Rice winner hands Arsenal dramatic victory against Manchester United

Arsenal and Manchester United delivered the latest thrilling chapter of their storied Premier League rivalry as the Gunners edged out the Red Devils in a pulsating 3-1 victory at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. Marcus Rashford opened the scoring for the visitors, but Martin Odegaard produced an instant reply in the first half before late goals from Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus in the depths of stoppage time sealed a sensational victory for Mikel Arteta’s men.

United went close to finding a winner in the final minutes but had a goal disallowed by VAR before the Gunners dealt the visitors a sucker punch in added time to pick up a much-needed three points at home.

In a topsy-turvy game filled with dramatic moments, Arsenal dominated the early possession, but couldn’t find a way through on goal, with Kai Havertz fluffing his lines from close range. United struggled to get out of their own half throughout the first half-hour but took the lead against the run of play on 27 minutes through Marcus Rashford. The winger stung Arsenal on a blistering counter-attack, cutting inside onto his favoured foot and blasting the ball past Aaron Ramsdale to score his first goal of the season.

United’s lead, though, lasted less than a minute. Martin Odegaard equalised for the Gunners just 35 seconds into the restart, firing home from the edge of the penalty area after some swift interplay between Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Martinelli.

The intensity ramped up in the second half, with the Gunners having a penalty decision overturned after a VAR check by referee Anthony Taylor before Bukayo Saka spurned a golden opportunity to give Arsenal the lead, sending his close-range effort straight to Andre Onana.

United’s performance improved upon the introduction of Rasmus Hojlund, and the visitors thought they had stolen three points when Alejandro Garnacho raced through on goal and slotted the ball into the bottom corner. However, the VAR lines showed that the Argentinian was inches off-side as Arsenal centre-back Gabriel stepped up at the opportune moment to spare the home side’s blushes.

Buoyed by the close shave, Arsenal pushed forward in search of a winning goal and eventually found the decisive match-defining moment in the 96^th minute through Declan Rice. Arsenal’s record signing expertly controlled a Bukayo Saka corner at the far post before beating Andre Onana via a Jonny Evans deflection to give the Gunners a 2-1 lead.

Gabriel Jesus capped off the rapturous scenes in North London by adding a third five minutes later, breaking away on a counter before cutting past Diogo Dalot and sending his finish into the bottom corner to secure a famous win for the Gunners.