Sokratis, Pepe help Arsenal down Manchester United
Catch the live scores, commentary, updates, analysis and more from Arsenal's home Premier League fixture against Manchester United.
Published : Jan 02, 2020 00:09 IST
| Hello and welcome to Sportstar 's live coverage of the Premier League match between Arsenal and Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium. |
FULL TIME! Arsenal has defeated Manchester United 2-0 to move into the top half of the table. A first home win for Arsenal since October and a first win for Mikel Arteta.
90 ' Four minutes have been added at the end of the second half. Minkel Arteta is minutes away from his first incharge of the Gunners.
89' Aubameyang breaks clear on the left wing. He gets close to the byline and tries to find Nelson but his cross is neyond the youngster's reach.
85 ' Manchester United with most of the possession as Arsenal has camped deep in its half. Solskjaer's men have however failed to find their way past the Gunners' defence.
82' And Arsneal also makes a change. Lacazette is replaced by Guendouzi.
81' FInal change for Manchester United. Juan Mata comes on for Matic.
79' Aubameyang uses his pace to cut in from the left wing. He skips a few challenges before laying the ball to Lacazette. The Frenc striker skies his shot from just outside the box.
71' Fred lays the ball to Wan-Bissaka at the edge of the box. He goes down under a challenge rather theatrically. The referee doesn't give a penalty and a quick VAR check backs up the referee's decision.
69 ' Kolasic seems to have a problem with his right ankle and he is replaced by Bukayo Saka.
67 ' Arsenal's tempo has dropped off this half, just like it did against Chelsea. Can Solskjaer's men also seal the comeback?
62' Pepe makes way for Reiss Nelson as Mikel Arteta makes his first substution.
59' At the edge of the box. Matic finds himself with no space to pass but manages to slip a ball to Pereira, whose shot rattles the side netting.
57 ' And they do come on. Lingard and Daniel James make way in the duble substitution.
55 ' Fred smashes one from 30 yards out but it’s straight at Leno. Pereira and Greendown are getting ready to come on for Man Utd.
52' Manchester United is having more of the ball in this half but is struggling to do make it count. Arsenal, on the other hand, has looked threatening everytime one its front four get on the ball.
49' Better start to the half from the Red Devils. Martial with a defence-splitting pass to Rashford but it has too much pace on it and it is gathered without challenge by Leno.
46 ' Manchester United gets the second half started.
HALF TIME Arsenal gos into the break with a two goal lead and the Emirates stadium is bouncing. It has been a while since we have seen the Gunners play like they have today. Can they make sure that they do better to defend this lead than they did against Chelsea a few days ago? We'll find out in 15 minutes.
43'GOAL! Sokratis Papastathopoulos doubles Arsenal's lead. Ozil sends a pass over the top to Maitland-Niles, whose cross is blocked by Maguire. Ozil's inswinging corner is flicked towards the goal at the front post by Lacazette. De Gea can only palm it back into the box and Sokratis is the first to react, smashing the ball in.
38' Carless from De Gea! His clearance bounces off Lacazette into Pepe path, who gets the ball on his left foot and unelashes a shot that bounces off the post.
34 ' And now Torreira almost gets Arsenal's second. On the edge of the box, he gets the ball under his left foot and sends it inches wide of the post.
31' Pepe gets the ball to Lacazette in the box. He turns Maguire but his shot flies to the corner flag rather than into the goal.
30' Maguire collides with Lacazette when jumping for a header. The defender's arm catches the striker but the referee sees nothing in it.
28' Manchester United keeps possession but the ball is roated between the center-backs and the full-backs. Arsenal players are happy to sit back and let them have the ball. The Red Devils haven't had a single spell in the game today that suggests that they are close to getting the equaliser.
21' As I say that, Fred gets on the ball but Arsenal players run back and steal the ball from his feet. And that gets a huge round of applause from the fans. And David Luiz.
20 ' Arsenal's front four have been a lot more fluid that Man Utd's. And having Matic on the ball in the middle of the park is not helping the Red Devils as he turns like a truck and has a very small passing range.
18' Maitland-Niles pulls down Rashford near the halfway line. The Man Utd striker jumps up a bit to make sure the foul is given, and he gets it.
10' And less than two minutes after scoring, Pepe almost gets an assist. He makes Shaw dance before getting free and lifting the ball to the back post. Aubameyang tries a spectacular volley which goes well over.
8 ' GOAL! PEPE PUTS ARSENAL AHEAD! Kolasinac gets the ball down the left wing, drives to the byline and pulls the ball back into a dangerous area where Pepe is free to sidefoot the ball to De Gea's right. The keeper barely made a move. And Arsenal has gone ahead.
That's the fifth goal for the club and third in the Premier League since joining the Gunners as their record signing.
6' Maitland-Niles passes the ball straight to Lingard who drives forward and slides it in to James. Arsenal manages to recover though at the cost of a corner, which comes to nothing.
3' Daniel James easily goes past Kolasinac and he gets shoved to the ground. The Arsenal defender gets a booking for his continued complaints see him pick up the first yellow card of the game.
2' Manchester United has started the game brightly. The players sqarm forward on the break which ends in Lingard laying it off to Rashford who lines up a drive from 25 yards. The shot is easy for Leno to gather.
KICKOFF Arsenal gets the match underway.
— We're less than five minutes away from kickoff at the Emirates stadium. Who do you think will win the game? Let us know your predictions and thoughts about the game on Twitter .
— Earlier in the week, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said he expects Paul Pogba to be fit to play against Arsenal. Today, he doesn't make the squad. Every game he misses just fuels rumours of his imminent exit.
TEAM NEWS
Arsenal: Leno, Maitland-Niles, Sokratis, Luiz, Kolasinac, Xhaka, Torreira, Pepe, Ozil, Aubameyang, Lacazette.
Subs: Martinez, Ceballos, Holding, Nelson, Willock, Guendouzi, Saka.
Manchester United: De Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw, Matic, Fred, James, Lingard, Rashford, Martial.
Subs: Romero, Jones, Mata, Pereira, Young, Greenwood, Williams.
Man United threat looms large over Arsenal’s dire defence
The old adage ‘too good to go down’ should apply to Arsenal, a team that has been a fixture in the top tier since 1919/20.
However, the club is just six points above the drop zone and new boss Mikel Arteta would probably have preferred an easier opponent than Manchester United as he bids to win his first game after a draw and defeat in his opening two matches in charge.
The United attack will be licking its lips at the thought of giving the weak Gunners defence a thorough test with goalkeeper Bernd Leno and defenders Shkodran Mustafi and David Luiz far from reliable.
Arteta will want to see more of what his side produced in the opening half hour of the 2-1 defeat by Chelsea if it is to avoid a fifth successive home loss in all competitions — its present run of four is its worst since 1959.
“Individual errors cost you games but I can’t fault the effort, commitment and for putting in place what we practised,” said Arteta.
However, with confidence at a low, a defeat for Arsenal on Wednesday and victory for third-from-bottom Aston Villa at Burnley would suck the Gunners deeper into the relegation battle.
— Today's Premier League scores from across the grounds:
- Brighton and Hove Albion 1 - 1 Chelsea
- Burnley 1 - 2 Aston Villa
- Newcastle United 0 - 3 Leicester City
- Southampton 1 - 0 Tottenham Hotspur
- Watford 2 - 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
- Manchester City 2 - 1 Everton
- Norwich City 1 - 0 Crystal Palace
- West Ham United 3 - 0 AFC Bournemouth