Manchester United were beaten 3-1 by Arsenal in an intriguing battle at the Emirates Stadium which saw the home side profit from two stoppage-time goals.
The Reds had taken the lead through Marcus Rashford’s brilliant first-half strike but Gunners skipper Martin Odegaard levelled matters with an instant reply.
Rasmus Hojlund came off the bench in the second half, and played his part in what looked like a sensational Alejandro Garnacho winner with two minutes remaining, before a VAR intervention saw the goal chalked off for offside.
Declan Rice’s deflected strike after six added minutes at the end of the 90 instead put the Gunners in front before Gabriel Jesus made sure of the win shortly after.
A disappointing result, granted, but there were positives to take for the Reds, who matched Arsenal until the death in the capital.
Read on for some of our key takeaways from this pulsating encounter…
RASHFORD OFF THE MARK
Marcus Rashford’s fantastic strike beyond Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale was opened his account for the 2023/24 Premier League season.
Rashford played a role in all three goals in last weekend’s win over Nottingham Forest, but this was the first one he could claim as his own - and a superb one it was, cutting in from the left and finishing after Christian Eriksen found him on the counter attack.
Our no.10 was a dangerous figure throughout the contest, and almost set up new attacking team-mate Rasmus Hojlund following a jinking run and pull-back in the second half.
He also had another shot blocked after a similarly threatening run down the left late in the game. In this mood, Rashford will be confident of adding to his United tally after the international break.
ONANA ‘S CONFIDENCE
Andre Onana’s unique playing style has been evident throughout the campaign thus far but it was interesting to see there being no let-up in that ethos against last season’s Premier League runners-up.
Our no.24 made a number of bold passes out from the back, including a couple early in the first half. A cute pass chipped over the oncoming and pressing Eddie Nketiah ensured Onana found Martinez cleverly, and he repeated the trick later in the first half with a confident pass in between two Arsenal attackers, to again find Martinez.
The Cameroon international is showing himself to be a key figure already in other senses - he was quick to celebrate Rashford’s opener with our away fans, just behind him in the corner of the stadium, and he rallied his team-mates shortly after, when Odegaard equalised.
DEFENSIVE WITHDRAWALS
United came into this game without Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia and Raphael Varane, and finished it without Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof, too.
The manager provided an update on the availability of his players in his post-match press conference from the Emirates Stadium, and it was unfortunate how the list of absentees mounted as the game wore on in North London.
Martinez had marshalled the defence well before his withdrawal on 67 minutes, albeit having been booked for a challenge on Nketiah in his final act of the game.
The Argentinian had made a number of important interventions, particularly in the first half, when he reacted quickly to clear after Kai Havertz had missed a presentable chance in United’s box.
United had two experienced internationals to bring on, in Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans, but Ten Hag will hope to have more options available when we face Brighton & Hove Albion in our first game after the international break.
CLOSE CALL DENIED GARNACHO
How different our emotions might have been come full-time, had Alejandro Garnacho’s goal been allowed to stand. Less than 10 minutes before Arsenal went 2-1 up, the young substitute - now wearing no.17 - was expertly played through by Casemiro to go one-on-one against Aaron Ramsdale and he finished coolly in front of our travelling supporters.
However, following the intervention of the VAR, the goal was disallowed, with Garnacho deemed to be in an offside position when the ball was played, with the tightest of margins denying us what could have been a winning strike.
ERIKSEN ‘S INVOLVEMENT
Christian Eriksen came back into the team from the start last weekend, making his mark by scoring the first of our three goals against Forest, but his impact was felt for different reasons here.
The Dane was expertly positioned in central midfield to catch Arsenal on the transition on more than one occasion - most notably so as he played a key role in the game’s opening goal. It was Eriksen who intercepted a loose pass in midfield, before demonstrating his customary vision to fizz the ball out wide for Rashford as he went on to score brilliantly.
Our no.14 looked set to repeat the trick in the second half, again cutting out play near the halfway line and finding Rashford on the break, but that time the forward’s shot was blocked.
A DEBUT FOR OUR AWAY KIT
After wearing our traditional red shirts in our first three Premier League games of the season, an away game against Arsenal presented us with an opportunity to don our new green and white kit for the first time in competitive action.
We had only previously worn the striking strip in pre-season, in our Tour 2023 matches against Wrexham and Real Madrid.
Rashford scored our first goal in the shirt with his first-half effort, and there was enough evidence at the Emirates to believe that there will be plenty more goals to come on the road this term.
