From the carnage of an early-season slump, Manchester United are on the rise. Four consecutive wins under Erik ten Hag have breathed new life into this team and spread hope around Old Trafford.
The previous home game was a resounding victory over Liverpool. Here, Ten Hag’s side beat Premier League leaders Arsenal, breaking the Gunners’ 100 per cent record.
He has transformed the mood of the club after those calamitous opening defeats to Brighton and Brentford.
Marcus Rashford celebrates with team-mate Antony after the debutant scored his first goal for Manchester United
Rashford scored twice as United continued their run of form, winning four straight in the Premier League.
Christian Eriksen celebrates with Marcus Rashford after the pair linked up for United’s second goal of the game
DATA OF THE MATCH
MAN UTD (4-2-3-1): De Gea 6.5; Dalot 7, Varane 6.5, Martinez 7 (Maguire 80), Malaysia 6.5; McTominay 7, Eriksen 8; Antoni 7 (Ronaldo 58, 6.5), Fernandes 7.5, Sancho 6 (Fred 67, 6.5); Rashford 7.5 (Casemiro 80). Subs: Heaton, Dubravka, Lindelof, Shaw, Elanga.
Scorers: Antony 35, Rashford 65, 75
Booked: McTominay
Manager: Erik has Hag 8
ARSENAL (4-2-3-1): Ramsdale 6; Blanca 6, Saliba 6.5, Gabriel 5, Zinchenko 6 (Nketiah 74, 6); Logan 5.5 (Vieira 74, 6), Xhaka 6.5; Saka 7, Odegaard 7 (Smith-Rowe 74, 6), Martinelli 7; Jesús 7. Substitutions: Turner, Tierney, Holding, Soares, Tomiyasu, Marquinhos.
Scorer: over 60
Reserved: Saliba, Saka, Jesús
Manager: Mikel Arteta 6.5
Referee: Paul Tierney 7
Suddenly everything Ten Hag touches is turning to gold. New £82m signing Antony scored on his debut here. Marcus Rashford, a man reborn, scored twice in the space of 10 minutes to put Arsenal in the lead after Bukayo Saka equalized in the second half.
There is much more to be positive about at United right now. They may have spent £229m in the transfer window, but Ten Hag are giving their employers an instant return on their money.
Casemiro has not even started a game since his £70million move from Real Madrid, filling the bench on Sunday with former Bernabeu team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo and United skipper Harry Maguire.
This is now a very impressive United on paper, and Ten Hag is getting results on the pitch too.
Take your pick of the best performers on Sunday. Christian Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes, Lisandro Martinez, Rashford.
There is also fight in this United team, something that was sorely lacking before. It’s a dubious accolade, but no Premier League side can match his 20 yellow cards this season.
Scott McTominay hit Gabriel Jesus so hard in the opening minutes that the in-form Arsenal striker hit his head on the turf and referee Paul Tierney had to stop the game.
McTominay followed this up by literally punching Jesus towards the end. Martinez, meanwhile, is the warrior Ten Hag said he signed from his former club Ajax.
Rashford scores his side’s second goal after keeping a clean sheet midway through the second half
Rashford walks away in celebration after restoring United’s lead with a brilliant finish past goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale
United players celebrate after regaining the lead shortly after Arsenal equalized in the second half
Everyone is buying the pressure game. Rashford and Jadon Sancho hunted the ball down here, transformed from the bewildered youngsters who were lost at United last season.
Ten Hag knows he still has a long way to go. Nobody turns around a club like United overnight, and there will be bumps in the road.
But it’s been quite a remarkable revival since the early days of the season, when turmoil threatened to engulf the new manager.
And what about Arsenal? There was no shame in defeat in what was their first major test of the season after beating Crystal Palace, Leicester, Bournemouth, Fulham and Aston Villa. They more than played their part in a pulsating game.
Mikel Arteta’s side remain at the top, a point ahead of Manchester City, and this one could easily have gone, certainly if Gabriel Martinelli’s 12th-minute goal had been allowed to stand.
Eriksen was robbed on the halfway line by Martin Odegaard and Saka teed up Martinelli with an excellent pass. The Brazilian held off Diogo Dalot long enough to steer a shot past David de Gea.
Martinelli’s celebrations were cut short as the referee advised him to review the goal on the pitch-side monitor. He concluded that Odegaard had gone through Eriksen’s back and failed to touch the ball. After a weekend of fierce VAR controversy, it was a tight but correct call.
Antony gave United the lead with a cool finish after Rashford put him through on goal inside the penalty area
The United debutant looked delighted after making the perfect start to his new journey in Manchester
United took the opportunity to take the lead in the 35th minute, shortly after Antony had made a series of flamboyant moves past Oleksandr Zinchenko, the likes of which probably hadn’t been seen at Old Trafford since Ronaldo started.
Zinchenko held out his arms as if to say “so what?” but the former City defender was nowhere to be seen when Antony struck moments later.
Fernandes and Sancho combined to get the ball to Rashford on the edge of the box. Crucially, two Arsenal defenders tried to close him down and Rashford was able to slip the ball through for Antony.
The new man had time to compose himself before guiding the ball past Aaron Ramsdale. As Antony ran away in a manic celebration, the cameras cut to the bench where Ronaldo was standing applauding.
Bukayo Saka celebrates after equalizing for Arsenal with a simple finish shortly after the break at Old Trafford
Gabriel Martinelli thought he had given Arsenal the lead with a fine first-half finish, but the goal was ruled out by VAR.
Referee Paul Tierney adjudged midfielder Martin Odegaard (centre) to have outplayed Christian Eriksen in the build-up to the goal.
The Brazilian even had the audacity to try and beat Ramsdale from 30 yards before the break, but Arsenal’s equaliser, moments after being replaced by Ronaldo, came from the start of the second half party
Raphael Varane brought the ball in from the back but his pass was intercepted by Granit Xhaka and Arsenal pounced.
Xhaka played the ball to Odegaard who slid it brilliantly into the path of Jesus. Dalot made an excellent tackle but the ball went loose for Saka to score into an empty net.
At the time, you could have easily backed Arsenal to go on and win this game, but they were left in the ground by Rashford’s brace.
The first came in the 65th minute after Fernandes produced an exquisite pass with the outside of his right foot to leave Rashford’s striker clear of two defenders. The United striker took a touch before burying a shot past Ramsdale.
The second in the 75th minute followed a serve near the line of the aisle. Ronaldo managed to get the ball to Dalot, whose first pass cleared Eriksen. The Dane waited for the right moment to square Rashford for a simple finish.
The celebrations around Old Trafford were wild. Tangible hope. “I understand the fans are dreaming,” Ten Hag said, and who can blame them?
Arsenal were left disappointed as they fell to their first League defeat of the season but remain at the top of the table.
Cristiano Ronaldo came on shortly after the break but couldn’t find the net despite looking brilliant.
SO DID VAR HAVE THE RIGHT TO SCORE ARSENAL’S GOAL?
Gabriel Martinelli looked to have given Arsenal the lead on 12 minutes, until VAR alerted referee Paul Tierney to a possible foul in the build-up. After consulting his monitor, Tierney disallowed the goal.
MARTIN ODEGAARD
I barely touched it. They keep saying this is the Premier League and they want it to be physical. I don’t understand how the referee can go back to it.
JIMMY FLOYD HASSELBAINK
It’s ridiculous to go back. I don’t think it’s a foul, Christian Eriksen is just weak there. The referees say they have changed, they will be more lenient. Martin Odegaard does not make contact with the ball, but you can make contact with the players. It’s not a fault. No need to touch the ball. He is not kicking the player. He just made contact, and that’s allowed.
ROY KEANE
Yes, it’s soft, of course. What helps United is that Odegaard doesn’t touch the ball. Obviously we played in a different era. It’s not a foul these days, but the way the game goes… They stay down when they get hit. I don’t like to see him. I guess it’s a foul.
CHRIS SUTTON
In a weekend of controversial calls, let’s not make the mistake of submitting this one in this category. Martin Odegaard took the ball away from Christian Eriksen, but he did it unfairly. Odegaard fouled Eriksen. He didn’t win the ball, but he did get the man. So this was one of those occasions when it was good that VAR Lee Mason told referee Paul Tierney to visit his pitchside monitor. Tierney took longer than expected, really. He decided he had to watch a few replays. But we don’t take long. The most important thing is that in the end the right decision was made and it was: foul by Odegaard, no goal by Martinelli.
MICHAEL ART
It’s a lack of consistency. Last week (Aston Villa) fouled Aaron Ramsdale but “it’s soft, it’s not a foul”. There was a foul on Bukayo Saka last week, “it’s soft, not a penalty”. Today is a foul. There were some strong tackles and you could see there was no yellow card because they want to keep a threshold in a big game. It is difficult to understand.