Arsenal secured a vital 2-0 victory over Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium, with goals from Jurrien Timber and William Saliba highlighting their set-piece mastery.
The win cut Liverpool’s lead at the top of the Premier League to seven points, as they drew 3-3 at Newcastle.
The game was tense from the outset, with Ruben Amorim‘s Manchester United proving difficult to break down in open play. Arsenal struggled to create clear chances as Martin Ødegaard found himself crowded out in midfield. Nevertheless, the Gunners’ effectiveness from set-pieces ultimately proved the difference.
The breakthrough came in the 53rd minute when Declan Rice delivered a well-placed corner to the near post. Timber rose above the defence, glancing his header past United goalkeeper Andre Onana to give Arsenal the lead. The meticulously executed corner routine was a welcome relief for the home crowd, which had grown increasingly tense as the match remained goalless.
As United began to lose their composure, Arsenal capitalised once again. In the 75th minute, Bukayo Saka swung in another dangerous corner, which met Thomas Partey‘s head. The ball deflected off Saliba’s bum and into the net, securing Arsenal’s second goal and ultimately the win. Despite some nervy moments—including Oleksandr Zinchenko losing possession dangerously close to his own goal—Arsenal held firm to prevent United from gaining any momentum.
United’s best chances came from a long-range effort by Diogo Dalot and a powerful header by Matthijs de Ligt, both of which required solid saves from David Raya.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was understandably pleased with the result. Speaking in his post-match press conference, Arteta commented on the performance, “Very happy. It’s a very special night, celebrating 100 games in this incredible stadium against an opponent with so much history between the clubs and the teams. The way we played, especially after tweaking a few things for the second half and how dominant we were, how convincing we were, not really conceding apart from the save from David after a very sloppy throw-in, so a lot of positives.”
Arteta also discussed Arsenal’s set-piece success, noting, “We need that. I think we want to be very dangerous and very effective from every angle and every phase of play. We worked on all of that. Today we couldn’t score from open play like we did against West Ham, against Sporting, so the team really has belief that from every angle we have the mentality to threaten the opponent and to try to score. Today was two set pieces, we constantly have threatening corners.”
He added that the position in the league table was not a focus during the game, saying, “We don’t think at half-time where we are. I think we have to look at our own business, try to perform as we are at the moment and find ways to win the game. I think the team deserves a win again today which is very good and what the opposition does we cannot control that.”
Ruben Amorim, in his first defeat as Manchester United manager, acknowledged that Arsenal’s prowess from set-pieces was decisive. He said, “We already knew that it would be a tough game. I think the corners changed the game, the set-pieces. Then we lost the momentum, we tried everything then to control the game again. You feel it in the first half, in the environment of the stadium, that we were causing problems. We need to improve in a lot of areas of our game, but we were controlling the game.”
Amorim pointed out Arsenal’s preparation for set-pieces, admitting, “They are very good because they have a lot of time working on that. Especially on that, they have big players for that, so it is a strategy, and we had two weeks to work on that. We tried to do it but we know every team in the Premier League is suffering with set-pieces. It was a shame because we were not playing very well but also Arsenal was not playing very well.”
With this win, Arsenal have now won four consecutive games, building momentum as they prepare to face Fulham next. Arteta stressed the need to maintain focus, particularly with the demanding schedule ahead. “It’s every three days, it’s a crazy schedule, we’re going to need everybody and mentally be very strong because you’re going to have to go through those moments,” he emphasised.