Arsenal 3-1 Man Utd: 4 positives and negatives from key win

As far as weekends go, even before Saturday had drawn to a close there were Arsenal fans across the globe beaming from ear to ear after events in the capital.

The day started with Nuno Tavares scoring his first goal for the club against Manchester United inside three minutes, with that lead doubled shortly after the half an hour mark when Bukayo Saka slotted away his second penalty in two games.

He is the youngest player in Premier League history to do so.

Much of the remainder of Arsenal’s 3-1 win didn’t go quite as smoothly as thought. Defensive lapses riddled the game, one of which allowed Cristiano Ronaldo to reduce the deficit, and it required a huge slice of luck when Bruno Fernandes squirmed his second half penalty wide of the post much to the relief everyone associated with Arsenal.

Arsenal 3-1 Manchester United: 4 positives and negatives from huge Premier League win as Gunners bid for top four

It remained on a knife edge up until the 70th minute when the unlikely hero of Granit Xhaka thundered in from 25 yards to calm the nerves of all inside the stadium. Having another excellent season in midfield, the moment he got to share with the fans was one he will cherish deeply.

Chelsea away and Manchester United at home, and six points to show for it. Not too bad. But could it get better? Enter Brentford Football Club.

No team is going to secure maximum points in the chase for the top four, and looking at Spurs’ fixture list, this was undoubtedly one of the more likely games they could slip up in. That 0-0 draw does wonders for Arsenal, who now have the initiative to go and end this painful wait without Champions League football.

Looking back on a memorable weekend of action, while the overriding emotion is a positive one, there were elements of the 3-1 win that were less so. Starting with the negatives, here is the good and the bad of Saturday.

1. Not Building on Opening Goal

Some may argue that this is factually incorrect, which is sort of is. Arsenal went from being one goal up to being two goals up. That feels like the definition of building on a lead. But it wasn’t quite that smooth.

There is no more ideal start than scoring inside three minutes. As soon as United kicked the game off Martin Odegaard went steaming in at Raphael Varane to put pressure on and it really set the tone for the afternoon.

Yet Arsenal seemed to go into their shells slightly after the first goal. In an attacking sense Odegaard looked spectacular and Bukayo Saka had Alex Telles’ number, but out from the back there seemed to be a wave of nerves creeping into the players who if anything looked like they were the ones who had just conceded.

Manchester United are drained of any confidence, belief, or fight, and that moment after scoring should have been the time to truly turn the screw and finish the game as a contest. Instead, while chances were there for Arsenal because United are bad, unforced errors crept into the game and the visitors had their chances to level the game before Saka’s penalty.

Looking for reasons as to why, the short turnover of matches could certainly have had an impact. Arteta said after the game that five or six players were carrying knocks, and the physical and mental fatigue of Stamford Bridge may have resulted in some hesitancy in possession that the team isn’t used to. After all, the pressure on top of that is substantial.

What is important is that they got through it. Kicking off on Saturday afternoon and not playing again until the late game on Sunday, there is plenty of time for recovery.

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