Well, the boys came through when they needed to. It was a very long 90 minutes of football at The Emirates on Sunday as Arsenal hosted one of their biggest rivals in the Premier League. This would be the final time Arsenal play a top six side before the end of the season. Additionally, Manchester United came into the game atop Arsenal by a single point. Arsenal knew coming into the match that a win would see them overtake the Red Devils in a very tight race for Champions League football next season. As the lineup came out today prior to the game, a few interesting names were called in a 3-4-2-1 formation from Unai Emery. Lacazette and Aubameyang started next to each other rather than Emery choosing the Iwobi/Mkhi combination he has favored lately. Ramsey and Ozil featured in the same starting lineup as well, while Guendouzi did not get into the team sheet. This was particularly surprising as Ramsey/Ozil is a move that Emery has not made in recent. Arsenal did report that Mkhitaryan was sidelined today due to back issues, and would not be featured. #ARSMUN TEAM NEWS 5️⃣ changes to Thursday’s #UEL lineup… ➡️ Leno, Maitland-Niles, Kolasinac, Ramsey, Lacazette ⬅️ Cech, Mustafi, Torreira, Iwobi, Mkhitaryan — Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) March 10, 2019 First Half The first half started quickly, and Manchester United had the first chance coming out of the locker room. A nice combination between Shaw and Pogba saw the Englishman have the ball returned to him. He shipped a beautiful cross to Lukaku who did wonders to NOT get it in the back of the net. As the ball hits the woodwork, Pogba puts it back across the goal at Fred, who missed it by mere inches. Take a look. But after that chance it became Arsenal’s game almost immediately. Two minutes later the ball has reached the midfield and is in Arsenal’s possession. A seemingly mundane set of passes between Maitland-Niles and Lacazette led to a pass to Xhaka about thirty yards out. The Swiss international took one touch to the left and unleashed a wicked outward-swerving ball that caught “the best keeper in the Premier League” on his wrong foot. As the ball dipped left, De Gea jumped right, and Arsenal found themselves 1-0 up and in fourth place as it stood. HALF TIME here at the Emirates: Arsenal went ahead early, then sat back. Man United started slowly but are growing into the game. Will #AFC sit back and try to hold this 1-0 lead? Can #MUFC gain control in midfield? Turn on @NBC now! #ARSMUN 1-0 #PLonNBCpic.twitter.com/eU2zjzHVUD — Joe Prince-Wright (@JPW_NBCSports) March 10, 2019 Man United had another chance shortly after the Gunners first goal. Fred received a ball from Pogba about 22 yards from goal, and unleashed a shot that rattled the outside of the left post. United were asking questions early about the Gunners defense, but Arsenal were able to see through their 1-0 lead into the half. Second Half It was a similar story at the beginning of the second to the first. Arsenal were on the back foot coming out of the locker room as United began to penetrate the Gunners defense. In the 50th minute, United were making a break down when Fred’s shot from the top of the box was blocked by Koscielny. As the ball made it’s way around the box after the deflection, it was at the feet of Marcus Rashford. Rashford made one hell of a bass that completely deleted the Arsenal defense to Romelu Lukaku. But the Belgian was one of the best Arsenal defenders on the day, and a heavy first touch gave Leno just enough time to get in front of his shot. Arsenal kept the lead and Leno was indicating then he had no plans to lose a clean sheet. The German goalkeeper was phenomenal in goal again, and he was second in my man of the match voting behind Xhaka. My apologies, I could not find a video. Arsenal were able to get their second goal from a [soft] penalty call in the 72nd minute. I am unsure still watching the replay if it was a penalty or not, but the important part is the man with the whistle felt as though it was. After a costly miss last week in the NLD, Aubameyang went up to the spot and beat De Gea down the middle. As Arlo White says in the video below, “that was brave”. Aubameyang sends his penalty past De Gea to score! ARS 2-0 MU pic.twitter.com/av33UcV4Vt — NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) March 10, 2019 Arsenal would easily see out the result as the fans chanted “Tottenham Hotspur, we’re coming for you” throughout the stands. Arsenal now jump to 4th in the table on 60 points. Chelsea’s tie today and Tottenham’s loss yesterday mean the Gunners are now just a SINGLE point away from their North London neighbors/little brother. Arsenal now sit two points up on United and three on Chelsea with eight games remaining. Tottenham still have to face Liverpool and Manchester City in their remaining games, and Arsenal will hope that they can use those fixtures to jump to third in the table. It is quite a good day to be a Gunner.<doc-sep>Alexandre Lacazette starts ahead with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Picture: Getty) Unai Emery has named an ultra-attacking starting line-up to face Manchester United with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey picked together in attack. The Gunners were humbled 3-1 by Rennes in midweek, leaving their Europa League hopes hanging by a thread. Ozil was recalled for that match and was expected to make way against the Red Devils but he starts, as well as Ramsey in midfield. Aubameyang, similarly, had been expected to make way but he starts alongside Lacazette in attack while Ainsley Maitland Niles slots in at right-back. 🚨 #ARSMUN TEAM NEWS 🚨 5️⃣ changes to Thursday’s #UEL lineup… ➡️ Leno, Maitland-Niles, Kolasinac, Ramsey, Lacazette ⬅️ Cech, Mustafi, Torreira, Iwobi, Mkhitaryan — Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) March 10, 2019 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has made three changes to his side that stunned Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday. Paul Pogba returns from suspension, while Nemanja Matic returns from injury. Diogo Dalot came on for the injured Eric Bailly in Paris and he starts today in what could be a more advanced position.<doc-sep>Arsenal beat their old rivals Manchester United at home this afternoon by a scoreline of 2-0… They did it! Despite heading into this game low on confidence, Arsenal got the better of Manchester United. An early goal from Granit Xhaka gave the Gunners plenty of confidence before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang fired home from the spot to secure all three points. Here are five reasons why Unai Emery prevailed over Ole Gunnar Solskjaer… 1. Bernd Leno acted as the perfect sweeper ‘keeper There are many calls for a man of the match, but one name should stand out above the rest. Bernd Leno, you have my absolute respect. The German shot-stopper played a role which was well-needed today. He came out from his line a lot, and despite Manchester United creating their fair share of chances, Leno didn’t allow the ball to enter his net once. The sweeper ‘keeper role is one which Leno was brought in to carry out. However, it’s not needed in every game. Today though, he had all the confidence in the world to come out and challenge the United attackers, giving them a hard time. Leno is much better than Cech. I think that’s clear to see. Has this performance earned him the right to play against Rennes during midweek? Yes, absolutely so. Emery must avert tradition and drop Cech to the bench. Arsenal cannot afford to concede any away goals, and there’s only one man to carry out that task.<doc-sep>
Arsenal emerged as 2-0 victors over Manchester United at the Emirates today, and have leapfrogged the Red Devils back into the top 4. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men couldn’t continue their momentum after their dramatic 3-1 win in the Champions League at the Parc Des Princes in midweek, and now must battle again to get back into a top 4 spot. Manchester United started on the back foot, and an open game throughout the first 20 minutes went largely Arsenal’s way. Granit Xhaka got the Gunners ahead in the 12th minute with a swerving shot that footed even David De Gea. United got a few chances of their own shortly before and after Arsenal scored, but lacked the composure to capitalize. United’s attacks were again and again thwarted by Arsenal. Fred miscalculated a pass across the Arsenal back line, and later hit the post. The Gunners also did well out-muscling United in the air and pressing in midfield. Fred in particular had trouble with his accuracy in the passing game. United began the second half as they ended in the first, creating some good chances, but still unable to break through. With half an hour to play the Gunners responded by creating chances of their own, and were awarded a penalty after Fred brought down Alexandre Lacazette in the area. Aubameyang, who missed a big penalty against Tottenham last week, converted the spot kick with ease, placing it down the middle as De Gea dove to his left. Lacazette nearly sealed it minutes later, narrowly sending a shot wide. United were shell shocked and losing control. Afer going down 2-0, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer turned to substitutes Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood, with Diogo Dalot and Nemanja Matic coming off. United kept going forward, but failed to create meaningful chances. Marcus Rashford got a header on frame in stoppage time, but his effort went straight into Bernd Leno’s hands, and served as a pretty accurate summary of United’s overall performance. Perhaps United were a bit out of it after a sensational win in the Champions League over PSG, but this should serve as a wake up call in the league. United aren’t safe in the league yet, and have a lot to do in a pretty challenging run of matches to close out the 2018/19 league season. This loss is not a critical blow for United’s chances at a Champions League spot next season, but should serve as a clear reminder that Ole and his men still have a lot of work to do if they want to capitalize on an amazing run to save the season. Arsenal and Chelsea aren’t dead yet, and now there are only 4 points separating 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th with 8 games to play. United next play at Wolverhampton Wanderers in an FA Cup quarterfinal tie next weekend Saturday, March 16th.