Arsenal leave it late to stun Man Utd

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  • Post published:September 4, 2023

Arsenal scored twice in stoppage time to secure a dramatic 3-1 victory over Manchester United at Emirates Stadium in the Premier League on Sunday.

Marcus Rashford gave the visitors the lead against the run of play at the Emirates, but Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard quickly tied the game.

After a VAR check, a second-half penalty given to the home team was overturned, and United missed out on what could have been the game-winning goal when substitute Alejandro Garnacho was called offside.

The team that came in second in the Premier League last year kept up the pressure during the eight minutes of extra time.

In the 96th minute, they were rewarded when the new midfielder Rice took a deep corner at the back post and shot past Andre Onana with help from the substitute Jonny Evans.

There was still time for another goal, and it came when Jesus, who had come on as a substitute, rushed forward and beat Onana. This left United stunned.

“We work and do everything we do every day for moments like this,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told Sky, praising his side for their never-say-die attitude.

“This is sport at the top level, it is about the small margins. It could have gone either way.

“I am really happy, obviously. They are a great team, really well coached and they make life difficult for you. When we gave the goal away that we did you are always up against it.”.

Arsenal are now in fifth place in the table after winning their third game in a row. They are two points behind Manchester City, who are in first place, while United are in 11th place.

Liverpool beat Aston Villa 3-0 earlier in the day to move up to third place in the table.

Arsenal came out strong and pushed United back in the warm September sun. In the 13th minute, new player Kai Havertz had a great chance to give Arsenal the lead, but he missed the goal horribly.

Shortly before the half-hour mark, the game really got going when United took the lead after a quick counter-attack.

Christian Eriksen picked up a loose ball in the middle of the pitch and sprinted forward. He found Rashford, who was running down the left channel, with a perfectly weighted pass.

Early on, the England forward didn’t do much. But in the 27th minute, he cut inside and got by two defenders before firing a shot past Aaron Ramsdale’s desperate dive.

But the Gunners tied it up a minute later when Odegaard, who was alone in the area, scored from just inside the box after Gabriel Martinelli found him.

Arsenal got back into the game faster after halftime. When Havertz fell in the box just before the hour mark, the referee gave Arsenal a penalty, but the decision was overturned after a VAR check.

United manager Erik ten Hag gave Rasmus Hojlund his first game. He replaced Anthony Martial, who hadn’t done much, with the Danish forward in the 67th minute.

Arteta made three changes, one of which was to replace the lively Eddie Nketiah with Jesus.

In the 88th minute, Garnacho seemed to win the game for United after a quick break, but VAR said he was just a little bit off-side, which made Arsenal fans happy.

The decibel level went up when they made that announcement, but it went up even more when the home fans went crazy after their two dramatic late goals.

Last season, United lost all six away games against other teams in the top seven. On average, they gave up 3.66 goals per away game.

Last month, they lost 2-0 at Tottenham, and Sunday’s result means more bad news for the Reds on the road.

“We deserved to win this game but you don’t always get what you deserve,” Ten Hag told the BBC.

“I look more at how we step up and if you see from the Wolves game to this game there is big progression. Tonight was a team. I am really happy with this performance and the progress of our performance.”