Arsenal (1) 3 Manchester United (1) 1
Premier League
Emirates Stadium, Drayton Park, London N5 1BU
Sunday, 3rd September 2023. Kick-off time: 4.30pm
(4-3-3) Aaron Ramsdale; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães, Oleksandr Zinchenko; Martin Ødegaard (c), Declan Rice, Kai Havertz; Eddie Nketiah, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli.
Substitutes: Gabriel Jesus, Emile Smith-Rowe, Jakob Kiwior, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Leandro Trossard, (Jorge Luiz Frello Filho) Jorginho, Fábio Vieira, David Raya, Reiss Nelson.
Scorers: Martin Ødegaard (28 mins), Declan Rice (90+6 mins), Gabriel Jesus (90+11)
Yellow Cards: Bukayo Saka
Arsenal Possession Percentage: 55%
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Assistant Referees: Gary Beswick, Lee Betts
Fourth Official: Darren Bond
VAR Team at Stockley Park: VAR Jarred Gillett; AVAR Simon Bennett
Attendance: 60,192
Our defender Takehiro Tomiyasu is available again after suspension for this important match today, and is on the substitute’s bench, as is Gabriel Jesus also. Aside from the long-term injury to Jurrien Timber, everyone else in the squad appears to be okay. Mikel Arteta has made three changes from the side who drew with Fulham, with Gabriel, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Eddie Nketiah replacing Jakub Kiwior, Thomas Partey and Leandro Trossard.
The visitors kicked off procedures in this white-hot atmosphere in North London this afternoon. In the early stages of the game, we applied pressure to the visitors’ defence, earning ourselves a corner within the first two minutes.which despite some great work by Eddie Nketiah, the United defence managed to keep us out. The opening stages of the game show us to be extremely comfortable both on and off the ball, and the visitors look rather pedestrian at the moment. After just twelve minutes, a surefire chance to score did not just happen for Kai Havertz, and although the resulting corner went nowhere on this particular occasion, it appears that the advantage is now ours. Oleksandr Zinchenko cleverly nipped a potential United attack firmly in the bud, and yet again our strikers were putting the visitors under pressure; Declan Rice was unlucky in not scoring a goal directly from a Gabriel Martinelli corner, and if the game continues at this pace, it must surely be a matter of time before we score a goal, despite the nervousness in the air. Despite the domination of our strikers, it was the visitors who broke the deadlock with a Marcus Rashford strike from outside the penalty area, despite Aaron Ramsdake getting a hand to it. No worries though, a minute or so later, our response was instant and clinical with our captain scoring a beautiful equalising goal with his left foot from distance that the United goalie had no chance in saving. The match certainly came alive with now with both sets of players challenging for every ball, through every tackle. Kai Havertz, in running back, brilliantly blocked a Christian Eriksen strike from twenty yards out, and despite the heat, both sides are doing their utmost to catch the other out. Eddie Nketiah was mercilessly chopped down by Victor Lindehof (who received a yellow card for his trouble), and although the resulting free-kick went nowhere, we are still trying to find a way through the United defence. Bukayo Saka received a yellow card for a late challenge on Bruno Fernandes, and with the injury time notice being three minutes, we continued to pressure the United defence, with three corners in just over a minute that tested them to the full, and although we went into the break honours even, we were by far the better side in the opening half overall.
With no substitutions from either team during the half-time break. the visitors kicked off the second half in earnest. Again, our strikers brought the game to United, who found it extremely difficult to break out of their half. Ben White hit a first-time cross into the penalty area, but Aaron Wan-Bissaka did well to rise and head it clear of danger, and then Eddie Nketiah got the ball off Kai Havertz and struck at goal but it was blocked by the United defence. We had a penalty awarded to us when Kai Havertz went down to the ground under a combined challenge from Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Casemiro; after consulting VAR, referee Anthony Taylor cancelled out his original decision. Why? It appeared to be clear-cut. Things started to get a bit physical when Lisandro Martinez was too late to the ball, caught Eddie Nketiah and received a yellow card from the referee. Gabriel Martinelli shot just wide, with Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana taking too long with the following goal kick, the result being him receiving a yellow card for time wasting. With fifteen minutes of the match remaining, Gabriel Jesus, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Fabio Vieira replaced Eddie Nketiah, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kai Havertz for the remainder of the match. A couple of minutes later, the ball was played low from the right wing by Gabriel Martinelli and it fell to Bukayo Saka eight yards out. He tried to place it, instead of hitting it goalwards and it hit the leg of Andre Onana and stayed out. The visitors then grabbed a goal, which was deemed to be offside. In injury time, Declan Rice scored his first goal for us when it fell to him at the back post, he took a shot at goal, it just caught Jonny Evans, and Andre Onana in the United goal got a hand to it but he could not keep it out, and then, simply minutes later, whilst the visitors are pushing for an equaliser, the ball broke loose to Fabio Vieira, who simply slid it through for Gabriel Jesus, who cut inside a desperate tackle from Diogo Dalot and slotted the ball past Andre Onana to take all three points for Arsenal. Such late drama!
Although the match was scrappy at times, it certainly had more than its fair share of drama. This victory takes us to fifth in the Premiership, two points behind leaders Manchester City. We got the victory here today through sheer guts and fortitude, and the will to win, which became evident in injury time. We all thought that we had lost the match when Alejandro Garnacho scored for the visitors, but nobody in the stadium nor those watching at home could surely have predicted the outcome of this match. Gabriel Jesus was magnificent when he came onto the pitch as a substitute, and although Kai Havertz did not score again today, we saw enough in his play to realise that is surely just a matter of time before he gets onto the scoresheet regularly. Declan Rice was truly immense, and what better match to grab his first goal for Arsenal! All in all, a very good day at the office for everyone concerned. Well done, chaps!
Remember everyone, keep the faith, get behind the team and the manager, as this season is going to be crucial for our future success in all competitions. Stick with the winners. Our next match: Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday, 17th September at 5.30pm (Premier League). Be there, if you can. Victoria Concordia Crescit.
Steve
Too Dearly Loved To Be Forgotten: Arsenal v Racing Club de Paris 1930-1962 by Steve Ingless (Rangemore Publications, ISBN 978-1-5272-0135-4) is now available on Amazon
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 
Oh my god, I almost walked away from the TV room when Gachugachu scored. Glad that I came back and enjoyed the rest.
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