This past weekend, in the final game before the first international break of the season, Arsenal hosted one of its’ archrivals, Manchester United. Both teams came into the game in need of a strong result following less than convincing performances at times to start the season. Fortunately for those of us in the North London camp, Arsenal were the ones to leave the field with a 3-1 victory. The result, however, wasn’t without its’ fair share of drama.

Arteta made a couple changes to the starting lineup from what we had seen in previous games. Oleksandr Zinchenko came back into the starting lineup after his solid substitute performance against Fulham and recovery from injury. Gabriel was also brought back into the starting lineup to compliment William Saliba in the middle of the back line after his absence from the starting lineup so far this season. With these additions, Arsenal’s first choice back four of Zinchenko, Gabriel, Saliba, and White started together for the first time this season which was a welcome sight to say the least. Midfield and front line were similar to what we’d seen so far this season. Nketiah got the start at center forward, Martinelli and Saka on the wings, anchored by Havertz, Rice, and Odegaard in midfield.

Initial phases of the game could be described as measured by both sides. Arsenal had ventures into the United defense but were kept in check until around the 12 minute mark when the ball fell to Kai Havertz. It was then that a scene that has been burned into the memory of Arsenal fans so far this season once again took shape.

A cross was played into the box by Martinelli, which was deflected straight to Havertz from a bad clearance attempt from the United defense. The German was able to control it quite well with his first touch, but then went to shoot with his left foot and completely missed the ball under no pressure. Right place, right time, but once again, absolutely wrong result. We’ll come back to this later.

Declan Rice and Oleksandr Zinchenko were primary pieces of build up play in the opening phases, and to give credit to them the pathway down the left appeared to be open whenever they wanted it to be. Martinelli was the beneficiary of this pattern of play, and was able to begin making early inroads often against a seemingly overmatched Wan-Bissaka.

Rice then got the next chance of the game at around the 18 minute mark from a Saka corner. A well delivered ball met the head of the record signing but, he was unable to direct the ball on target and it went over the bar instead. In full transparency, Rice had to halt his run and head the ball off his back foot, but it looked to me that it should’ve been put on target at least, if not scored, as he made good contact. Thus, two very good chances went wanting inside the first 20 minutes. In short order Arsenal would feel regret’s cruel sting.

Arsenal was able to continue its’ pressure in the United half of the field well even after the misses, but it was a counter attack eerily reminiscent to one from last year’s tie against the Mancunian’s that would take the first goal.

Havertz intercepted a pass deep in United territory, but in an attempt to play it to Odegaard at the top of the box, he looped his pass softly and it was intercepted in return by Christian Eriksen. Eriksen then released forward Marcus Rashford down the left with a long pass from midfield to take all the way into the box. Ben White held a decent defensive position, but as he forced Rashford inside Saliba was unable to uncover from behind White and thus left a gap open. Rashford, needing no such favors, was able to slot it home in spite of a valiant hand deflection from Aaron Ramsdale.

William Saliba makes the largest error for me in this sequence. As White was tracking Rashford, he left room to his outside in case Rashford kept going to the byline. He wasn’t in the greatest position, but good enough I think. Then as Rashford slowed down, White closed him down and forced him to go inside. However, instead of staying in his line, Saliba had tracked back to a position almost behind White, and in doing so had both of them covering the same shooting lane with a gap in defense where Saliba should’ve been. Rashford then cut inside, took a couple touches, and was able to shoot through that exact gap. Even though Saliba had good intentions by most likely looking to cover the byline run, at the end of the day that isn’t his job. If White had been beaten to his left, that’s on him not Saliba. Even with the best intentions, such as seeing a teammate potentially out of position and trying to help, dominos can quickly fall in the wrong direction. Saliba needed to hold his normal position next to White, and if he had done so it would’ve been a more difficult ask of Rashford to make the shot. But alas, in a total flip of how the game had been going to that point, United found themselves 1-0 up…for a brief moment.

Not even a full minute after play had resumed after the goal, Arsenal struck back with an emphatic equalizer that shook the Emirates. A result of well worked build up play from Martinelli and Zinchenko, Martinelli found himself yet again with the ball just to the left of the box, found a wide open Odegaard cutting into the center, played a superb pass that was taken first time by Odegaard that left no chance for United keeper Onana to save it. This was a much more fitting summation of what the game had been up to this point. Arsenal had gotten the better attacking chances and looked much better as a whole, and they were rewarded for a great response after conceding a sloppy goal moments earlier. The left hand side had been open for business all game, so it was fitting Martinelli was able to get a goal contribution for his efforts.

As the first half ticked down, Arsenal continued to impose its’ will in the United defensive third but was unable to create another high quality chance. Zinchenko and Martinelli continued to make the left hand side the primary weapon of attack, a few shots here and there were well dealt with by United, and even though a number of corners were taken right at the end, none of them were able to contribute to the scoreboard.

United had the first decent chance of the second half, forcing Ramsdale to make a save, albeit a comfortable one. A follow up shot was then blocked by Saliba. Outside of that, the opening 15 minutes saw Arsenal once again prowling the United box on the attack.

There was a moment of joy when Havertz went down in the penalty area at ~58 minutes, but on review from VAR it was shown that there was not sufficient contact to award a penalty kick to the Gunners. To be fair to the German, he did make an effort the entirety of his shift to make an impact on the game following his early mishap. He was seen all around the midfield making plays for the ball and disrupting the United flow of possession. So far though, the adjustment period has been a difficult one. Declan Rice being caught up to speed so quickly (more on his performance later) doesn’t do Havertz any favors either. As the other big money signing with Premier League experience Arsenal brought in this summer, even though he’s performed fine in the midfield area, Havertz’s lack of results in the goal scoring column thus far have overshadowed his other contributions in my opinion. Had the chances not come to Havertz yet, I think it could be a very different story as he has made his presence known defensively on multiple occasions. Unfortunately, when there’s already a reputation for lacking the ability to finish goals, missing the handful he has so far makes it a tougher narrative to overcome.

Gabriel Martinelli, yet again at the center of the attack, shaved a very well struck ball just wide of goal a bit over an hour in following a corner kick exchange between Saka and Odegaard. Even though it was taken outside the box, it would’ve been a handful for Onana to deal with had it been on target.

Manchester United began to step up the performance level at around 70 minutes. New arrival Rasmus Hojlund came very close to his first goal in a United shirt, but a very timely block by Gabriel prevented a point blank shot on goal. Rashford attempted to get the better of Ben White a couple times more, but each time White did very well to take the ball out of his path before he could do anything with it.

A poor give away by Saliba deep in United’s half quickly found a breaking Rashford down the right with only Gabriel as the last line of defense. Luckily, the Brazilian did well to force Rashford to hesitate long enough for reinforcements to arrive on the scene. An almost frustrated looking shot by Rashford was unceremoniously blocked by White then picked up by Ramsdale, neutralizing the counter attack. Serving an essential role in this sequence was substitute Takehiro Tomiyasu. Had he not sprinted back to cover the oncoming Hojlund, Rashford could’ve easily crossed the ball into the path of the Norwegian, leaving Ramsdale very exposed.

Just as the 80th minute completed, Arsenal had a chance to extend the lead. Martinelli showed a great deal of skill to cut in from the right between two United defenders, which led to a mesmerizing sequence of pinball passes concluded by a Ben White cross into the box. Perfectly weighted, the pass came to the feet of Bukayo Saka, in stride, on the edge of the six yard box. However, the finishing touch was missing again with the shot going straight to Onana. A miss that rests on no one but Saka himself, as he should score in that situation ten out of ten times.

Back to back moments around the 86 minute mark left United and its’ fans with a very bitter taste in their mouths. First, Hojland and Gabriel squared off in the penalty area as the United forward tried to create space for a shot. However, a heavy touch took the ball away from him just before the pair went to ground as Gabriel prevented him from regaining possession. Manager Eric Ten Hag was furious with the decision, but neither the referee nor VAR saw a need to award a penalty.

Shortly after gaining back possession and once again entering the attacking half, Arsenal lost possession after a tackle on substitute Gabriel Jesus. In a similar blinding combination of passes to Arsenal’s earlier miss, the Mancunian’s were able to find Alejandro Garnacho splitting the pair of Ben White and Gabriel with a (seemingly) perfectly timed run. Garnacho fielded the through ball, sprinted down the field, and scored rather easily. However, upon review from VAR the goal was ruled offside by the slightest margin.

In a facinateing display of sporting IQ (or sheer luck), as Garnacho was slicing between White and Gabriel, the latter took the biggest gamble I think I’ve seen in my time of watching Arsenal. The Brazilian all of a sudden stopped in his tracks, and in doing so went onto his toes, as the United forward sped by in an effort to force the offside call. In doing so, he allowed Garnacho to gain that much more ground and made the scoring opportunity that much better for the opposition. Of course, had he been incorrect in his split second judgement that Garnacho was offside and the goal was allowed, the level of vitriol he received I’m sure would’ve been immense. Fortunately, he played his cards as perfectly as he needed to, and thus the goal to put United ahead with minutes to play was never to become official. It’s fair to say I’d be happy if I didn’t have to see another gamble like that for some time.

As eight minutes of stoppage time was allotted in the moments following the goal reversal, there was a feeling this game wouldn’t go quietly into the London night.

Declan Rice, after having a very good game at the base of midfield, entered his name into the Arsenal history books by willing a half volley into the bottom corner of the net. Assisted by a corner kick from Saka, the ball floated all the way across the box where Rice controlled it with his chest, let it take a couple bounces, and lashed a shot that was deflected into goal by a United defender.

Then, to well and truly put the game away, Gabriel Jesus tallied his first goal of the season with a dazzling display of ball control. After denying United’s last attack into the box, Reiss Nelson gained control of Saliba’s headed clearance and played it on to the breaking Fabio Vieira. Vieira, taking no time, launched a through ball to Jesus who was all alone running down the middle of the field. As Jesus made his way into the box, a lone United defender made a last ditch, sliding effort to deny the goal. Channeling his best matador impression, Jesus effortlessly stopped on a dime, slid the ball out of harms way with his left foot, and hammered the final nail into the Red Devils’ coffin with his right. All that was missing was a red cape and an “Ole!” from the Arsenal forward.

Thanks to these two stoppage time goals, Arsenal now enter the two week break having taken 10 points from a possible 12. Performances from the likes of Declan Rice, Gabriel Martinelli, and Oleksandr Zinchenko helped Arsenal dictate the majority of the game. Rice took a large step forward in this game as he took up the build up role at the base of midfield and played a vital role in retaining possession throughout the game. Martinelli was integral in keeping United’s defense busy down the left and was rewarded for his efforts with the assist for the opening goal. Zinchenko made a significant impact from midfield throughout his shift and was integral in the early play that brought about the opening goal as well. Arsenal will be elated by his return I’m sure.

Fabio Vieira continued his excellent run of form by providing his second assist in two games and injecting energy into the attack as United began to wear down defensively in the latter stages. He has continued to impress this season, and honestly it couldn’t happen for a better player on the team. After being the target for a fair share of criticism last season, he’s shown an admirable display of mental toughness and has been rewarded for his perseverance in a big way.

After seeing a long goalless run last season, Gabriel Jesus will be happy to have his first goal of the season so soon after his return from knee surgery this offseason. Jesus was an invaluable member of the squad last season and although the team faired well without him, having him in the lineup brings a totally different level to the attack. I’m looking forward to seeing his return to the starting 11, and what impact he’ll have as Champions League games begin soon.

Overall, it was by no means a perfect game from Arsenal but one that showed a much more convincing performance than had been seen this season. There are still issues on both sides of the ball, not least the finishing form of Saka, Havertz, and Martinelli, along with the consistent lapses on defense that have gifted goals to the opposition in multiple games now this season. I’m not worried about Saka and Martinelli, and they have been able to make an impact in other areas of the game other than goal scoring and have been proven double digit goal scorers in recent seasons. Havertz will need to continue working on his finishing touch, and hopefully will see a turn in form as he gets more game time under his belt in this new system.

After the opening four games, taking 10 points from 12 is a more than solid start to the season and one that Arsenal look poised to build on going forward. A disappointing result to Fulham didn’t carry over, and at the end of the day Arsenal is undefeated. Yes, it’s still very early in the season, but Arteta and Co. have done their parts in getting off to a good start which is important.

A trip to Goodison Park to face a reeling Everton is next on the schedule for Arsenal. Everton currently sits 18th in the league, and have only managed to score two goals through four games. However, given Arsenal haven’t won at Goodison Park since 2017 (Per EuroRivals.net), it will not be an easy task in the slightest to take all three points regardless of were Everton sits in the table. Here’s to hoping the trend is broken in a couple weeks.