Nketiah winner helps Arsenal edge out Manchester United in five-goal thriller

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal cemented their title credentials with another monumental victory over Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday night. The Gunners produced an inspired performance to put the Red Devils to the sword, with Eddie Nketiah scoring a 90th-minute winner to give the North London side a 3-2 victory and restore their five-point lead at the top of the table over Manchester City.

In a game which had shades of the iconic rivalry between Arsenal and Manchester United teams of old, the two sides went toe to toe in the first half to liven up the contest. The Gunners got off to their typical fast start in front of their home crowd. However, it was the away side who took the lead against the run of play, with Marcus Rashford scoring his ninth goal in nine appearances. The in-form forward nutmegged Thomas Partey in the Arsenal half before unleashing a venomous strike from outside of the box to wrong-foot Aaron Ramsdale and find the back of the net, giving Manchester United an early 1-0 advantage.

That lead lasted only six minutes as the Gunners equalised through Eddie Nketiah. The hosts recycled possession after a corner, and the English striker shadowed past Aaron Wan-Bissaka before heading in Granit Xhaka’s cross to make it 1-1. Arsenal dominated the proceedings for the majority of the first half and eventually took the lead shortly after the break, thanks to another sublime strike from Bukayo Saka.

The winger scored on his third successive appearance against Manchester United, cutting inside on his left foot and curling an unstoppable strike past David de Gea into the far corner. The away side, though, hit back just moments afterwards. Aaron Ramsdale failed to make clean contact from a Manchester United corner, allowing Lisandro Martinez to pounce and send his looping header into the back of the net over Gabriel.

United decided to shut up shop after the equaliser, and Arsenal launched wave after wave of attacking pressure to find the winning goal. Mikel Arteta brought on new signing Leandro Trossard in the final moments to spur the Gunners forward, and after being denied by the post and an outstanding de Gea save, Arsenal clinched the victory in the dying minutes.

Eddie Nketiah got on the end of Martin Odegaard’s pass, tapping in from a close distance to send the Emirates Stadium into raptures. The Gunners have now collected 50 points from 19 matches at the halfway mark, their best-ever start to a Premier League campaign, giving them a five-point buffer over Manchester City in second with a game in hand.