Erik ten Hag came out to chat with the Sky pundits, and he backed his team while crying foul at refereeing decisions – particularly the Garnacho offside.
“The performance was right for us. I think we played a very good game but everything went against us,” Ten Hag said. “With a little bit more luck we win the game – it’s no offside [against Garnacho], wrong angle.
The penalty on Højlund and then we concede a goal, it’s a foul on Jonny Evans. It’s so clear and obvious. You don’t take your chances, yes, but it’s a step forward and I am happy with the performance.”
David Hytner’s report has landed, so that’s it for today’s live blog. Thanks for your company and emails – goodnight.
A word from Declan Rice, who couldn’t give a dull interview if he tried.
[Where do you prefer playing in this team?] I’m really comfortable in either role. I prefer No6 a bit more – that’s where my game’s at, on and off the ball – but I’ve been learning the No8 role in training. There are different dynamics, it’s a different way of playing; you get more chances in the box. Wherever the manager wants me to play.
[On the celebration] Roy’s had enough of it, he doesn’t wanna see it. [Keane shrieks: It’s an OG!] It’s so special. I was under a crowd (of players and fans) for about a minute. I was getting my ears pulled, all sorts was happening. I’ll have that on repeat all weekend.
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More from Declan Rice
[Did you think it was game over when Garnacho scored?] Yeah, 100 per cent. We were sloppy at times in the second half, when we gave the ball away and they caught us on the counter. We didn’t learn from that. The one at the end could easily have been a goal. When the quality on show [is this high] it usually comes down to fine margins.
[On walking round the Emirates to Ice, Ice Baby at the end] It’s good (struggles to suppress a huge smile). As a person you feel a bit embarrassed but I really appreciate all the love everyone has shown me so far. It’s been incredible.
[Why was it so important to win today?] If we’re speaking honestly, Man City have won four out of four. If we didn’t win today we’d have been four or five points behind them, and we couldn’t afford to have that distance after four games. We said before the game that it was a must-win.
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Declan Rice is chatting to the Sky Sports team.
As an outsider looking in over the years, you understand the heritage of this game; the big players who’ve played in it and what it means to the fans. I was really focussed.
[On his goal] I think I controlled it with my chin and then scored! If you don’t shoot, you don’t score. It was such a special moment.
[Referring to Roy Keane’s suggestion that he needed to score more goals] What d’you reckon, Roy?! [Keane replies, quick as a flash, “OG”] The old me would probably have set that back for a cross. But you know what, last minute, anything can happen.
[Do you feel more pressure playing for Arsenal?] Yeah, of course. Arsenal’s a massive club and there will always be talk about me. I just try to put in performances. This is my fifth season in the Prem now, I feel more and more established every time and play. I’m eager to learn and improve and that why I’m at Arsenal. We all want to take this club to the next level.
It’ll take a few days before United even consider the positives, but they were pretty good in the second half – certainly compared to their other performances away from home in big games – and Rasmus Hojlund was really impressive. They’ll be fine, though the injury list is becoming a big problem.
The result moves Arsenal to fifth, two points behind Manchester City. They’ll take that going into the international break, especially after such a rousing victory.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 4 | 9 | 12 |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 4 | 7 | 10 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| 4 | West Ham | 4 | 5 | 10 |
| 5 | Arsenal | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| 6 | Brighton | 4 | 6 | 9 |
| 7 | Crystal Palace | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| 8 | Brentford | 4 | 3 | 6 |
| 9 | Nottm Forest | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| 10 | Aston Villa | 4 | -1 | 6 |
| 11 | Man Utd | 4 | -2 | 6 |
| 12 | Chelsea | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 13 | Fulham | 4 | -6 | 4 |
| 14 | Newcastle | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| 15 | Wolverhampton | 4 | -4 | 3 |
| 16 | AFC Bournemouth | 4 | -4 | 2 |
| 17 | Sheff Utd | 4 | -3 | 1 |
| 18 | Everton | 4 | -6 | 1 |
| 19 | Luton | 3 | -7 | 0 |
| 20 | Burnley | 3 | -8 | 0 |
Declan Rice has a big dumb grin on his face as Ice, Ice Baby blares out over the tannoy. Turns out Arsenal’s 2023-24 season began in the 96th minute of their fourth game, when he forced the ball past Jonny Evans and Andre Onana.
It was an intriguing, many-faceted game which exploded in injury time. The Arsenal fans and players are all high on life, and quite right too. You can also understand why United look so disconsolate as they leave the field. They were probably the better team in the second half, and had an 88th-minute goal from Alejandro Garnacho disallowed for a Spandex-tight offside.
After that, a draw would have hurt. A 3-1 defeat is devastating.
“Rice, Rice baby and the angel Gabriel stole it right at the end,” says Peter Drury on Sky Sports. “That is why you pay big bucks.”
Full time: Arsenal 3-1 Manchester United
Now that’s what I call fine margins. After Alejandro Garnacho’s late goal was ruled out for offside, Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus strike in stoppage time to win it for Arsenal!
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That was a beautifully taken goal on the break. Fabio Vieira, who has had a very good eight days, burst down the left and slipped the ball through to Jesus just past the halfway line. He ran all the way into the area, calmly sat Dalot down and sidefooted the ball nonchalantly past Onana.
GOAL! Arsenal 3-1 Man Utd (Jesus 90+11)
Gabriel Jesus finishes it off in style, and Mikel Arteta is going ballistic for all the right reasons!
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90+8 min Jorginho replaces Martin Odegaard.
90+7 min Evans thought he was blocked by Gabriel Jesus but there’s no talk of a VAR check.
Rice celebrates in front of an adoring crowd after a moment he’ll remember forever. Saka’s very deep corner reached him beyond the far post, unmarked. He chested the ball down, swivelled and cracked a sod-it-why-not shot that took a deflection off Evans and went through the hand of the diving Onana at the near post. It might have hit the inside of the post as well. The deflection made it fiendishly difficult.
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GOAL! Arsenal 2-1 Man Utd (Rice 90+6)
Declan Rice has won the game with his first goal for Arsenal!
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90+6 min Odegaard’s 25-yarder takes a slight touch and flies over the bar for an Arsenal corner on the right. Saka will take it.
90+5 min Lots of Arsenal pressure now. It’s frantic, desperate stuff from both sides.
90+4 min Arsenal continue to work the ball from side to side, though it’s Tomiyasu rather than Zinchenko alongside Rice now.
90+2 min Hojlund has been excellent. He clearly loves a scrap and has opened the pitch with two or three deft touches, including in the build-up to Garnacho’s disallowed goal.
90 min There will be eight minutes of added time. Reiss Nelson has come on for Gabriel Martinelli, and Gabriel Jesus was booked for dissent after the goal that wasn’t.
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NO GOAL! Arsenal 1-1 Man Utd
A huge roar at the Emirates! It was a superbly worked goal, but Garnacho was fractionally offside. To the naked eye it was impossible to tell, but VAR never lies.
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VAR CHECK FOR OFFSIDE! Hojlund’s lovely flick on the halfway line released Casemiro. He poked an early pass through to Garnacho, who was too quick for White and finished clinically from the edge of the area. This is so tight.
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GOAL! Arsenal 1-2 Man Utd (Garnacho 88)
If it’s not offside, this is a fantastic winning goal for Man Utd!
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87 min Casemiro curves a fine pass through the inside-right channel to release Hojlund. He cuts into the area, across Gabriel, and then goes over. No penalty, and nothing from VAR. Gabriel leaned into him but that was all.
86 min Saka runs into the area, onto a return pass from Odegaard, but Dalot gets between him and the ball and Evans clears.
86 min Another poor corner from Martinelli – that part of his game hasn’t been outstanding – is hooked away at the near post by Fernandes.
85 min Rashford has gone to the right wing by the way. The other starting left-winger, the outstanding Martinelli, forces Wan-Bissaka to concede yet another corner. That’s been the best individual contest of the match.
84 min: Man Utd substitution Alejandro Garnacho and Jonny Evans replace Antony, who worked very hard defensively, and Victor Lindelof, who also worked very hard defensively. Is he injured as well?!
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83 min Alejandro Garnacho is about to come on. He’s perfect for a situation like this, though he and Rashford are both left-wingers so it’ll be interesting to see how that works.
81 min: Great chance for Saka! Martinelli abracadabras between Antony and Fernandes and hurries the ball infield. It’s worked across to the right, where White (I think) slides a low cross into the middle. Jesus misses it but it reaches Saka, who sidefoots straight at Onana from 10 yards with his left foot. Onana kneed it away instinctively.
Saka had wandered over to the left, which is why he was at the far post for a cross from the right. It was a terrific chance.
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80 min Diogo Dalot has had an outstanding game at left-back against Bukayo Saka. So far.
78 min Eriksen releases Rashford in a lot of space on the left. He has support from Hojlund and Eriksen, but their runs aren’t great so Rashford decides to go on his own. He runs into a crowd and his shot is blocked.
77 min Fernandes cracks a pass out to Rashford, who is seeing a lot of the ball now. He moves into the area and tries to beat White with an elastico; White reads it and intercepts.
77 min: Triple substitution for Arsenal Gabriel Jesus, Fabio Vieira – who was very good last week – and Takehiro Tomiyasu replace Eddie Nketiah, Kai Havertz and Oleksandr Zinchenko.
75 min This is United’s best spell of the game. Yes I know.
74 min Hojlund backs into Gabriel, Mark Hughes-style, to control an up and under and flick it deftly round the corner to Fernandes. He beats a man and gives it to Rashford, whose shot deflects wide off White.
74 min As 1-1 draws go this isn’t quite 17 February 1999, but it’s a pretty engaging game nonetheless. And I don’t think it’ll finish 1-1.
72 min Rashford beats White thrillingly on the byline – slow, slow, seeya - and stabs the ball back towards Hojlund at the near post. Gabriel stays in Hojlund’s personal space and blocks his improvised shot.
71 min Hojlund is putting himself about. He’s already had a couple of wrestling matches with Gabriel, the second of which leads to a free-kick for Arsenal.
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70 min “Once the dive is considered a dive, the play stops,” says Bruce Jackson. “If there’s a kick, hand-ball, whatever afterwards it doesn’t matter.”
69 min Onana is booked for timewasting at the resulting goalkick. There’s a suggestion he wasn’t happy with Maguire for not making an angle, though we haven’t seen a replay.
68 min: Just wide by Martinelli! Arsenal take a short corner on the right. Saka rolls it invitingly back to Martinelli, who runs round the ball, on the edge of the D, and flashes a first-time curler just wide of the right-hand post.
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67 min: Man Utd substitution part 2 There are sarcastic cheers as Maguire replace Martinez.
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67 min: Man Utd substitution - Rasmus Hojlund comes on for his Manchester United debut. He replaces Anthony Martial, who improved after a quiet first half.
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66 min Martinez has injured himself, and Harry Maguire is about to replace him. Jonny Evans is also on the bench.
65 min Nketiah is taken out on the halfway line by Martinez but Anthony Taylor plays a good advantage. Martinez is eventually booked.
63 min Odegaard, who has exuded Messi levels of menace whenever he has received the ball just outside the United area, dances round three players but then clips a shot straight at Onana from a tightish angle.
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62 min It’s more complicated than I first realised. There’s a different angle which seems to show Casemiro making contact with Havertz a split-second after Havertz had been tripped/dived. So would that potentially override the first incident? I haven’t a clue any more.
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NO PENALTY! I think that’s the correct decision, though whether it was a clear and obvious error I don’t know.
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Anthony Taylor is going to the monitor, and Mikel Arteta is going ballistic.
VAR check I think it’s a dive you know. Havertz goes between them and then knocks his leg into Wan-Bissaka’s rather than the other way round.
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59 min: Penalty to Arsenal! Havertz ghosts between Wan-Bissaka and Casemiro and goes down. There’s a decent argument Havertz engineered the contact but I don’t think it will be overturned.
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58 min The irrepressible Martinelli is fouled needlessly near the corner flag by Fernandes, which allows Arsenal to bring Saliba and Gabriel forward again. Okay, just Gabriel this time. Martinelli’s free-kick is flicked across the area by Havertz and cleared by United.
57 min Martinelli scampers on the outside of Wan-Bissaka, who stretches to concede a corner. Nothing comes of it.
55 min The United corner leads to another blocked shot, I think from Dalot.
54 min: Double chance for United! Fernandes bobbles a good ball through to Martial on the left side of the area. His fierce shot from a very tight angle is beaten away to his left by the diving Ramsdale. Rashford is first to the rebound and hammers a shot that is blocked by Saliba and flies behind for a corner. Crucial defending.
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53 min Nketiah’s snapshot from 15 yards is repelled by Lindelof. They’ve had a lot of blocked shots but still only one on target, same as United.
53 min Wan-Bissaka makes two good challenges on Martinelli in the space of 10 seconds. That’s been an excellent contest.
52 min It’s not all Arsenal at the start of the second half, but it’s a lot more Arsenal than not.
51 min Zinchenko plays a very sharp pass into Odegaard, 25 yards from goal. He shifts the ball onto his right foot, away from Eriksen, and cracks a shot that is blocked by Martinez.
49 min “For all their huffing and puffing Arsenal haven’t produced more than a few half chances,” says Rick Harris. “Ten Hag will be the happier of the two managers and United do have Hojlund up their sleeve as well as Garnacho. Only Trossard looks like a game changer among the Arsenal.”
Tell that to AFC Bournemouth. (I know what you mean though.)
47 min Saka has a run at Dalot, who played him well in the first half. Saka slides it down the line to the overlapping White, whose cross is claimed by Onana. The Sky team, Micah Richards in particular, were raving about Onana’s distribution at half-time. It’s the kind of thing you don’t often notice when writing an MBM; the first instinct, when the ball goes back to the keeper, is to take the opportunity of a rare quiet moment and start typing.
47 min “Decent away performance,” says Pramith Pillai. “Maybe we can replace Martial at 50-60 min with Hojlund (doubt he will do that). We need to keep our focus and energy up, look for Rashford as much as possible. I would take a drab draw.”
It would constitute progress, and I don’t mean that sneeringly.
46 min Eddie Nketiah begins the second half, with no changes on either side.
Possession stats so far Arsenal 43-57 Man Utd. I suppose a more telling stat is the percentage of passes in the final third: Arsenal 21-4 Man Utd.
“You make a point about 1) Anthony Taylor’s refereeing and 2) the pressure and noise and pace of the game,” says Adam Roberts. “To officiate with the authority, calmness and clarity that Taylor has done so far amidst that noise is remarkable especially with what the players are doing - Gabriel screaming at the ref for a yellow for Antony’s kicking the ball away with the passion that you’d expect for a career-ending foul stands out.”
I’d love to read a detailed psychological explanation of the rabid, deluded entitlement that has become so common in football. It’s fascinating.
Anthony Martialwatch
“This is what I wrote to a friend just before kick-off,” says Francis Mead. “‘If anyone doesn’t deserve to be in the team today it’s Martial. Go on prove me wrong and score a hattrick - he won’t - I predict he’ll be peripheral and will barely contribute anything.’ That wasn’t a hard prediction.”
And yet, if he wasn’t on the field United might be 1-0 down. Think of Harry Brook!
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Half-time reading
One way or another, we’ll be seeing him in the second half.
Half time: Arsenal 1-1 Man Utd
The reason I say it was an odd first half is that you can argue Arsenal have battered United, and yet the score is 1-1 – and that’s shots on target as well as goals. Marcus Rashford’s superb goal gave United the lead in the 27th minute with literally their first touches in the Arsenal area; Martin Odegaard belted a righteous equaliser almost straight from the kick off.
United have taken time out of the game at every opportunity. Arsenal haven’t pressed them with the same relentlessness, probably because of the heat. The quicker the tempo, the more dominant Arsenal have been.
45+4 min Saka’s very deep corner is headed wide by Havertz, who saw it late. An eighth chance at best, and that’s the end of an odd first half.
45+3 min And another corner, Arsenal’s eighth of the half.
45+2 min The relentless Martinelli – much more influential than Saka thus far – wins another corner. Martinelli swings the corner beyond the far post. It’s funnelled back to Saka, whose trademark curler from 20 yards is headed behind for another by Lindelof.
45+1 min Three minutes of added time. Apparently the poor pass that was stolen by Eriksen for United’s goal was played by Havertz. He’s having a rough time, and the next few weeks will be a test of Mikel Arteta’s nerve.
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45 min Fernandes appeals unsuccessfully for a penalty when his header across the area hits Gabriel. Nobody else seemed interested.
43 min Martinelli wins a corner for Arsenal. It’s headed away to Antony, who is fouled by Odegaard on the edge of the area. Anthony Taylor allows the advantage but then pulls it back when United lose the ball. The Arsenal fans boo, as you’d expect of any home crowd; it was excellent refereeing.
43 min Zinchenko’s dangerous cross is headed away well by Dalot. That stemmed from another run by Martinelli, who has consistently troubled Wan-Bissaka with his dribbling today. Not many do that.
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42 min “Incredible,” says Jeff Sax, “how much money spent on players in the Premier League and yet the level is so pathetic.”
Whenever you’re ready, Jeff, I’ll happily MBM your Premier League debut. I feel claustrophobic playing the local equivalent of the All Priests five-a-side Over-75s Indoor Challenge Football Match, so goodness knows how hard it must be at this level of intensity, speed and skill.
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40 min Saka is booked for a foul on Fernandes. There was a VAR check for a red card, but it wasn’t high enough for that. He caught him right at the bottom of the shin.
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39 min Rashford, 25 yards from goal in the inside-left channel, cuts across a shot that flashes high and wide of the far post. I think that was the knuckleball technique he uses on free-kicks.
38 min Antony tries a trademark curler from the edge of the area, slips over and slices the ball behind him. Arsenal break and Lindelof – who thought the ball was going out of play and stopped running for a second – is booked for a shambolic foul on Nketiah.
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37 min Arsenal are pressing selectively – probably, as the Sky Sports commentators have just pointed out, because of the heat. It’s around 25 degrees.
36 min United again try to slow the game down. Eriksen is starting to get on the ball a bit more, but there’s been little from Fernandes, Antony or Martial.
34 min “Imagine how unsurprised I am that ‘Antony’ and ‘tetchy’ appeared in the same post,” says Joe Pearson. “Tetchy is his spirit animal.”
32 min This is good stuff now. Rashford plays in the underlapping Dalot, whose cutback is taken off the toes of the onrushing Wan-Bissaka (yep) by Fernandes. He lays it off to Eriksen, whose well-struck shot from 20 yards hits Havertz and spins behind for a corner.
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Martin Odegaard has rammed Arsenal level straight from the kick-off. It came from some slick interplay on the left involving Zinchenko, Martinelli and Nketiah. Martinelli then slid a careful a pass back towards the edge of the area, where Odegaard charged onto the ball and hammered a sidefooted shot into the bottom-right corner. Onana had nary a prayer. The goal came just 35 seconds after the restart.
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GOAL! Arsenal 1-1 Man Utd (Odegaard 28)
Instant justice.
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This goal isn’t just against the run of play, it’s a complete affront to the run of play. But it was also a very good goal. Eriksen, the one United outfield player who can be trusted in possession, nicked a square ball just outside his area and surged into space. He kept going, over the halfway line, and then shaped a terrific pass to Rashford on the left. Rashford crackled with intent as he moved into the area, cut across White and thrashed a right-footed shot across goal. Ramsdale got a slight touch, diving to his left, but he could only push it onto the inside of the far post and into the net.
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GOAL! Arsenal 0-1 Man Utd (Rashford 27)
Call the police.
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25 min Arsenal want Antony booked for kicking the ball away. Anthony Taylor accepts Antony’s not entirely convincing defence that he hadn’t heard the whistle. It’s getting tetchy.
24 min United’s plan is clearly to take the game deep and see what happens. They have been awful in possession.
23 min Anthony Taylor warns United about timewasting for the second time. Then he tells Eddie Nketiah off for being in the area when United eventually take the goalkick.
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22 min Arteta waves his hands angrily when Rashford isn’t penalised for a tackle on White. The fourth official has a word, but there’s no yellow card.
21 min Rice is dominating midfield, keeping United pinned in their own half with some aggressive, timely interceptions.
21 min “On the topic of needing a specific personality to be a reserve goalkeeper; I would say it’s not specific at all,” says Edan Tal. “Any right-minded person dreams of being a reserve keeper for a Premier League side, Scott Carson is the everyman hero. Those pushing for No1 spots are damn fools!”
This brings to mind one of my favourite niche stats. In 2001-02, Arsenal had so many injuries that three goalkeepers – David Seaman, Richard Wright and Stuart Taylor - played the 10 games necessary to qualify for a title winners’ medal.
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20 min Erik ten Hag shakes his head in bewilderment as another pass goes astray. “Onana’s their best outfield player at the moment,” winces Gary Neville on Sky.
19 min Saka’s deep corner is headed over by Rice, who got in front of Dalot but couldn’t quite get over the ball. A half chance.
18 min Odegaard’s stinger from 20 yards is blocked by Martinez; then Martinelli’s dangerous cross is headed behind by Dalot. Arsenal are well on top.
16 min Zinchenko’s touch map is that of a man with a free role – he’s been on the right as much as the left. Mikel Arteta has been thinking a helluva lot this summer. The next nine months will tell us whether he’s been doing too much, or just the right amount.
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15 min That chance for Havertz came from a really good bit of play by Rice, who dispossessed Casemiro in midfield and launched an Arsenal break.
No penalty! I may have imagined that. A cross from the left was headed away by the stooping Dalot. It hit Martial (I thought possibly on the hand, but nobody else has said anything) and ricocheted to Havertz, 10 yards out. He miskicked an extremely good chance but inadvertently sliced the ball to Nketiah on his left. Nketiah was about to score when Martinez appeared from nowhere to poke the ball behind for a corner.
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13 min: Chance for Havertz! What the hell happened there. Hang on, this might be a penalty.
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10 min It’s been a relatively sedate start. United have come to play… just not yet. I suppose that’s understandable given their awful record away to the Big Seven under Erik ten Hag.
8 min Havertz is late on Antony. He went in high, then tried to pull out and ended up chopping down on Antony’s shin. It was only a scrape, and Anthony Taylor decides it’s not worthy of a yellow card.
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7 min United are trying to slow the game down, particularly when they have the ball. Arsenal, being the home side, want to get on with it.
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5 min “Arsenal fans are mopping brows and sighing ‘Phew- at last!’ at the sight of Gabriel back in the starting XI,” says Charles Antaki. “Frankly his absence was starting to become an uncomfortable question with a variety of equally uncomfortable answers: Saudi head-turning, Arteta punishment, Arteta formation-fiddling, secret injury, general Weltschmerz…. Anyway he’s back. Of course, Fate may promise an own goal and red card, but we shall see.
3 min Martinelli runs Wan-Bissaka to win the first corner. He takes it short to Nketiah, gets it back, dances into the area and whacks a shot from a very tight angle that is blocked by Rashford. Fernandes dangled a leg riskily in the direction of Martinelli, who only had eyes for goal.
2 min Martinelli gets behind Wan-Bissaka straight away, but his cutback is between Odegaard and Nketiah. Arsenal have started with authority.
1 min Peep peep! Man Utd, in their Newcastleish away kit, kick off from right to left as we watch.
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For the first time since 2005 (I think), an Arsenal v Man Utd game on Sky will be soundtracked by somebody other than Martin Tyler. He came up with so many great lines that took out a lease in the memory bank. Now it’s Peter Drury’s turn.
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“At some point today Arsenal will need fresh legs, either to chase the game or control it,” says Zach Neeley. “I really hope they put on Smith Rowe. Not that long along he showed potential in line with Saka, and I would love to see him in real action again.”
Yes, what’s happened there? Loss of focus? Loss of confidence? Injury? Personality clash? He and Saka really changed the mood around the club when Arteta was under pressure during the Covid season.
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Match report: Crystal Palace 3-2 Wolves
Pre-match reading (Man Utd department)
This is the most eloquent, perceptive thing you’ll read on Man Utd 3-2 Nottm Forest, or your money back.
"We may look back and say that United’s season truly began at 3.05pm on Saturday, 26 August." @TimdeLisle on the comeback against Forest #mufc #Rashford #Eriksen #TenHaghttps://t.co/R9zbpm7W6A
— United Writing (@united_writing) August 29, 2023
“Today’s open debate,” being Francis Mead. "“Does Martial deserve to be in the team today? Answer: No. Discuss.”
It’s a yes from me, on the Moeen-Ali-batting-No3-in-the-Ashes principle. Marcus Rashford is Harry Brook. Nobody is Mark Wood.
How good is Rasmus Hojlund? I have no idea. But I do know many Danes have compared him to Preben Elkjaer, which is the highest possible praise for a Danish centre-forward. Elkjaer was the best No9 in the world in the mid-1980s, an irresistible force of imagination, strength, grunt, skill, mischief and most of all charisma.
“What am I missing?” asks Rob Hisnay. “How is Bayindir an upgrade over Dean Henderson? Throw in Onana will miss games due to Africa Cup of Nations between 13 Jan – 11 Feb. We will see who Hodgson has in goal come Sept. 26 and Sept. 30 when Palace face United.”
Well, with the caveat that I haven’t seen Bayindir (and that he’s a Turkey international), maybe he’s a better fit for being No2. It’s a pretty specific role – you need someone who is very good, and reliable, but not so good they are always nagging to be No1.
“If United win today it will put their season right, I think,” says Digvijay Yadav. “They can make a fist of something this time I think. Not sure of what exactly.”
Now that’s what I call pre-match optimism.
Full time: Crystal Palace 3-2 Wolves
Palace pipped Wolves in a wildly entertaining second half that included all five goals. Odsonne Edouard scored twice and Ebere Eze finished beautifully after an ingenious assist from Jean-Phillipe Mateta.
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Full time: Liverpool 3-0 Aston Villa
Liverpool move up to third after making light work of a tricky fixture. Dominic Szoboszlai’s rasping early goal set the tone, Matty Cash scored an own goal and Mo Salah tapped in the third after half-time.
It wasn’t all good news. Trent Alexander-Arnold, who captained Liverpool and was apparently superb, went off injured towards the end.
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GOAL! Crystal Palace 3-2 Wolves (Cunha 90+6)
I think that’s another goal scored with the shoulder by Wolves. Pedro Neto’s wicked cross was put in from close range from Matheus Cunha, but there isn’t time for an equaliser.
It’s a really warm day in London, not conducive to chasing leather. Arsenal overwhelmed United in midfield in this fixture in January and will try to do to the same again. Scott McTominay was playing that day ahead of the suspended Casemiro but the rest of the United midfield is the same. Arsenal have Declan Rice and Kai Havertz in place of Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka.
Arsenal v Man Utd Here’s Erik ten Hag on Rasmus Hojlund, who is on the bench this afternoon.
He is brave and that’s enough. He has belief … We scouted his skill and personality. Everywhere he has been so far, he’s made a big impact.
GOAL! Crystal Palace 3-1 Wolves (Edouard 84)
That’ll do. Odsonne Edouard gets his second, running onto an extravagant backheel from Mateta and driving a low shot past Jose Sa.
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79 min: Liverpool 3-0 Aston Villa Still 3-0. There’s lots going on, forgive me. Aston Villa’s results this season are a bit of a brainbuster: 1-5, 4-0, 5-0, 3-1, 3-0, 0-3. It’s like watching Zeman’s Foggia!
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GOAL! Crystal Palace 2-1 Wolves (Eze 78)
Moments after his free-kick is superbly saved by Jose Sa, Ebere Eze runs on to an ingenious backpass (as in, with his back) from Jean-Philippe Mateta, adjusts his feet smartly and beats Jose Sa. That’s a lovely finish from an extremely likeable footballer.
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Arsenal v Man Utd team news: Hojlund on the bench
Mikel Arteta makes three changes from Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Fulham last weekend. The lesser spotted Gabriel replaces the injured Thomas Partey, which means Ben White will (okay, should) move to right-back. Oleksandr Zinchenko is fit to start as the roaming left-back, which means Jakub Kiwior drops out, and Eddie Nketiah – who scored twice in this fixture last season, including a late winner – is preferred up front to Leandro Trossard. It’s much closer to last season’s team.
Manchester United have four new signings on the bench, including Rasmus Hojlund. That means Anthony Martial starts up front. The only change from the win over Nottingham Forrest last weekend is at centre-back, where Victor Lindelof replaces the injured Raphael Varane. They are a bit light on the bench, with Jadon Sancho and Scott McTominay joining the list of unavailable players. We don’t know whether that’s because of illness or injury.
Arsenal (4-1-2-3ish) Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Rice; Odegaard, Havertz; Saka, Nketiah, Martinelli.
Substitutes: Raya, Tomiyasu, Kiwior, Jorginho, Smith Rowe, Nelson, Vieira, Trossard, Jesus.
Manchester United (4-2-1-3ish) Onana; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Martinez, Dalot; Casemiro, Eriksen; Fernandes; Antony, Martial, Rashford.
Substitutes: Bayindir, Evans, Maguire, Reguilon, Gore, Hannibal, Pellistri, Garnacho, Hojlund.
Referee Anthony Taylor.
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GOAL! Crystal Palace 1-1 Wolves (Hwang 65)
Wolves have equalised! The substitute Hwang Hee-chan has scored with his shoulder from Pedro Neto’s near-post free-kick. He mistimed an attempted header, but the ball hit his right shoulder before swirling across Sam Johnstone and into the net.
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GOAL! Liverpool 3-0 Aston Villa (Salah 55)
Mo Salah hasn’t been in the news for a while, but that’s about to change: he has put Liverpool 3-0 up at Anfield.
It was a simple finish, poked in on the half-volley after a right-wing corner was headed across goal by Darwin Nunez.
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60 min: Crystal Palace 1-0 Wolves Edouard’s goal was the first attempt at goal by either team in the second half, and I can picture Roy Hodgson’s face tightening in disgust that a fellow human being might consider such a statistic worthy of note when a goal has just been scored.
GOAL! Crystal Palace 1-0 Wolves (Edouard 56)
Palace take the lead with a well-worked goal. Tyrick Mitchell crosses to the near post, where Odsonne Edouard gets across his man and stabs a close-range volley past Jose Sa.
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Arsenal v Man Utd And here’s Barney Ronay on a chaotic – if ultimately successful - transfer window at Old Trafford.
Arsenal v Man Utd Here’s Jonathan Wilson on the midfield issues facing Mikel Arteta and Erik ten Hag.
In his first title-winning season in England, Guardiola would often play Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva as “free 8s” in a midfield three with Fernandinho, something permitted by the excellence of his side in possession, but it’s notable that he too has become less radical. Ilkay Gündogan, a far more defensive player than Silva, became the balancing figure, and then there was the tweak of pushing a full-back (or, at times, centre-back) into midfield as auxiliary cover for Rodri.
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50 min: Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa Alisson has just made a fine save from Matty Cash, who almost scored at both ends.
If it stays like this, Liverpool will join Spurs and West Ham on 10 points, two behind the Erling Haaland team.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 4 | 9 | 12 |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 4 | 7 | 10 |
| 3 | West Ham | 4 | 5 | 10 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 4 | 5 | 10 |
| 5 | Brighton | 4 | 6 | 9 |
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Premier League latest
We’ll also have goalflashes – there must be a more elegant word for that – from the second half of the 2pm games. These are the half-time scores.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Wolves
Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa
Szoboszlai 3, Cash 22 og
Preamble
One of these decades, a preview of Arsenal v Manchester United won’t include footage of Roy Keane, Patrick Vieira and friends snarling at each other*. But for now, this is a fixture stuck in its glorious past. The only way Arsenal and United can change that is by becoming the best two teams in England again, and there’s one almighty obstacle in their way.
The two clubs started the season with tentative optimism that they might make Pep Guardiola eat second place. But their performances so far have been a reminder that evolution rarely comes without unintended consequences. Mikel Arteta’s attempt to take Arsenal to another level has meant, at least in the short term, a loss of the rhythm that made them so exhilarating last season. United have a vulnerable midfield (Sofyan Amrabat isn’t available today), a growing injury list and a truly wretched record in big away games under Erik ten Hag. That record makes Arsenal strong favourites today.
There is one bit of good news for United; the £72m striker Rasmus Hojlund, who signed from Atalanta in the summer, will make his debut. It takes time to integrate players, develop systems and change cultures, but modern life and Manchester City don’t give you time. The winner, if there is one today, will go into the international break with a spring in their step, their season up and running. The loser will be advised to turn off the radio, and the TV, and the internet, for the next few days. And they might want to tell the paperboy to bugger off as well.
Kick off 4.30pm.
* The actual football was magnificent as well, which is sometimes forgotten amid the nostalgic celebration of mutual loathing
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