Solskjaer loses first league game as Arsenal beat Man Utd and get edge in top four chase

Arsenal, the first team to beat Manchester United in a Premier League game in nearly four months, will fancy it from here.

They are just a point off their north London rivals after Granit Xhaka and Pierre-Emerick Aubamyeng scored in each half.

This was Arsenal’s day.

Their run-in looks hand-picked, the sort of favourable fixtures they would gobble up for fun in the good old days.

Newcastle, Everton, Watford, Palace, Leicester, Brighton, Burnley and Wolves are much the same: ordinary, and unobtrusive.

Arsenal bullied their way past United, jumping into the final Champions League spot after this stirring win.

It is a sad day for English football when two giants of the game are scrapping it out for a fourth-placed finish in the Premier League.

The blood-curdling, captivating duels between these two clubs are history.

Now they shake hands in the tunnel and do little deals with each other before kick-off to swap shirts. It is all a bit sickly sweet, even by modern, millennial standards.

The new age is here, with Arsenal becoming the first team since Liverpool to beat them in the Premier League.

Defeat at Anfield back on Dec 16 was the Special One’s last game in charge of United.

Arsenal, playing with such confidence after their early opening, are such a confusing team.

They arrived at the airport in the early hours of Friday with fans yelling insults after their 3-1 defeat in Rennes.

Here they were idolised, worshipped after those sweat-stained shirts delivered one of the most important victories since Unai Emery arrived at Arsenal.

They trust him now.

For a few hours at least they will also have to spread some Xhaka love after he put them in front 11 minutes in.

Sokratis, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Alexandre Lacazette were all involved in the build up.

Xhaka took a chance on it from the edge of the area, pinging an effort beyond De Gea with his left boot.

Dave Saves, usually so difficult to beat, will have to hold his hands up to this one.

United looked tired still. Summonsing super-human strength to beat PSG inside their own stadium would take it out of any bunch of footballers.

It turns out Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is not infallible, and neither are his weary players.

They were playing catch-up after only 11 minutes, a goal behind after Xhaka’s corkscrew deceived De Gea.

His mind was anywhere but the Emirates when Arsenal’s central midfielder had a pop from 25 yards.

It forced United to react, with Fred hitting the base of the post in the minutes that followed the first goal.

They were 4-4-2 again, starting with the system that worked so effectively in Parc des Princes.

Romelu Lukaku, who scored twice in the opening half hour against PSG, clipped the crossbar when he connected with Luke Shaw’s pass.

He had an even better chance nine minutes before the break when he wriggled between Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal.

It felt like PSG all over again, throwing his body to the left as he tried to shake off the advances of Bernd Leno.

The Arsenal keeper was brave, getting in the way of Lukaku as he picked his spot for the equaliser. Leno saved.

By then they had switched systems, turning Ashley Young into a makeshift centre half to help push left-back Luke Shaw into midfield.

Solskjaer, as he showed against PSG, is fearless with his formations.

United, much like referee Jon Moss, were wheezing their way through this fixture.

Rashford had a couple of digs in the second half, one from open play and another from a free-kick.

Leno, delivering his best performance in an Arsenal jersey, saved from Lukaku yet again six minutes after the break.

For protection he had the calming, combative and soothing presence of Laurent Koscielny in front of him.

He looked like Sergio Ramos out there.

Koscielny was so assured, keeping tabs on the two front runners in the United forward line and influencing the outcome with his masterful interceptions.

The security blanket gave Arsenal confidence to break at speed, to challenge United’s three-man back line in the final period.

They got their reward when Fred was lulled into a clumsy lunge at Lacazette when he hared into the penalty area.

The beauty about Aubameyang’s finish – straight down the middle with De Gea flinging himself to his left – was the reaction inside the stadium.

Since they came here in 2006, they have been on the case of anyone or anything that moved inside this stadium.

It used to be Arsene Wenger, or Aaron Ramsey or Xhaka, or anybody they decided was not feel was earning their pumpkin lattes.

It is on days like this when you wonder what they will do without hammering something about the Arsenal before they play Rennes on Thursday night.

Until then, the league table should at least keep them happy. Maybe.

 

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