Arsenal 1-3 Man UtdHome team scorersAlexandre Lacazette 49
Away team scorersAntonio Valencia 4
Jesse Lingard 11
Jesse Lingard 63
Manchester United ruthlessly punished defensive errors to become the first side to win a league game at Arsenal since January in one of the games of the season so far.
Jose Mourinho's side were reduced to 10-men late on when Paul Pogba was sent off for a dangerous tackle and they were aided by a stunning goalkeeping display by David De Gea throughout.
But they did telling damage early on when Antonio Valencia pounced on a loose Laurent Koscielny pass to drill the opener, before Jesse Lingard side-footed a second after robbing Shokdran Mustafi to link smartly with Romelu Lukaku and Anthony Martial.
The strikes meant United had scored as many goals in 11 minutes as they had in eight away fixtures against the Premier League's so-called 'big six' clubs.
But an end-to-end first-half, which delivered 20 shots on goal, saw Arsenal hit the woodwork through Alexandre Lacazette and Granit Xhaka during a frenetic goalmouth scramble, before De Gea denied Hector Bellerin, Sead Koasinac, and spectacularly prevented a Lukaku own goal.
The Spaniard could do nothing about Lacazette's simple finish on 48 minutes but after Lingard had hit the post in a breathless start to the second half, De Gea produced an unbelievable double save from Lacazette and Alexis Sanchez.
His heroics maintained the advantage during an opening 15 minutes to the second half which saw United have just 26% of possession, but Lingard was on hand to tap in a third on 63 minutes after good work by Pogba.
Pogba's dismissal arrived when he mistimed a tackle to effectively stamp on the back of Bellerin's leg, and the Frenchman will now miss the Manchester derby next Sunday.
But his moment of woe felt merely a footnote in a riveting encounter which moved second-placed United to within five points of their city rivals.
Mourinho opens up in a thrillerMourinho has garnered a reputation for defensive set-ups on trips to the league's traditional big clubs but his side went after their hosts early on, hounding possession high up the pitch to great effect.
Their opening two goals owed much to slack use of possession by the home side but needed clinical finishes, notably when Martial cleverly flicked into the path of Lingard for the second.
The reward for their adventure secured a first win for Mourinho in his last 12 away fixtures against the so-called 'big six'.
He could be forgiven for not enjoying seeing Arsenal fire 33 shots at goal in a fixture which lived up to its billing in every way.
But while the shot-counter and De Gea's brilliance point to United riding their luck at times, they were impressive in offering a balance between defence and attack.
Nemanja Matic was consistently well placed, never more so than when blocking a goalbound Aaron Ramsey shot with the score at 2-0.
And the presence of the defensive midfielder once again freed Pogba, who in bursting into the box to lay on Lingard's second now has five assists this season, surpassing his four in the previous campaign.
Whether Mourinho will choose to live so dangerously against City next week remains to be seen, but those watching from a neutral stance would be fortunate to see a game as good as this one again.
Man of the match - David De GeaIn what is possibly one of the easiest man of the match decisions in the history of BBC Sport, David De Gea gets the nod. He provided resistance when Arsenal chased the game and made 13 saves, none more impressive than the double-save from Alexandre Lacazette and Alexis Sanchez.
Up next?Arsenal will follow Thursday's Europa League trip to BATE Borisov by visiting Southampton on Sunday (13:30 GMT). Manchester United know they need a point against CSKA Moscow to progress in the Champions League on Tuesday and then host Manchester City on Sunday (16:30 GMT).
BBC
