than his four chances across the game. With 37 per cent of their attacking touches coming down their right, Arsenal knew to get the ball to Saka’s feet as often as possible.
Saka has grown into one of the most important players at the club, and looks more than happy to shoulder the attacking responsibility as Arsenal continue to push for their first title since 2003-04.
Mark Carey
White struggles with being targeted
When Takehiro Tomiyasu was introduced for Ben White at half-time, it was hardly a great surprise. The England right-back was on a booking, had struggled all game and would probably have become an ever-bigger target for Manchester United in the second half.
From the very start of the match, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta could be seen remonstrating with his players, particularly White, demanding they show more composure when the ball broke to them. On too many occasions, White gave away the ball and presented Rashford with the ball in a dangerous position.
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Although Rashford did not take him on one-v-one often, as the first half progressed White looked increasingly wary. Then, minutes before the break, he was slow to close the ball and it allowed Fernandes to glide past him down the line.
Tomiyasu’s use of the ball wasn’t much better when he came on — he is less likely to dribble than White and his crossing was poor. Holding the width did allow Saka to drift inside and exploit Christian Eriksen’s limited mobility but he also looked a little shaky when pressed.
Defensively, Arsenal looked more secure against United’s counters with the Japan international sitting deeper to protect the space Rashford likes to burst into. He helped stop a Rashford breakaway in the 76th minute by tucking in but it ended up being by luck more than judgement.
Jordan Campbell
Weghorst doesn’t look out of place
Wout Weghorst started his January by scoring the winner for Besiktas in a 2-1 victory over Kasimpasa in the Turkish top flight. He is ending it making defensive clearances for Manchester United against arguably the best team in Europe.
Like another United signing this season, much has been made of Weghorst’s height, but the 6ft 6in (197cm) striker’s true value comes from his off-ball movement (he would frequently drop deep here to dispossess Thomas Partey from behind) and his positioning. Weghorst is the “coat stand” United often hang the ball on when trying to get up the field quickly.
The 30-year-old Dutchman is at Old Trafford on a short-term loan from Burnley for good reason — for all of his running and physical strength, he is not physically quick and not mentally playing at the same pace as Fernandes and Rashford. But as long as Antony Martial continues to be affected by injury issues, the central striker role is his.
Weghorst is in this side to do things other than score – that is made obvious by the lack of crosses United put into the box for him against Arsenal.
He performed his role to a decent-enough degree here, even though United ultimately lost the game. It is up to Ten Hag and others to find ways to turn decent-enough into good and good into more goals.
Carl Anka
(Top photo: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)