Arsenal celebrate statement win over Manchester United with an explosion of energy and passion

By Jason Burt at the Emirates Stadium

Statement wins do not come much louder than this. It will resonate throughout the Premier League, and certainly in the blue half of Manchester as well as the red, as Arsenal showed a phenomenal relentlessness that might just help propel them to their first Premier League title in two decades.

At the final whistle, seconds after Eddie Nketiah forced the winning goal with cat-like reactions as he just managed to keep himself onside, it felt like lift-off. The stadium erupted. It almost shook. Come and feel the noise. It coursed with relief, joy, belief, emotion and rawness. What a ride. “Beautiful,” Mikel Arteta called it, and for Arsenal it was.

No-one should begrudge the unbridled celebrations. Arteta grabbed his coaching staff tight and while, at times, his reactions are over-the-top – and he was booked here for berating the fourth official in the first-half – when it is harnessed that energy and intensity is extremely powerful. It is, indeed, beautiful.

In midweek Pep Guardiola – who senses the real and present danger posed by this Arsenal and his former assistant, Arteta – spoke of the need for “fire” from City. The response in N7, in a tight contest that kicked off with Arsenal’s lead cut to two points, felt like a raging inferno at times. On a cold January afternoon the furnaces burned bright. Pressure? They dealt it with guts and gusto.

A campaign that started with hopes of a top-four finish now has far greater ambition. Quietly, though, Arsenal will be delighted that they are not just five points ahead of City but 11 in front of United, have 17 more than fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur and are an astonishing 21 ahead of Chelsea and Liverpool. Not only that but also have a game in hand over the rest of the top four.

What unfolded was the best Premier League game of the season so far and, although they lost, United proved that they – too – are back. Or are getting there. We have waited a long time for these grand old clubs to deliver a match like this, and one that had such relevance in the title race, and it was one to savour. It felt like a throwback; back to the good old days. Back to the future. A rivalry resumed.

In the heat there were ice-cold performances. For Arsenal Bukayo Saka was simply outstanding. For United so was Marcus Rashford. Both scored – brilliantly – and with Nketiah claiming two goals, it was a good afternoon for young England players and especially with Gareth Southgate in attendance.

Although he finished up on the losing side, the contest was also summed up by the warrior-like Lisandro Martinez. The United centre-half was patched up from a head injury suffered in midweek against Crystal Palace and it made it look, even more, that he was going into battle. And so it proved.

Undoubtedly United missed the suspended Casemiro. As well as Christian Eriksen tried, he could not cope at times as Arsenal seized control of the midfield through Granit Xhaka and Martin Odegaard. By the end Arsenal had 25 shots; United six. But it was far more even than that, although United were pushed ever deeper in a remarkable second-half as Arsenal were incessant and deserved the points.

In the aftermath Erik ten Hag will ponder the strength of his team and he certainly had little to call on from the bench. He lacks options. Worryingly it was a wretched performance from his £86 million signing Antony with the Brazilian winger serenaded by gleeful chants of “what a waste of money” as he was substituted off. Surely Alejandro Garnacho should start? Not far behind Antony was Wout Weghorst who has yet to show he deserves to be in the team. It is early days but his presence appears incongruous.

It was hammer and tongs; back and forth; end to end and so it proved with the opening goals. The moment Rashford was involved there was danger. Neon lit; panic-inducing danger as he blocked Thomas Partey’s pass and when he quickly received the ball from Bruno Fernandes he nutmegged the midfielder. The danger levels rose and he ran on to beat Aaron Ramsdale low down to his right with a shot of such violence that the moment he hit it, it was going in.

Arsenal responded and it was their man in rich goalscoring form who claimed it. They pushed United back with Odegaard sending the ball wide left to Xhaka. Aaron Wan-Bissaka switched off; Nketiah switched on – and he beat David De Gea with a simple close-range header.

As fine as Rashford’s strike was, Saka then matched it. There did not seem to be much on when he took the ball from substitute Takehiro Tomiyasu but Eriksen backed off and Saka had time and space to weigh up his shot. Even so it was something special as he arrowed it from 25 yards across goal, away from De Gea and into the corner of the goal.

Immediately Rashford forced Aaron Ramsdale into an reaction save but the goalkeeper was soon at fault. From a corner he and Tomiyasu got in each other’s way with the England international spilling the ball to Martinez seven yards out. The defender threw himself at it, with Gabriel, on the goal-line, unable to stop his diving header.

A classic was unfolding before us. Saka struck the outside of the post, De Gea denied Nketiah with a stunning save before there was not one but two Var checks as Arsenal scored what turned out to be the decisive goal. It was marginal when Oleksandr Zinchenko crossed and even tighter when Nketiah stuck out a leg to divert a deflected effort home. The delay heightened the drama even more and added decibels to the delirious reaction when the goal was eventually confirmed. It felt almost primal. Something has re-awakened.

Arsenal vs Manchester United 2: As it happened

07:31 PM

Erik ten Hag to Sky Sports

"Two games head to head, really hard to accept losing in the final stages of the game. We made mistakes for all three goals.

"I don't think we were under too much pressure for the winner.

"At the end, they play home, they come, you could smell it. (Er, ok)

"Many players made poor decisions. We are making so many mistakes and that cannot happen. This is a lesson we have to take and we will face the players with this. Good teams do not make mistakes.

"We have to accept today. We are unsatisfied. This is one game. Last week we did very well. Normally we don't concede from corners, now today two.

07:15 PM

Mikel Arteta talks to Sky Sports

"Emotional, a lot of passion, a lot of quality. It does not get much better than that. To win in that way it makes it even better.

Mentally and emotionally we were really composed, we always believed we could win it and we didn't panic.

United are very difficult to play against once they go in front because they love to play into spaces.

You can talk about maturity, but it is about perseverance and quality as well. I am delighted for the boys. We showed a lot of quality and confidence. It is a joy to work with this group.

I don't think I will complain about my yellow card. You can always get better in life can't you?

The margins are so small in the Premier League, it is hard to play against every team.

Trossard was composed and confident when he came on, and he helped us win the game."

07:07 PM

Xhaka renaissance

07:05 PM

Here is the League table

06:57 PM

Internet reactions

06:51 PM

Roy Keane agrees it was a reality check for MUFC

"20 minutes to go, you look at the United bench and who they have got and it's not great, for all the money they have spent.

"At the end, United have Wan Bissaka, Fred and McTominay on the pitch and you think really this is back to the problems they had before."

06:49 PM

Luke Shaw to Sky Sports

"In the second half, we deserved (to lose). We were passive in the second half, disappointing to concede at the end.

"They start really fast here, they always do. We felt we were winning the ball high up the pitch in the first half but the second half we backed off and let them have control of the game. If you do that, then there is a chance they will score at the end.

"I think they deserve to be top, the way they have played so far. The quality of these games now are getting much more. Tough game but these are the ones you want to play in.

"Gutting to concede late on but maybe a bit of a reality check for us. We need to get back to work."

06:44 PM

Here are the match stats

• Eddie Nketiah became the second Arsenal player to score a 90th minute winner against Manchester United in the Premier League, after Thierry Henry in January 2007.

• Man Utd have failed to win any of their last five away games in all competitions against Arsenal, losing four times and conceding at least twice in each defeat (D1) – it’s their longest winless run at the Gunners since October 2000 to March 2004 (5 games).

• Arsenal are now unbeaten in their last 13 Premier League games (W11 D2), their longest unbeaten streak in the competition since December 2018 (14 games).

• This was just the third time Arsenal hosted Manchester United in a Premier League match while top of the table, with the Gunners going unbeaten in all three matches: winning 3-2 today and drawing the other two games (1-1 in March 2004 and 2-2 in November 2007).

• Bukayo Saka became only the third Arsenal player to score in three consecutive Premier League appearances against Man Utd after Freddie Ljungberg (1998-2000) and Thierry Henry (2000-2001).

• Man Utd’s Marcus Rashford has scored nine goals in all competitions since the World Cup finished, the most of any player in Europe's big five leagues.

• Eddie Nketiah has scored 19 goals across his last 26 starts for Arsenal in all competitions, including 13 in his last 13 starts at the Emirates Stadium.

• Lisandro Martínez became the seventh Argentine player to score a Premier League goal for Man Utd, the most of any club (also Carlos Tevez, Juan Sebastián Verón, Ángel Di María, Marcos Rojo, Gabriel Heinze and Alejandro Garnacho).

06:37 PM

Eddie Nketiah to Sky Sports

"We really wanted it.

"For me it was about staying alert if I got a chance and with players like B (Saka) you will always get a chance.

"I thought it was going to be onside (winner) because I was next to Martinez, but when you see that purple Var screen comes up your heart always goes a bit."

06:36 PM

Bukayo Saka post match to Sky Sports

"They are the only team who has beaten us this season and you could see how much we wanted it. Not our best start.

"I am happy I accepted the challenge to score in three consecutive games against Man United, hello Freddie, hello Thierry."

(Asked about reasons for his excellent recent form) "Many things, I could be here for days! The belief we have, especially at the Emirates with the way our fans support us even when we go 1-0 down. They don’t understand how much that does for us. Definitely also the way the coach is setting us up, and the players we’ve brought in, they’ve changed us a lot."

06:36 PM

Report to follow

We'll keep this blog going for a while because there will be plenty of reaction. Here's a teaser trailer of Jason Burt's match report:

"There is such a refreshing and phenomenal relentlessness to Arsenal that it might just propel them to their first Premier League title in two decades. This was just like the old days and, with it, Arsenal and Manchester United showed that – finally – they are both back. Arsenal claimed the win and probably deservedly so but even though they lost United played their part in what was the game of the season so far."

06:24 PM

Full time: Arsenal 3 Man United 2

A brilliant football match, and the right result. Arsenal have 50 points from 19 games and boy that is a hell of a win. Who knows how important that is going to prove come the end of the season? United stay fourth with 39 points.

06:24 PM

90+ mins: Arsenal 3 Man United 2

Rob Holding replaces Martin Odegaard. Alejandro Garnacho replaces Raphael Varane. Arsenal are holding firm and United cannot make it too hairy in this added time period....

06:19 PM

GOAL! Arsenal 3 Man United 2 (Nketiah 90)

It is in the net and the players are going wild but I reckon the old enemy Var might be into the action here. Zinchenko gets down the left and crosses. Possible that he is offside. And then as it is played in, half cleared, and then stuck back into the mixer as Odegaard shoots and it hits Fred to loop into the six yard box, Nketiah gets the final touch and he too is very close to being off. After a couple of looks, Var rules that this is a goal. Yay. How to make an 90th minute winner less exciting. Anyway, it's a goal and Arsenal take the lead late, late on.

06:16 PM

87 mins: Arsenal 2 Man United 2

Absolutely pathetic this from De Gea, mind you. He's taking a wee bit of time to re-start and Nketiah grabs at his arm. De Gea HURLS himself on the floor like a toddler in Waitrose.

06:15 PM

84 mins: Arsenal 2 Man United 2

Arsenal piling it on. De Gea with a magnificent save from close range. Odegaard played a freekick in, MUFC could not clear. Nketiah cracked it at goal from no more than ten yards and somehow the Spaniard kept it out. Wow.

06:14 PM

83 mins: Arsenal 2 Man United 2

Rashford could have been through there but his control just let him down. Shaw has been booked for fouling Saka.

06:13 PM

82 mins: Arsenal 2 Man United 2

Delay of game as Fernandes gets a bang to the head.

Here comes Trossard for his dayboo.

06:12 PM

81 mins: Arsenal 2 Man United 2

Arsenal corner. Scramble!  Wan-Bissaka boots it clear. Odegaard crosses and Bruno denies Xhaka in the n of t.

06:10 PM

80 mins: Arsenal 2 Man United 2

It's all Arsenal. They're really piling it on these last few minutes.

06:10 PM

78 mins: Arsenal 2 Man United 2

Martinelli hits one from range.

06:08 PM

76 mins: Arsenal 2 Man United 2

Partey error, and McTominay's ball nearly finds Eriksen.

06:07 PM

75 mins: Arsenal 2 Man United 2

United break, Rashford surges down the centre, but Ramsdale rushes out to close things down and he does it fairly too, despite stifled cries for a penalty.

06:07 PM

74 mins: Arsenal 2 Man United 2

Exciting, hotly contested affair albeit no actual chances in the last few.

06:03 PM

69 mins: Arsenal 2 Man United 2

Think that Saka shot just now got a wee touch off Eriksen by the way.

Ole Antony is getting the hook, here comes Fred.

06:00 PM

Martinez celebrating his goal just now

06:00 PM

68 mins: Arsenal 2 Man United 2

Saka is at it again. This man is absolutely lethal from that right flank, cutting inside again. Again he lets rip with a really good shot, and this time hits.... the post. Oof. So close.

05:55 PM

64 mins: Arsenal 2 Man United 2

United deal with that corner pretty comfortably.

05:55 PM

64 mins: Arsenal 2 Man United 2

Xhaka is having a really good game, involved here in a neat passing "round the corner" move that ends with Odegaard having an attempt. Behind for a corner.

05:49 PM

GOAL! Arsenal 2 Man United 2 (Martinez 59)

Ha ha a vintage commentator's curse there. No sooner have I typed that about Ramsdale than he's come for a corner, flapped at the ball, and dropped it. Martinez dives to head the ball and does brilliantly to loop it up over the Arsenal keeper and defence. Dear me. Sorry, Arsenal chums! Good brave header from the United man. Gabriel on the line tried to get his head in the way and indeed may have got a touch.

In fairness to Ramsdale, he kind of ran into his colleague Tomiyasu as he tried to come for the ball.

Sam Dean: "Lisandro Martinez deserves that goal, even if United might consider themselves a little fortunate to be level. Martinez was wanted by Arsenal this summer, lest we forget. He has been first to every challenge at the back, and his passing is excellent. Fearsome player."

05:46 PM

55 mins: Arsenal 2 Man United 1

Fantastic save from Ramsdale! He really is having a purple patch. Rashford got the better of Tomiyasu, shot across goal and Rammers got down well to stop. Think it came through a crowd so extra points.

05:43 PM

GOAL! Arsenal 2 Man United 1 (Saka 53)

That is gorgeous! Even nicer than his England colleague Marcus Rashford's earlier. Saka gets it on the right, drifts inside seemingly going nowhere in particular and then unleashes a fierce shot into the bottom corner. Lovely.

05:42 PM

51 mins: Arsenal 1 Man United 1

Odegaard with a quicksilver run and a gorgeous little pass through. Xhaka hares onto it and it takes a brilliant, desperate lunge from Lisandro Martinez to stop him in the nick of time.

05:37 PM

47 mins: Arsenal 1 Man United 1

Oleksandr Zinchenko has the ball, tackles fly in almost simultaneously from Bruno F and Antony. Ref is going to book one - but which?! Antony has his name took.

05:34 PM

46 mins: Arsenal 1 Man United 1

The players are out for the second half, and Arteta has withdrawn Ben White (had been booked) for Takehiro Tomiyasu.

Arsenal the first of the two sides to get control of the ball and mount an attack.

05:33 PM

Here's Eddie

05:19 PM

Half time: Arsenal 1 Man United 1

That was a really enjoyable half of football. Good open game whose momentum swung this way and that, illuminated by two very good goals.

I missed the Sky half time thing because I was making a drink but reassuring, in an uncertain world, to hear that Roy was absolutely spitting chips about something or other.

Here's the young master, Sam Dean: "That was a very good half between two very good teams. Arsenal and United both know what they are doing. Arsenal the better team overall but United look dangerous whenever they work the ball forward. Second half should be fun."

05:18 PM

45+ mins: Arsenal 1 Man United 1

But now Arsenal break and the wonderful Saka, bright as a button once again on that right flank, has wriggled and dribbled into the area and had a shot. Blocked.

05:17 PM

44 mins: Arsenal 1 Man United 1

Arsenal are looking a little bit shaky as the half comes to an end, over-elaborating at the back and nearly having the pocky picky.

05:14 PM

40 mins: Arsenal 1 Man United 1

Not seen a lot of Weghorst. He lays it off but there's an offside. He's a lovely big boy Wout, isn't he? A throwback. But quiet here so far.

05:07 PM

36 mins: Arsenal 1 Man United 1

Arsenal have a corner but nobody can do a lot with Saka's delivery on this occasion.

05:04 PM

32 mins: Arsenal 1 Man United 1

Arteta booked! A minor foul on an Arsenal player and, as Gary Neville says: "he has run out of the technical area like a madman, he's making out like he's two-footed him."

It was Shaw who'd had a wee nibble at Saka but it was hardly the crime of the century as Mikel was making out.

04:56 PM

GOAL! Arsenal 1 Man United 1 (Nketiah 24)

Lovely cross, lovely header. Xhaka gets down the left, delivers a perfect floated ball in and Eddie Nketiah arrives in perfect motion to head that home. The defending by Wan Bisaka, the left back on the other hand, was very poor. Rooted to the spot as Eddie drove past him.

Sam Dean: "There were, understandably, a lot of concerns within the Arsenal fanbase (and indeed the club itself) when Gabriel Jesus suffered a long-term injury at the World Cup. It is a measure, then, of Eddie Nketiah's impact since that he is now Arsenal's joint-top scorer this season, along with Martin Odegaard. He is stepping up when his club needed him."

04:53 PM

22 mins: Arsenal 0 Man United 1

Arsenal with another corner.... United are struggling to get out here.

04:53 PM

21 mins: Arsenal 0 Man United 1

From the ensuing corner, a training ground routine, Martinelli gets free at the near post and crushes his shot wide.

04:52 PM

20 mins: Arsenal 0 Man United 1

Saka starting to do his thing down the right. Shaw has his work cut out. Saka cuts it inside and Eriksen, I think, has a shot deflected wide.

04:49 PM

GOAL! Arsenal 0 Man United 1 (Rashford 17)

Go'orn Marcus! Love that guy. Bit out of the blue to be honest. Partey gives it away, Rash picks it up about 35 yards from the goal, cuts inside and lets 'er rip. A fantastic hard low shot, he absolutely wellied it and even from a fair way out, no chance at all for Rammers in the Arsenal nets.

Rashford mugged Partey off there once he got the ball, left him for dead.

Here is Sam Dean: "That's a sensational goal from Rashford. Not just for the finish but also for the nutmeg on Thomas Partey. Not many players have done that to Partey this season. In fact, I'm not sure any players have done that to Partey this season at all."

04:44 PM

11 mins: Arsenal 0 Man United 0

Martinelli getting involved. He's tried a speculative shot from range that is not going to trouble the scorers, and now receives the ball from Odegaard. M shoots, but hits Luke Shaw.

04:41 PM

Bruno battling

04:37 PM

7 mins: Arsenal 0 Man United 0

United putting something together now, driving forward with Fernandes making his presence felt. He surges into the area and goes round Ramsdale, and then has a little lie down on the grass. Went down like he'd been shot. No VAR check.

04:35 PM

5 mins: Arsenal 0 Man United 0

Here is our resident Arsenal expert Sam Dean.

"They've put clappers on every seat at the Emirates today and it really does have the feel of a seriously big game. The atmosphere here this season has been superb -- this will be another noisy one, I'm sure. Arsenal usually start fast and they have done so here, with Thomas Partey firing wide early on."

04:33 PM

3 mins: Arsenal 0 Man United 0

Good chance! Arsenal make excellent progress down the left, it is cut back for Odegaard, who fires at goal. But it is charged down.

But Arsenal again down the left, it's crossed low, and Partey fires wide.

A hot start from the hosts.

04:32 PM

2 mins: Arsenal 0 Man United 0

But it is the Arsenal who are first to make an attacking impact, winning a corner that is cleared with some authority.

04:30 PM

1 mins: Arsenal 0 Man United 0

United, in white shirts, kick us off.

04:28 PM

Man United

are wearing black tracksuit tops with Chinese lettering on them, presumably in honour of the Year of the Rabbit. Gong hei faat choi to any Chinese readers xxx

04:26 PM

The players are in the tunnel

It's a far cry from the glory days of this fixture to be honest.

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04:11 PM

Flag day

03:56 PM

Meet Arteta's right-hand man

Nice piece from James Ducker.

Albert Stuivenberg is the 'brilliant coach' helping run Arteta’s revolution

03:55 PM

All of these shots are horrible in fact

03:54 PM

Weird picture

03:45 PM

Going like the...

03:44 PM

No Fred

Will Man United miss his defensive solidity?

03:33 PM

Team news

Arsenal: Ramsdale, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Odegaard, Partey, Xhaka, Saka, Nketiah, Martinelli. Subs: Tierney, Smith Rowe, Holding, Tomiyasu, Trossard, Vieira, Sambi Lokonga, Alencar, Turner.

Man Utd: de Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Shaw, Eriksen, McTominay, Antony, Bruno Fernandes, Rashford, Weghorst. Subs: Lindelof, Maguire, Malacia, Fred, Heaton, Pellistri, Elanga, Garnacho, Mainoo.

Referee: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire)

03:29 PM

Man United minor great

Norman Whiteside says: "Loved playing against The Arsenal, great club and all that but always sensed a fear against us. Come on lads don’t let me down :)."

03:03 PM

Massive rivalry ahoy!

It's been a while since either of these teams was a Title contender, but that's surely what Arsenal are right now. They welcome Manchester United to the Emirates today, the visitors are fourth and eight points behind the Gunners having played a game more. Could Man United themselves sneak into the race? Stranger things, I guess. Manchester City fans find themselves in the unusual, uncomfortable position of cheering for their cross-town rivals this afternoon.

If Arsenal were to win, they would have 50 points from 19 (i.e. half a season's) games, and if that's not Championship form I don't know what is. Only one side has reached 100 in a PL season, City in 2017-2018, when they came around the turn having dropped just two points in 19 matches. Arsenal's form and performances so far have been mighty to behold.

As you might imagine however, Mikel Arteta is not celebrating anything just yet. "Consistency is probably one of the hardest things to deliver but probably the most important one if you want to be at the top and win a lot of games. We have delivered that so far and just have to keep doing that."

This fixture, of course, has delivered some of the great matches - and most spiteful ding-dongs - of the Premier League era. In the build up to this, Arteta was asked if this vintage of Arsenal had the physical and mental strength of yore.

"Having that balance and having those qualities in the squad is necessary. To have the mentality and capacity to control emotions that is required to play on big stages is very necessary.

"The physical aspect is necessary - without that you cannot compete over 11 months in the conditions in which we work. We have tried to build a team that has everything."

Pushed on whether Arsenal can keep it up, he said: "We haven't done it in the last many years. To be in the title race, it's something that we have to show we can do. Words mean nothing, we have to do it on the pitch."

Meanwhile, David De Gea had some kind words for his countryman Arteta. He reckons that Erik ten Hag and MA could be mentioned in the same breath as two legends.

"We are talking about one of the best managers in history probably with Sir Alex (Ferguson) and (Arsene) Wenger from Arsenal. It is different eras, football has changed a bit, but we will see," De Gea said.

"Both managers are really good now, both Arsenal and Man United are playing well, so it is going to be a nice game.

"Everybody knows how big the game on Sunday is, because we are there fighting for the top places, so everyone is going to be ready for sure and we go again."