Fred takes a late free-kick from just outside the penalty area, but it’s one to forget as he skies the chance.
90' +2
Mata teases a cross into the penalty area for Rashford, but Leno comes flying off his line to get there first and make the crucial save.
89'
The fourth official indicates that there will be four additional minutes for stoppages.
87'
The corner-kick comes to nothing as Fred takes it short to Pereira, whose delivery into the 18 is immediately repelled.
86'
Torreira looks to hammer the ball clear, but Guendouzi gets in his way during a breakdown in communication. It's eventually whacked away, but it's put behind for a United corner.
82'
B. Saka gets yellow.
M. Guendouzi enters the game and replaces A. Lacazette.
Saka is shown a yellow card for taking too long during an Arsenal throw-in.
Guendouzi comes on to see the match out and preserve the clean sheet, replacing Lacazette.
81'
Mata enters the game and replaces N. Matić.
Mata replaces Matic as Solskjaer makes his final change.
79'
Saka leads the counter-attack after Ozil’s leading pass and pops up on the other edge of the penalty area after slaloming during the run to outpace the United defence. He gets into a good position, but a tame shot follows and De Gea makes the stop.
77'
Play has come to a stop as Torreira is down, being tended to by the medical staff. It doesn’t seem serious - perhaps just a case of cramping.
Minute
Description
75'
Fred delivers a corner to the far post, but Leno steps off his line and punches it away with a strong fist. United regather possession, but the half-clearance gives the Arsenal defence just enough time to reorganise.
73'
Lindelof chips a pass forward to Martial, whose aerial flick-on falls neatly on the edge of the penalty area for Greenwood. The striker looks up and takes a quick right-footed shot, but Leno gets down to make an easy save.
71'
Manchester United players are appealing for a penalty after Wan-Bissaka looked to have been taken down just inside the 18. He chipped the ball over the outstretched leg of a defender and attempted to get on the end of it - but referee Chris Kavanagh deems that the right-back embellished contact.
69'
B. Saka enters the game and replaces S. Kolašinac.
Arteta makes a change at left-back to protect Kolasinac, who has already been booked. Saka is the player tasked with seeing out the rest of the match.
66'
Fred sprays a pass to the right for Wan-Bissaka, but the full-back refuses to take space down the right, instead passing it centrally to Rashford. The two Manchester United wide defenders have not caused Arsenal concern on the flanks, rarely venturing on overlapping runs.
62'
R. Nelson enters the game and replaces N. Pépé.
Pepe’s match is over as Nelson is sent on in his place with just under 30 minutes remaining.
60'
Arsenal are pressing with intensity in midfield, forcing Matic to pass sideways and backwards instead of up to Martial in attack. Torreira and Ozil are patrolling their territory well - cutting off the passing angles.
58'
Andreas Pereira enters the game and replaces J. Lingard.
M. Greenwood enters the game and replaces D. James.
Greenwood replaces James in the first of two United substitutions.
Lingard is also recalled, with Pereira sent on in his place.
56'
United are getting forward with more frequency, but they’re just not testing Leno, who has had too comfortable a match in the home goal. Urgency is setting in for the visitors, but they must be careful not to get stretched.
54'
Shaw sets up Fred, who has a go from a long way out. He manages to send the drive on target, but Leno has enough time to take the sting out of the strike before palming it assuredly.
52'
Lingard, without another team-mate in space, decides to have a whack at goal, but David Luiz steps across to make the block. The Arsenal centre-backs have done very well today limiting United’s options as the combination of Rashford, Martial and James have managed just two total shots.
48'
Martial has Xhaka and Torreira closing him down - which forces the striker to slip a ball through the defence for Rashford. David Luiz and Sokratis respond well to close the gap, leading to a comfortable interception.
46'
Manchester United get the match restarted from the kick-off!
45' +1
HALF-TIME: ARSENAL 2-0 MANCHESTER UNITED.
44'
Kolasinac uses his forearm to push James off the ball on the wing, which is similar to the challenge which earned the full-back a booking earlier in the match. If he wants to stay on the pitch, he’ll need to be careful!
42'
S. Papastathopoulos has scored a goal for Arsenal!
SOKRATIS DOUBLES ARSENAL’S ADVANTAGE! Pepe’s corner is flicked on at the near post by Lacazette, forcing De Gea to quickly palm it away. Unfortunately for the goalkeeper, he turns it right into the path of Sokratis, who blasts his chance high into the roof of the net! 2-0!
40'
Lacazette’s cross from the right manages to trickle across the face of goal for Aubameyang, but his centring pass to Ozil is poked away. Arsenal retain possession, but they’re forced to start with their centre-backs.
35'
Kolasinac clips a cross to the far post after some lovely build-up play from Arsenal, but Ozil pushes Shaw in the back and gives away a cheap free-kick which allows United to escape.
31'
Lacazette drives into the penalty area following a Pepe pass and turns Maguire, working space in which to shoot. It’s a lovely turn from the striker, but his outside-the-foot shot doesn’t even require a save from De Gea.
29'
Xhaka collects a blocked Lacazette cross and sends the ball in again, looking for the foot of Pepe. It’s a well-taken delivery that finds its target, but Matic storms in at the last second to take the ball off of the winger’s foot.
27'
Maguire is pushed all the way up during a United throw inside Arsenal’s half, but he’s caught completely out of position when possession changes hands - forcing the United defender to bring Ozil down in order to get back.
25'
Lacazette contorts his body to place a cross from the left at the far post between Maguire and Fred, but Pepe doesn’t make the run as Shaw can watch it out for a goal-kick.
23'
Martial looks to drag defenders away from space before slipping a reverse pass through for Lingard, but both Torreira and Sokratis simultaneously lunge in to block the clever pass.
21'
Aubameyang flashes a cross past De Gea’s goal for Pepe at the far post, but Shaw is aware of the winger behind him as he chests it down and puts it out for an Arsenal throw.
18'
United this year have often had trouble breaking down teams, finding much more success hitting at pace on the counter. Arsenal’s early lead allows them the luxury to sit back and defend should they want to, which will force Solskjaer’s side to show increased incision.
16'
Lingard slides into a late challenge and catches Torreira, though the referee doesn’t deem the challenge worthy of a card. The Arsenal players plead their case, but Torreira jumps back up to his feet looking to restart play.
14'
Matic pushes it ahead for Rashford, but the alert Torreira steals it off the toes of the United forward and sends it downfield, forcing the visitors to restart their attack from De Gea.
10'
Lindelof sprays the ball forward for Martial to chase inside the Arsenal penalty area, but Leno races off his line and manages to tiptoe the line of the 18-yard box while collecting it ahead of the oncoming striker.
8'
N. Pépé has scored a goal for Arsenal!
ARSENAL TAKE THE LEAD INSIDE 10 MINUTES! Kolasinac brings the ball all the way into Manchester United’s half without trouble, before squaring a pass to the edge of the six-yard box. Lindelof unknowingly gets a touch to it, which diverts it into the path of Pepe! A simple finish with the inside of his foot beats De Gea and makes it 1-0!
5'
Fred curls the free-kick into the penalty area, but a diving Leno manages to punch it away and send Lacazette away on a counter-attack in the process. Matic comes across to foul the Arsenal forward cynically but somehow escapes a booking.
3'
S. Kolašinac gets yellow.
James races past Kolasinac in an attempt to chase the loose ball, but the left-back leans in and sends the forward toppling over. The visitors have an early free-kick in a great position to attack, while the Arsenal player is shown a yellow card.
1'
Arsenal get the match underway from the kick-off!
Hello and welcome to our LIVE commentary of the Premier League fixture between Arsenal and Manchester United!
Arsenal have not managed three points since a victory over West Ham on December 9; a run of four consecutive Premier League fixtures which has dropped them down into 13th place. The Gunners in that time have earned a total of two points, scoring twice in the process. Results are even grimmer at the Emirates, where they’ve lost their last three contests quite convincingly. Former Arsenal player Mikel Arteta will get a second chance to guide his side to a home win today, as he is also in search of his first as a coach.
With 15 minutes to go before kick-off, let's take a look at the team news - starting with the hosts!
MANCHESTER UNITED SUBS: Juan Mata, Andreas Pereira, Ashley Young, Mason Greenwood, Phil Jones, Brandon Williams, Sergio Romero.
MANCHESTER UNITED XI (4-2-3-1): David De Gea; Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw; Fred, Nemanja Matic; Daniel James, Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford; Anthony Martial.
ARSENAL SUBS: Rob Holding, Joseph Willock, Dani Ceballos, Bukayo Saka, Reiss Nelson, Matteo Guendouzi, Emiliano Martinez.
ARSENAL XI (4-2-3-1): Bernd Leno; Sead Kolasinac, David Luiz, Sokratis, Ainsley Maitland-Niles; Granit Xhaka, Lucas Torreira; Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mesut Ozil, Nicolas Pepe; Alexandre Lacazette.
Manchester United travel to London to face Arsenal on the back of two consecutive victories, beating Newcastle United and Burnley 4-1 and 2-0 respectively. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has his side up into fifth, five points behind Chelsea, though a win today for the Red Devils would put them within two. United have a spotty record away from home, winning two and losing two of their last four on their travels in the Premier League.
The pace of James and Rashford looked to be giving the Arsenal full-backs a bit of trouble, but United have been unable to isolate those players and attack them, as Torreira and Xhaka are providing assistance whenever required. Now that the Gunners are two goals ahead, they’ll be able to sit even deeper to prevent space to run into. Mata or Pereira look the likeliest inclusions from the bench in the second half for Manchester United, as they require someone able to manufacture passing lanes.
This concludes our Premier League commentary of the fixture between Arsenal and Manchester United! We hope you enjoyed it!
Arsenal host Leeds United on January 6 in the FA Cup, while Manchester United travel to face Wolves in the same competition on Saturday.
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