“Arsenal” crushed “Manchester United” at the last minute

Mathieu Warnier, Media365 Posted on Sunday, January 22, 2023 at 7:24 pm.

Arsenal, who have been linked to Manchester United for a long time, relied on Eddie Nketiah to make the difference in the last minute (3:2). The Gunners consolidate their top spot in the Premier League table as the Red Devils move ahead of Newcastle United.

Arsenal have the means for their ambitions. A week after dominating the North London derby against Tottenham, the Gunners were able to find the resources to beat Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium when Manchester City did what they needed hours earlier. Although he tried to press his foot on the ball to determine his game from the first moments of the match, the first excitement happened in the penalty area of ​​the “gunners”. Indeed, Bruno Fernandes came into contact with Aaron Ramsdale in a duel with Gabriel Magalhaes. However, after requesting VAR, the referee ruled that there was no penalty for this controversial move. Tensions remained high and the referee had to step in to calm things down. But with a quarter of an hour to go, the inevitable Marcus Rashford provided the Emirates Stadium with air conditioning. After losing the ball to Thomas Partey, the in-form Manchester United man took advantage of Gabriel Magalhaes’ failure to get forward and fire a powerful shot from the right that Aaron Ramsdale had to nod over. A score advantage that the Red Devils could only hold for seven short minutes. The Gunners team worked wonders with Martin Odegaard, who managed to start Granit Xhaka on the left flank. The center of the Swiss national team found the head of Eddie Nketiah.

Arsenal responded

The Arsenal striker knew how to play Aaron Wan-Bissaka to fool David de Gea from close range. Erik ten Hag’s men were not left without a reaction, but Scott McTominay, who was superbly held back by Antony, saw Aaron Ramsdale clear the ball from the frame. The two teams then neutralized each other until they returned to the locker room. On reflection, Mikel Arteta opted to send off Ben White, who received a yellow card in the first half, and start Takehiro Tomiyasu. If Manchester United took control early in the second half, it was the Gunners who knew how to make the difference eight minutes after the restart. Bukayo Saka, found on the right by Takehiro Tomiyasu, escaped Christian Eriksen’s mark to get onto his left foot. Arsenal striker David de Gea, who armed himself with a tense cross, saw the ball go too short to prevent him from going into the net. The Londoners, who were in front of the score for the first time in the match, did not have time to celebrate this second goal. The Gunners saw their goalkeeper make a mistake six minutes later, seeing Aaron Ramsdale make a life-saving reflex save from Marcus Rashford’s shot. Indeed, the latter failed to properly clear Christian Eriksen’s corner, which was the fault of his defender Takehiro Tomiyasu’s inconvenient positioning.

Manchester United sees the title slip away

A waiting Lisandro Martinez headed home a goal-bound Gabriel Magalhaes to score his first Premier League goal. In an attempt to decide, Mikel Arteta decided to start his new signing Leandro Trossard eight minutes from the end of regular time. A goal that could have been achieved by Eddie Nketiah, who headed past David de Gea from close range after a flurry in the Red Devils box. The Spanish keeper then made a good reflex intervention to clear the ball from the frame… but he could only delay the deadline. In the final minute of stoppage time, Eddie Nketiah left the Emirates Stadium. After Leandro Trossard’s progress, Oleksandr Zinchenko was able to pass to Martin Odegaard, who was out of the centre. Eddie Nketiah’s close range shot left the Manchester United keeper no chance, the goal later confirmed by VAR. The tired “red devils” could only accept this defeat, which caused them to lose third place to “Newcastle” in the league for the first time since November 6. Thanks to this victory (3-2), “Arsenal” restored their five-point lead over Manchester City with a little margin of one game and confirmed their candidacy for the championship.