April 23, (THEWILL) –Â Â In one of the season’s most entertaining matches, Arsenal defeated Manchester United 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium, in Saturday’s English Premier League early kick-off.
The result moved Arsenal ahead of rivals Tottenham Hotspur into fourth place, courtesy of goals from Nuno Tavares, Bukayo Saka, and Granit Xhaka, while Cristiano Ronaldo scored United’s lone goal.
The Gunners took the lead in the third minute when both Raphael Varane and Alex Telles failed to clear a Xhaka cross, allowing Saka to sneak in and go for goal. The initial shot was saved by David de Gea, but Tavares was on hand to tap in the rebound.
Ronaldo released Anthony Elanga into attack with a swift move giving United a golden chance to equalise, but Tavares tailed back just in time to tighten the angle, and the Swede’s shot was palmed behind by Aaron Ramsdale.
From the subsequent corner, Scott McTominay towered over Tavares, but could not keep his header on target and Arsenal had a breather from the pacy opening few minutes.
Ramsdale very nearly undid all the good work when he cleared straight into the path of McTominay, but the Englishman was allowed off the hook. Then, Bruno Fernandes’ dink was prevented from going in by Gabriel, thereby preserving Arsenal’s lead.
Tavares was called to go stride-for-stride with Elanga after the latter was patched through on goal by Ronaldo. Soon after, United’s returning number seven shot over from just inside the Arsenal penalty area.
Man United’s appeals for a penalty for a handball against Cedric were turned down, before Diogo Dalot struck the crossbar from distance, and the full-back was fortunate that Eddie Nketiah blasted straight at De Gea after playing him fully onside.
Nketiah, fresh from his brace against Chelsea, scored just a few minutes later. Saka controlled Martin Odegaard’s deft pass along was tackled by Telles but the ball rolled into Nketiah’s path for a tap-in. Even though Nketiah was found to be offside after a VAR assessment, Arsenal were awarded a penalty after referee, Craig Pawson, was called to the monitor to evaluate Telles’ shove on Saka.
The Arsenal winger stepped up, and as he did against Chelsea, sent De Gea the wrong way to give the Gunners a two-goal advantage.
Ronaldo became the oldest player, 37, to join the Premier League 100 club when he hit a powerful finish from a Matic cross, ghosting between Tavares and Gabriel before blasting into the top corner.
In first-half stoppage time, both Telles and Odegaard had attempts at goal blocked, and the score remained 2-1 at the interval.
After the break, a good stretch of Arsenal control saw Tavares skin Dalot and open up an opportunity for his second goal of the afternoon, but his shot went into the stands this time.
Minutes later, the Portuguese player conceded a penalty against Arsenal for a careless handball, but was saved when Fernandes’ spot kick bounced off the post and drifted wide.
Then, Ronaldo believed he had levelled the scores with another goal, but a late offside flag and a lengthy VAR check denied him, while Ramsdale was alert to push Dalot’s ferocious effort onto the upright.
After Mohamed Elneny stripped Fernandes of possession, Arsenal restored their two-goal lead through a 25-yard pile-driver from fellow midfielder, Granit Xhaka.
Arsenal has moved over Tottenham and into fourth place as a result of their win, but Spurs play later today and have a slightly higher goal differential, so things could change. The Gunners will travel to West Ham United for their next fixture.
Meanwhile, United is still in sixth place, six points behind fourth, with a game against Chelsea scheduled for midweek. Ralf Rangnick’s team might finish the weekend in eighth place on results elsewhere.
