|highlights, post-match reactions below|
Arsenal put United to the sword late, with a clever Nketiah flicked finish, in this tremendous advertisement for English football. United will be disappointed but, in truth, Arsenal deserved the win. However, that United traded blows with the best side in the Premier League and were only beaten late on shows how much progress United have made under Erik Ten Hag.
Arsenal started at a hundred miles an hour, but United tenaciously hung on before scoring clinically from Rashford in the seventeenth minute. Rashford intercepted in midfield, exchanged passes with Bruno then dummied Partey then drove forward before unleashing an unstoppable shot from outside the box. United allowed Arsenal back into the game with some dithering between De Gea and Wan Bissaka. Arsenal capitalised on that possession and Nketiah headed home a cross with Wan-Bissaka, maybe unnerved from his earlier mistake, failing to mark his man properly.
The second half started like the first, with Arsenal going all out attack and on the 53rd minute Saka found himself up against Eriksen. Saka sensed space and shifts inside before hitting a low finish past De Gea. It looked then like Arsenal could start to run away with it. But United hang on and don’t panic. They win a corner. Ramsdale flaps and Martinez manages to loop a header past the defender on the line. TWO TWO!
From there it is almost all Arsenal with United trying and failing to counter, putting their bodies on the line and doing all they can to hang on. But as the minutes go by they get more passive and Arsenal eventually score a scrappy goal to win the game. Nice flicked finish by Nketiah.
United have come a long way but aren’t quite there yet.
Highlights
Arsenal 3-2 Man Utd | Match Recap | Manchester United Official
https://youtu.be/bdBooBPACio
Nketiah grabs 90th minute winner in 5-goal thriller! Arsenal 3-2 Man Utd | EPL Highlights
https://youtu.be/yghhraxdaKA