Arsenal staked their claim as title contenders when they secured a narrow 3-2 victory over Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium in North London, extending their lead on top of the Premier League table to five points. It was a brilliant display of winning mentality against probably the only other in-form team in the division, and the win will definitely boost their confidence ahead of their FC Cup fourth-round clash against Manchester City on Saturday, January 28.
It was actually Marcus Rashford who gave his team the lead, but Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka scored on either side at halftime to take Arsenal ahead. On a day which saw some exceptional goals scored, Lisandro Martinez was the lone non-Englishman to score. But his equaliser did not help at the end of the day, with Eddie Nketiah finding the net in the final minutes to give Arsenal a much-deserved three points.
The English forwards of the country shone on the night, with three of the four goalscorers born in the country. But while Eddie Nketiah scored both his goals from close range — A header and a tap-in — it was actually the two wingers Rashford and Saka's goals that grabbed eyes. Both strikes were long rangers and found the bottom corner of the net.
It was actually Rashford, who was missing for the first 15 minutes but made his presence felt with a powerful strike.
See Rashford's goal here:
While Rashford's goal was quite good, it was nothing compared to Saka's exceptional strike that gave Arsenal the lead for the first time against the Red Devils.
See Saka's goal here:
It was an important win for Arsenal, whose last loss in the Premier League came against the same opposition in the reverse fixture. The win also piled pressure on defending champions Manchester City, who beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0 courtesy of yet another Erling Haaland hat-trick.
