Sunday’s edition of the Arsenal-Manchester United match, which Arsenal won 3-2 at the Emirates Stadium, taught the Premier League a new and familiar lesson.
The rivalry between Arsenal and Manchester United is back, with fans and neutrals alike dreaming of this fixture growing into what it was earlier this century.
[ MORE: Arsenal vs Man United player ratings ]
Eddie Nketiah completed his brace in the 90th minute, joining Bukayo Saka’s superb goal on the scoresheet and overshadowing Man United goals from Marcus Rashford and Lisandro Martinez.
Arsenal continue to grow as youngsters in Mikel Arteta beat arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur And now old rivals Man United are in the space of one week, amassing 50 points to stretch their table to five points over Man City with a game in hand.
Watch Arsenal vs Manchester United FULL MATCH REPLAY
But Manchester United, led by Eric ten Hag, showed audacity After a draw against Crystal Palace in the middle of the week, battling through exhaustion before coming up short. The Red Devils are 39 points behind third-placed Newcastle United on goal difference.
[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]
The rivalry between Arsenal and Manchester United is properly reborn (or at least revitalized)
We needed this.
There are some non-geographic rivalries in the Premier League that make the fixture list complete, and for a long time we’ve been waiting to see Arsenal and Manchester United give us a meaningful battle for the top four.
Sunday’s encounter joins United’s early season win in revitalizing the competition and allowing fans of either side – as well as the neutrals – to wonder if there is hope Mikel Arteta and Erik ten Hag can give us a mini-match between Arsene Wenger and Alex Ferguson.
The scrap between Bruno Fernandes and Gabriel Magalhaes gave us hints of Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira (in different positions, of course) and the fire in the eyes of scorers Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka in particular showed us what it can mean to score a goal. Great goal in this match.
What would it have been like with Casemiro, Gabriel Jesus and Diogo Dalot?
more please.
The Arsenal project is still slightly ahead of Man United
Erik ten Hag doesn’t have all his chops and the space between the sides may not be a gap but it’s still noticeable.
Even accounting for home-field advantage, injuries to Diogo Dalot and Anthony Martial and, most importantly, Casemiro’s suspension, Arsenal were ready to come out of the jump and United spent most of their day adjusting to the hosts’ dictation of the game.
Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka defined the still influential Bruno Fernandes, and Arsenal had more than half the ball as well as a huge advantage in shot attempts and expected goals.
But Ten Hag’s defense didn’t allow many chances for the talented side who needed a fine goal from Saka on the way to a point – there are questions about their backs on Nketiah’s mark – and Raphael Varane was a bit of a cheat symbol when healthy. .
United are a step behind Arsenal at the moment, and Nketiah’s winner was deserved and decisive, but we’ve scored in the front row when those games come next season.
The stars of the show
Granite Shaka
Bruno Fernandez
Bukayo Saka
Marcus Rashford
Eddie Nketiah
What’s Next?
Arsenal will travel to Manchester City for their FA Cup fourth-round tie on Friday ahead of the Premier League’s visit to Everton on February 4.
Man United are in three cup matches before their Premier League kick-off on February 4 against Crystal Palace at Old Trafford. United go to Nottingham Forest in the League Cup semi-final first leg on Wednesday, host Reading on Saturday in the FA Cup, then host Forest in the second leg on February 1.
Mikel Arteta reaction
“It couldn’t get much better than that after the derby, coming here and winning it that way makes it even better….. mentally and emotionally we were really composed and determined at the same time. We never panicked and just kept believing, doing the same things better than before.” .
“You can talk about maturity, but it was about faith and quality, showing tenacity to take the game where we wanted to be. I’m happy and thank you for the crowd.”
Video summary of the Arsenal and Manchester United match: Arsenal 2-2 Man United
Marcus Rashford goal video: Man United lead 1-0 (17 points)
Eddie Nketiah’s goal video: Granit Xhaka gets his fifth assist of the season (24′)
Bukayo Saka goal video: Arsenal star hits a great goal from a distance (53′)
Video of Lisandro Martinez’s goal: a desperate header that explodes a loose ball over the line (59 ′)
Video of Eddie Nketiah’s goal: the deft touch sealed the victory for Arsenal (90 degrees)
Mad!
Eddie Nketiah comes through in a massive way.
📺 @employee And @peacock #ARSMU | #morning pic.twitter.com/NM1hhUvgF1
– NBC Sports Soccer (NBCSportsSoccer) January 22, 2023
How to watch the Arsenal vs Manchester United match live, broadcast link and start time
Kickoff: 11:30 a.m. ET, Sunday
TV channel: NBC
Online: stream across NBCSports.com
Key storylines and players to watch
Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey, William Saliba and Aaron Ramsdal continue to excel and through the backbone of the team, Arsenal are in brilliance and enthusiasm. Even without Gabriel Jesus, they didn’t miss a beat with Eddie Nketiah standing up impressively. After this confrontation against United, they had an FA Cup match and then a Premier League confrontation against Manchester City to negotiate but after that there would be a very easy series of matches. To be at the top of the table at this stage is well deserved, and beating United would see many predict Arsenal’s hand in winning the Premier League title.
United stumbled midweek at Palace as Michael Ulis’ stunning injury-time free-kick prevented them from another win. United weren’t tough enough but they are still ahead of where everyone thought they would be this season. Marcus Rashford has been on fire in recent weeks, while Luke Shaw has been an inspiration at centre-back but is in his regular slot at left-back to put up a tasty fight against Saka. Bruno Fernandes scored in consecutive matches and leads the attacking unit and Casemiro was exceptional but he was suspended for this match which is a heavy blow. Scott McTominay or Fred is expected to replace him in the squad, along with Christian Eriksen in midfield.
Arsenal team news, injuries, and line-up
Gabriel Jesus and Reese Nelson stayed out, while Mohamed Elneny was hit by a blow. Mikel Arteta keeps fielding the same starting line-up again, and why not?
🔴 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎 ⚪️
🧱 Gabriel in the back
🪄 Odegaard in midfield
Bitmap leading line👊 Get ready to fight – together! pic.twitter.com/OjJqnWU9W9
– Arsenal January 22, 2023
Manchester United team news, injuries, and line-up
Jadon Sancho, Diogo Dalot and Donny van de Beek are all without injury, while Casemiro is sidelined. Scott McTominay replaces Casemiro in the starting lineup, while Anthony Martial remains out until Wout Weghorst starts to lead again.
🚨 Team news 🚨
Eric does one change from Wednesday night, with @employee Coming to the commenters @employee.#MUFC || # Draw
– Manchester United (ManUtd) January 22, 2023
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