Arsenal stun Manchester United with late goals in 3-1 victory
By Pristinegist Reporter
LONDON, England – Arsenal scored two goals in injury time to stun Manchester United with a 3-1 victory at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus were the heroes for the Gunners, who came from behind to claim their third win in four games and move up to fifth in the Premier League table.
Marcus Rashford had given United the lead in the 27th minute with a stunning strike, but Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard equalised immediately with a fine finish.
The game looked set to end in a draw, until Rice’s deflected shot from a corner and Jesus’s breakaway goal in the dying minutes sealed a memorable win for Mikel Arteta’s side.
Rashford breaks deadlock
The first half was an evenly contested affair, with both teams creating chances and showing attacking intent.
Arsenal had the first clear opportunity in the 13th minute, when Kai Havertz miskicked a golden chance in the United box. Lisandro Martinez blocked Eddie Nketiah’s follow-up shot.
United responded with a counter-attack, which ended with Christian Eriksen playing a perfect pass to Rashford on the left flank. The England forward cut inside Ben White and William Saliba and fired a right-footed shot past Aaron Ramsdale, via the inside of the post.
Odegaard levels instantly
Arsenal did not let their heads drop after conceding, and restored parity within 35 seconds of the restart.
Oleksandr Zinchenko fed Nketiah on the left wing, and he passed to Gabriel Martinelli in the box. The Brazilian cut the ball back for Odegaard, who arrived at the edge of the area and beat Andre Onana with a low shot.
VAR drama
The second half was more cagey, as both teams tightened up their defences and looked for openings.
United had a chance to regain the lead in the 55th minute, when Anthony Martial’s shot was pushed away by Ramsdale and Rashford’s rebound was blocked by White.
Arsenal thought they had won a penalty in the 61st minute, when Havertz went down under pressure from Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Casemiro. However, referee Anthony Taylor overturned his decision after consulting VAR.
United suffered a similar fate in the 88th minute, when substitute Alejandro Garnacho scored what seemed to be the winner, only for VAR to rule it out for offside by a whisker.
Rice and Jesus seal it
Just when it looked like both teams would have to settle for a point, Arsenal struck twice in injury time to snatch an unlikely win.
In the 91st minute, Rice took a shot from outside the box after a corner was cleared. The ball took a wicked deflection off Martinez and wrong-footed Onana.
In the 94th minute, Jesus completed the rout, when he latched onto a long ball from Jorginho and ran from the halfway line to slot past Onana.
Reaction
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta praised his team’s character and resilience after the game.
He said:
> “It was an incredible performance from the boys. We showed great spirit and belief until the end. We never gave up and we got rewarded with two fantastic goals.
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> “I’m very proud of the team and the fans. They were amazing today. They supported us throughout the game and they deserved this win.”
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag was disappointed with the result and the VAR decisions.
He said:
> “It’s a tough one to take. We played well for most of the game and we scored a great goal. But we conceded too quickly and we were unlucky with VAR.
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> “I think we deserved at least a draw. But football is like that sometimes. You have to accept it and move on. We have to learn from this and improve.”
