FULL-TIME: MANCHESTER UNITED 0-1 ARSENAL
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What a victory it has been for Mikel Arteta, who becomes the first manager in 100 years to win his first two games in charge of Arsenal against Manchester United.
FULL-TIME!!! AAND ARSENAL HAS BEATEN MANCHESTER UNITED 1-0!!
FOUR minutes havee been added to the second half!
90' FREE-KICK FOR UNITED! In by Shaw from the left wing and Maguires, who used Tierney for elevation, commits a foul.
87' YELLOW CARD FOR AUBA! He is penalised for taking too long to exit the pitch.
87' SUBSTITUTION FOR ARSENAL! Maitland-Niles, Mustafi-IN| Willian, Aubameyang-OUT
85' UNITED'S MULTIPLE EFFORTS FOILED BY ARSENAL'S FORTUNES! First, Matic win a corner off Gabriel on the left byline. The corner is headed away and the ball falls to Pogba, who tapped it to VDB on the right. The Dutch's fierce cross deflects off El Nenny and ricochets off the bar.
76' SUBSTITUTIONS FOR ARSENAL| Nketiah- IN| Lacazette -OUT
74' SUBSTITUTIONS FOR UNITED| Cavani, Van de Beek- IN| Bruno, Greenwood -OUT
less than 20 minutes to go!
First goal since the opening weekend for Aubameyang!
69' GOOOOOOOALLLLL!!!! AUBAMEYANG TAKES ARSENAL AHEAD!!!! HE GOES TO HIS RIGHT, DE GEA TO HIS LEFT AND THE GUNNERS FINALLY SCORE!!
68' PENALTY FOR ARSENAL!!! Pogba with a callous tackle on Bellerin and Dean rightly awards the penalty.
62' SUBSTITUTION FOR MAN UNITED! First of the night as Matic comes in for Fred.
United fighting tooth and nail in this second half and has enjoyed a better spell of possession since the resumption.
58' SAVE!! Partey drives at goal from a long way out but he hits it directly to De Gea, who pouches the ball comfortably.
55' JUST WIDE!! Harry Maguire heads the ball just wide from across the face of the goal. Pogba was fouled by Bellerin on the right and Shaw took the free-kick. His inswinger finds Maguire who plants the header just wide.
52' AUBAMEYYAANNNG!! SO CLOSE! Fred gives away the ball cheaply in the midfield and Lacazetter darts towards the United goal. He threads a quick pass to Aubameyang inside the box on the left and the Gabonese strikers opens up his body and looks to go for the far bottom corner. However, his shot jut drags wide of the post.
50' United has come out with intent in this second half!!! Poor judgement from Tierney on th long, cross-field pass allows the ball to go through Greenwood. He moves in to the area on the right and sets up Wan-Bissaka. The RB's shot deflects over th bar.
But changes have taken place in United formation. Pogba moves to the left, Bruno behind Fernandes and Greenwood to the right.
No changes on either side.
46' Manchester United set the ball rolling.
SECOND HALF BEGINS!
It will be interesting to see whether Arsenal can keep this up and not fizzle out? It will also be interesting to see how United respond.
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Can Arsenal keep this up or will Man United find an answer? A big second half coming up in a few minutes.
Arsenal will be frustrated to not have put a goal or two past United, while the host will be a bit relieved. Not many would have expected Arsenal to come out the way it did.
HALF-TIME! No added time and that's the end of the first half.
44' HEADED OVER! Bellerin puts in a lovely cross from the right and Saka, in between Wan-Bissaka and McTominay and with no pressure on him, heads the ball over the frame of the goal. That was a free header and it shouls have found the back of the net.
43' FOUL! Marcus Rashford, who just turned 23 yesterday, accidentally commits a handball in the Arsenal area.
39' CROSSBAR!! Arsenal continues to ask questions and the opening goal, I sense, isn't far. Plays a one-two with Aubameyang on the right of the United box and Willian goes for the far top corner with his left. The ball clips the outside of the crossbar.
37' CHANCE AND SCUFFED!!! Bellerin drives forward with quick pace in the right channel. He squares the ball with a lovely floating pass and Auba collects it at the far post. The Gabonese then threads it to Lacazette near the penalty area but Lindelof sticks his left foot out to deny Lacazette any connection on the ball.
35' Willian floats one in for Aubameyang on the left. Lindelof rushes in to get an important touch and Auba then pokes it wide.
It's still Arsenal that is dominating the game and bossing the possession here. United clearly has its bac against the wall. Having said that, De Gea hasn't really been tested.
27' YELLOW CARD! 2 of Arsenal's back three now in Mike Dean's book. Gabriel is penalised for shirt-pulling on Rashford. Can't do that!
25' The heavens have opened up in Manchester. Heavy rain!
25' YELLOW CARD! Holding, this time, is booked for his foul on Pogba. Not the first time tonight and Mike Dean believes that foul was worthy of a yellow.
24' FOUL! Saka steals the ball from Wan-Bissaka on the left. The United RB then tries to make ammends but ends up bringing down Saka. Willian drills the ball into the near post but the ball is cleared by Pogba.
23' YELLOW CARD! First booking of the day is awarded to Fred, for his foul on Willian from the back.
22' SAVE! No, it's not De Gea but Leno!! United creates the first chance of the half with Rashford going around Holding to put in an excellent through ball from the right wing. Greenwood meets it at the far and takes a crack at goal from a tight angle. Nothing comes off the corner.
21' BLOCKED! Saka and Tierney combine on the left flank, with the latter curling in the cross. Shaw, this time, with the clearing header.
16' OFFSIDE! United manage to get the ball past the centre line and Bruno looks to set up Greenwood with a through ball but the youngster was offside while making the run.
Arsenal is playing the football and United is merely surviving. The high press from Arsenal has yielded a lot of pressure on United.
14' CHANCCEEEE FOR ARSENAL! The Gunners are looking so threatening and fluid with the ball. The move starts with El Nenny playing a quick pass to Willian, who threads it Bellerin on the right flank from the edge of the box. Bellerin sends in a low, quick cross and Aubameyang fails to get a boot on time at the far post.
11' Arsenal wins another corner. Once again, Harry Maguire is solid at the back as he clears the ball out of harm's way and then Saka’s long-range shot is blocked by referee Mike Dean.
11' Partey intercepts a poor pass from Fred and then bursts forward on the break. Eventually Saka’s low cross is blocked after a good pass through to him from.
Remember, Arsenal is 13 games without a win in the Premier League at the Theatre of Dreams.
7' FOUL! Holding shoves Marcus Rashford down while trying to contain him. Possession back with United but they are still playing deep from their own half.
7' Nothing comes off the corner and Maguire heads the ball again once away.
6' CORNER FOR ARSENAL! William to take it from the left post. His scoop towards near post is headed away by Bruno. The rebound falls to Saka, who curls the ball into the United box and Maguire, who could have left it alone for De Gea to catch, headed the ball for a corner.
5' FOUL! Bruno was looking to break from the centre half but William, in an eager attempt to win the ball, ended up committing a foul by hitting Bruno's face. Possession back with Arsenal. Partey, from 30 yards out, looked to put Lacazette through at the edge of the United area but the striker was dispossessed.
4' Positive start by Arsenal. Lots of possession in the United half.
Peter Drury on air while remembering Nobby Stiles: "He was fierce, he was fun and he normally one."
KICK-OFF! FIRST HALF BEGINS!
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Players take a knee . Here we go!!!!
Arsenal to get the proceedings underway!
4-2-3-1 formation for Manchester United| 3-4-3 is what Arteta has gone with!
The players have walked out of the tunnel and onto the turf!
We are moments away from kick-off!
LAST PREMIER LEAGUE MEETING:
Arsenal rang in the New Year on a high by defeating Manchester United 2-0 at home on January 1. Nicholas Pepe had opened the scoring in the 8th minute before Sokratis Papastathopoulos added a second in the 42nd minute.
LAST RESPECTIVE ENCOUNTERS:
Manchester United hosted RB Leipzig in their UEFA Champions League group fixture, where it cruised to a 5-0 victory. Mason Greenwood and Anthony Martial scored a goal each, while Marcus Rashford came off the bench to net a hat-trick.
Arsenal heads into this contest on the back of 3-0 win against Dundalk in the Europa League. Nketiah, Willock and Pepe were among goals at the Emirate Stadium.
->United has scored 11 goals and conceded just two since the middle of the month, leaving the side high in belief ahead of a fixture which will be regarded as a must-win if it is to make quick headway up the standings.
-> Only Lacazette has scored more than once in the top flight this season for the Gunners. Moreover, Arsenal-- an otherwise strong defensive unit-- has struggled to keep a clean shit since the opening weekend due to numerous blips at the back.
-> To be fair to Arsenal, it has been subjected to a very tough in terms of fixture. The side has already faced Liverpool and Manchester City and today, it faces the challenge of Ole's Red Devils.
Current Position in table:
Man United- 15th (M- 5 |W-2| D-1| L-2 | POINTS- 7)
Arsenal - 11th (M- 6 |W-3| D-0| L-3 | POINTS- 9)
Form Guide:
Man United (PL) LWLWD
Man United (all competitions): WLWWDW
Arsenal (PL): WWLWLL
Arsenal (all competitions): DWLWLW
man utd vs arsenal team lineups:
->MANCHESTER UNITED: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire (c), Shaw; McTominay, Fred, Pogba, Fernandes; Greenwood, Rashford.
Subs: Henderson, Tuanzebe, Williams, Mata, Matic, van de Beek, Cavani.
->ARSENAL: Leno, Holding, Gabriel, Tierney, Bellerin, Elneny, Partey, Saka, Willian, Lacazette, Aubameyang (c)
Substitutes: R. Rúnarsson, Ceballos, Maitland-Niles, Pepe, Mustafi, Nketiah, Xhaka
-> Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has made three changes to the starting XI
MATCH PREVIEW:
Manchester United's forwards have forged a strong understanding that makes them a real threat in the Premier League, according to Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta who will take his team to Old Trafford on Sunday.
United's front three of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood combined for 62 goals in all competitions last season and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer bolstered its attack by signing Uruguay international Edinson Cavani last month.
With Daniel James and Odion Ighalo also in its ranks, Arteta said United has the options to change its style.
"They create really good relationships and they're all very different. They glide together, have really good understanding and chemistry on the pitch. You can see that," Arteta told Arsenal's website.
"Since the lockdown, Ole has managed to improve that a lot and you can see that at the end of (last) season, the amount of goals and types of goals they were scoring. They're a threat.
"They can play two or three different formations... they've been changing some things because of the opponents, because of the quality of players they have and sometimes to change the game in certain moments.
"We have to be prepared for that because they have that adaptability, they have a big squad and up front they have a lot of options to do different things."
United is unbeaten in its last 13 home Premier League games against Arsenal.
"I want to believe we're getting closer to getting the win there," Arteta added.
"For sure our mindset is going to be to go there and win. That's the approach we're going to have and the gameplay we're going to put in place."
United is 15th in the table with seven points from five games, two points behind 11th-placed Arsenal who has played a game more.
Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: Leading the Gunners’ charge- By Shyam Vasudevan
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is a name that is synonymous with Arsenal. Having represented European giants such as AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund, the Gabonese striker arrived at the Emirates Stadium in 2018 and has made it his home, smashing 73 goals in 117 appearances.
The 31-year-old is the fastest to score 50 goals for the Gunners in the Premier League era, reaching the feat in four games fewer than the club’s all-time leading goalscorer, Thierry Henry.
Aubameyang, having won the Premier League Golden Boot in the 2018-19 season, continued his fine run last term to finish on 22 goals, just one short of Jamie Vardy’s tally. Aubameyang then led Arsenal to a season-ending FA Cup title.
However, there was a constant worry among the Arsenal faithful: Will he extend his contract? Aubameyang had one year left, and manager Mikel Arteta had publicly admitted to losing sleep over his star striker’s future at the club. The drama went on for weeks as the rumour mill went berserk. The speculation was finally put to bed on September 15 when Aubameyang signed a fresh three-year deal that would keep him at the club until 2024 and reportedly make him one of the highest earners at the club alongside midfielder Mesut Ozil.
(READ THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE)
WHERE TO WATCH:
You can catch the live telecast of Premier League's Manchester United vs Arsenal match on the Star Sports Network. You can also stream the match live on the Disney + Hotstar app.
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