LONDON — Arsenal stepped up their pursuit of Premier League leaders Liverpool by sealing a 2-0 win against Manchester United at the Emirates on Wednesday, once again highlighting their peerless ability to score from set pieces.
Second-half goals from Jurriën Timber and William Saliba, both from corners, clinched a comfortable win for the Gunners that left United coach Ruben Amorim with his first defeat since taking charge at Old Trafford last month.
With Liverpool dropping two points after being held to a dramatic 3-3 draw against Newcastle at St. James’ Park, Arsenal reduced the gap between themselves and Arne Slot’s team to seven points with the win against United.
First defeat for Amorim, but Man United show progress
Amorim warned that a “storm will come” ahead of Manchester United’s visit to Arsenal. The new United coach arrived at the Emirates unbeaten in three games since arriving at the club last month, but the defeat against Arsenal ended that unblemished start.
Amorim said he expected United to endure a difficult period and that might now come considering a run of games that sees his side play Manchester City, Tottenham and Newcastle before the end of the month. But, while United were well-beaten in the end by the Gunners, there was enough shown by the players to suggest that Amorim’s influence is beginning to have an effect.
For a start, United played with purpose for much of this game and had a clear plan of what was expected of them. Amorim and his coaches have clearly drilled the players on the training ground and the back three looks convincing. In midfield, captain Bruno Fernandes looks like he could be a solution in a deeper-lying role. Mason Mount brought energy and tactical awareness to his position further forward and Leny Yoro‘s appearance as a second-half substitute was the French teenager’s first competitive game since his summer arrival from Lille following a lengthy foot injury layoff.
The manner of United’s defeat — two goals conceded from two corners — and the way his team ran out of steam late in the game will be a concern, however. Amorim has already cited the need to improve the squad’s physical condition and that is a job that is still to be done. But there are signs of progress. Amorim is giving all his players a chance to make or break their United careers and he is seeing them win and now lose, which will help him learn more about their capabilities.
By the time United return to the Emirates for an FA Cup third round tie in January, expect them to be better still and more likely to emerge with a positive result. — Mark Ogden
Arsenal cut into Liverpool’s lead
Gunners manager Mikel Arteta last week warned Liverpool that a big lead at the top of the table is no guarantee of anything, suggesting that “suddenly when you think you have it, one day it collapses.”
A 3-3 draw at Newcastle does not constitute a collapse by Liverpool, but it did present an opportunity for the chasing pack to chip away at their nine-point lead. Chelsea and Manchester City did so in the slightly earlier kickoffs with wins against Southampton and Nottingham Forest respectively, ramping up the pressure on the Gunners to follow suit.
They were just wrapping up those victories around the time Timber opened the scoring at Emirates Stadium on 54 minutes, settling palpable nerves in the stands after a first half in which United did a good job of stifling their opponents.
Arsenal held their nerve despite an opening 45 minutes in which they never really got going, and Arteta will be pleased with the maturity his team showed in maintaining their composure and finding the breakthrough. From the moment they took the lead, United never seriously threatened aside from Matthijs de Ligt’s 67th-minute header and, after Saliba’s goal six minutes later, the Gunners were left to close a relatively comfortable win, which will fuel their self-belief that Liverpool can be caught.
A winnable run of league games until the New Year awaits: Fulham away, Everton at home, Crystal Palace away and Ipswich at home. Maximum points would put Liverpool under further pressure. — James Olley
Amorim gives Man United energy from the touchline
The new Manchester United head coach is a bundle of energy on the touchline, and his passion and drive is rubbing off on his new team.
Erik ten Hag’s successor was constantly coaching, cajoling and berating his players from the technical area, with left-back Tyrell Malacia pretty much given a personal one-on-one coaching session as he attempted to deal with Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka during the first half.
Amorim was organising his players, telling them to be more compact as a defensive unit and also urging them to hit Arsenal quicker on the break. His frustration, too, was evident whenever an attacking move broke down because his forwards — usually Alejandro Garnacho — cut back and failed to be more direct.
There are shades of Jürgen Klopp in Amorim’s actions on the touchline, although he has yet to be quite as critical of the officials as the former Liverpool manager. But compared to Ten Hag, who often stood motionless on the touchline with his hands in his pockets, Amorim is a much livelier character, and his players feed off it because they know they have to step it up to impress their new boss. — Ogden
No Gabriel, no problem from set pieces for Arsenal
When Thomas Partey made an embarrassing hash of a close-range near-post header in the eighth minute, it was tempting to speculate how much Arsenal would miss their biggest threat from set pieces.
They scored 32 Premier League goals from dead-ball situations last season — a league high — and from corners, the figure is even starker. No Premier League team has scored more goals from corners since the start of last season than Arsenal’s 22 and in the past three years, no defender has netted more than Gabriel’s 15.
As a reminder of the Brazilian’s enduring threat, he scored in Arsenal’s previous two matches before missing out here with a thigh injury — against Sporting CP in the Champions League last week and then the opening goal in Saturday’s 5-2 thrashing of West Ham. Instrumental in that corner routine at the London Stadium was Timber, whose gentle near-post nudge on Lucas Paquetá enabled Gabriel to meet Bukayo Saka’s delivery.
This time, Timber got the telling touch himself from Declan Rice‘s corner to score his first goal for the Gunners. They were at it again in the 73rd minute. Saka’s delivery to the far post found Partey unmarked, and this time his header back across goal hit Saliba and flew in.
Arteta celebrated both goals with Arsenal’s set-piece coach Nicolas Jover — it is a familiar sight these days, and Arsenal’s unparalleled potency from dead-ball situations decided another contest in their favour. — Olley