Pain in the Arsenal
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Arsenal 3-1 Man Utd: Player ratings as Rice strikes at the death

By James Cormack

Arsenal's English midfielder #41 Declan Rice celebrates after scoring their late second goal during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium in London on September 3, 2023. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
Arsenal's English midfielder #41 Declan Rice celebrates after scoring their late second goal during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium in London on September 3, 2023. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Declan Rice struck at the death as Arsenal beat Manchester United 3-1 at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon.

It was a contest bereft of quality for the first 25 minutes before goals at both ends burst it into life. Marcus Rashford struck first for the visitors after Arsenal were caught out in transition before the Gunners hit back a mere 100 seconds later through Martin Odegaard, who crashed home from the edge of the box.

The hosts thought they’d earned a chance to take the lead just before the hour mark when Kai Havertz was awarded a penalty after being tripped by Aaron Wan-Bissaka. However, Anthony Taylor overturned his on-field decision following VAR intervention.

The game was on a knife-edge as it entered its final act, with both sides looking capable of landing the decisive blow. Bukayo Saka spurned a glorious chance for the Gunners, while Alejandro Garnacho thought he’d won it for the Red Devils, but his late effort was eventually ruled out for offside.

The tension was palpable throughout the eight minutes of stoppage time, and it was Arsenal who landed the killer punch through Rice. Some time for your first Gunners goal, eh? Oh, and there was time for more, with Gabriel Jesus rounding off the triumph with a cool finish.

Arsenal 3-1 Man Utd player ratings

Here are the Arsenal player ratings from a special afternoon at the Emirates.

https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1698387179892777029

Goalkeeper & Defenders

Aaron Ramsdale (GK) – 5/10 – Not great. Got a hand on Rashford’s opener, and his parry of Anthony Martial’s shot at the start of the second half could’ve led to a Rashford brace.

Ben White (RB) – 5/10 – Suspect for United’s opener as his vulnerabilities one-on-one manifested. Didn’t contribute much in possession.

William Saliba (CB) – 6.5/10 – Positionally very good and made a big block to deny Rashford from scoring his second. A couple of loose touches in possession, though.

Gabriel (CB) – 6.5/10 – Finally back in the starting XI, Gabriel was stout on his return. Enjoyed the physical duel with Rasmus Hojlund late on in the contest.

Oleksandr Zinchenko (LB) – 6/10 – Zinchenko took up an incredibly fluid position in possession, with the Ukrainian occasionally drifting over to the right side of Arsenal’s midfield pivot. Offered a distinct route of progression with the ball.

Continued on the next slide…