Scoring two goals in three minutes, Arsenal defeated Man Utd

Two second-half goals from Xhaka and Welbeck helped the Gunners beat their rivals 2-0, thereby keeping alive their hopes of finishing in the top four.

Xhaka and Welbeck scored to bring victory to Arsenal. Photo: Reuters.

This defeat caused Man Utd to end their 25-match unbeaten streak in the Premier League. Arsene Wenger had his first win after 16 matches against Jose Mourinho in official competitions. After this match, Arsenal trailed Man Utd by two points but had played one game less. However, despite the win, Wenger and his team still have no say in the race for the top four as they are seven points behind Liverpool with two games less.

Both teams created many chances in the first half but were unable to capitalize. In the second half, between the 54th and 57th minutes, Arsenal scored two goals from Granit Xhaka and Danny Welbeck. The defensive counter-attack plan failed, Mourinho brought Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard on in the final minutes of the match but could not score a single goal.

David De Gea returned to goal after being replaced by Sergio Romero in the Europa League semi-final first leg against Celta Vigo, and the Spaniard made his mark immediately. He made two excellent saves in the first half. First, a quick dive to block Aaron Ramsey's close-range diagonal shot. Then a deflected deflection from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Rooney disappointed again despite playing the full 90 minutes. Photo: Reuters.

But De Gea was unlucky in the situation where Arsenal opened the score. After Xhaka's shot from 27m away, the ball hit Ander Herrera and changed direction and stuck into the top corner of the goal following the trajectory of falling yellow leaves. Because he moved up to narrow the opponent's shooting angle, De Gea could not reach the ball. When Welbeck raised the score to 2-0, the Man Utd goalkeeper had no chance because his close-range header hit the crossbar and went into the net.

In Welbeck's goal, Man Utd's defense, specifically Chris Smalling, made a basic mistake when defending the ball in the air, not following the opponent's striker closely and allowing him to shoot freely. In the first half, Man Utd's defenders also made many mistakes in their position. Arsenal did not target Axel Tuanzebe, the 19-year-old player who was starting for Man Utd for the first time. They exploited the gap between Phil Jones and Matteo Darmian and took advantage of Chamberlain's speed.

The combination play between Chamberlain, Ramsey and Alexis Sanchez was Arsenal's strong point in this match. Chamberlain assisted both goals and his speed made things difficult for Darmian. Welbeck, in his first chance against his former team, played quite well, constantly moving to disrupt Man Utd's formation.

After 16 confrontations, Wenger finally defeated Mourinho. Photo: Reuters.

The most dangerous chance Man Utd had in this match was Wayne Rooney's face-off with Petr Cech in the first half. This was a play where two Arsenal defenders lacked concentration. Rob Holding passed to Laurent Koscielny but Rooney stole the ball and had a chance to score. However, the Man Utd captain's shot was not defeated by Cech. If Rooney had been more alert, he could have passed to Herrera to maximize the opportunity.

Despite being in the starting lineup in this match, the 31-year-old striker once again showed a sharp decline in form. Rooney appeared slow, repeatedly dropping back to receive the ball, leaving Man Utd's attack short of players up front but unable to create breakthroughs. The Man Utd captain no longer had the boldness in handling the ball like in his prime. His perfectionism took away the surprise that counter-attacking teams must have.

This defeat is not a disaster for Man Utd. It shows Mourinho's choice when he rested many players to prepare for the second leg of the Europa League semi-final against Celta Vigo next midweek. With a squad damaged by injuries in all three lines, Man Utd cannot aim to win the European Cup and compete for the top four of the Premier League. Meanwhile, Liverpool's draw with Southampton gives Arsenal more hope of qualifying for the Champions League.

According to VNE