Khaberni - Manchester United continued its strong performances since Michael Carrick took over temporarily, replacing the Portuguese Ruben Amorim, and defeated leaders Arsenal 3-2 at their home ground at Emirates Stadium on Sunday, in the 23rd round of the English Premier League.
United raised their points to 38, placing fourth and leading the race for qualification to the UEFA Champions League, after a concerning situation that led to Amorim's departure.
As for Arsenal, their points remained at 50, leading the table with a four-point gap over second place Manchester City and third place Aston Villa, who had earlier defeated their hosts Newcastle 2-0 today.
This was Carrick's second full-mark victory since he started his tenure with a fiery win over neighbouring City 2-0 in the previous round, before inflicting only the third defeat on Arsenal in the league this season.
Argentinian Lisandro Martinez opened the scoring for Arsenal with an own goal (29), but United quickly responded, equalizing through Cameroonian Bryan Mbeumo (37) before Danish Patrick Dorgu gave them the lead (50).
In the last ten minutes, the match heated up after Spanish coach Mikel Arteta's team imposed a draw through his compatriot Mikel Merino (84), but United soon clung to the three points with a killer goal by Brazilian Matheus Cunha (87).
This loss was Arsenal's first after a series of 13 matches in various competitions, specifically since their defeat to Villa in December. It was also the "Gunners'" first home loss in 18 matches in various competitions, specifically since their defeat to Bournemouth in May last year.
In contrast, United achieved their first win at Emirates Stadium since December 2017.
The "Gunners", just days after securing direct qualification to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League, began the match strongly, and had several chances, but only managed to open the scoring in the 29th minute when Norwegian Martin Odegaard's shot deflected off Argentine Martinez into the goal.
The initial goal was a turning point, as the visitors woke up from their slumber and started to break out of their defensive shell, but the equalizer only came after a fatal mistake by Arsenal's Spanish midfielder Martin Zubimendi who accidentally passed to Mbeumo, who dribbled past Spanish goalkeeper David Raya and netted the ball (36).
United surprisingly took the lead after Dorgu penetrated from the left flank and exchanged passes with Portuguese captain Bruno Fernandes before launching a curved shot with his left foot from the edge of the area, settling into the upper corner of Raya's goal (50).
Arsenal managed to equalize, igniting the final minutes of the match, after Saka sent a fine ball that confused the defense, and reached Frenchman William Saliba first, who was blocked by Cunha on the goal line, before Merino followed the rebound and shot towards the net, and despite another clearing attempt by Chischko, the ball crossed the line, making it 2-2.
The response from "the Red Devils" was quick and decisive, after Fernandes exchanged passes with Koby Maino in midfield, before the latter passed to Cunha who utilized the available space and fired a curved ground shot from the edge of the area, settling into the lower corner of Raya's goal (87).
