Arsenal 1 Man Utd 2Arsenal Olivier Giroud 90 +4:33
Man Utd Kieran Gibbs 56 o.g., Wayne Rooney 85
In the history of this fixture, the moment when Wojciech Szczesny went to punch a cross and collided with his team-mate Kieran Gibbs will not count among the great pieces of drama, perhaps, that Arsenal versus Manchester United have previously conjured up. Yet what a piece of good fortune that was for Louis van Gaal’s team given what happened next and what it means for two clubs flailing around for their old powers.
Gibbs was still on the floor when Antonio Valencia drew back his right foot to take aim and Szczesny eventually had to be taken off because of the force of impact. Valencia’s shot was not even on target but the ball skimmed off Gibbs for the scruffiest of own goals and the moment of outrageous fortune that maybe United needed in this contest of these faded old champions.
Arsenal had been the better side until that point but it was startling to see the way they crumpled after that goal and they were starting to resemble a rabble by the time Wayne Rooney broke away to confirm United’s first away win of the season.
It is never pleasant to see Arsène Wenger taking so much abuse from supporters but, equally, Arsenal’s crowd are entitled to expect better. The gap between their team and Chelsea at the top of the Premier League could be more accurately described as a gulf, standing at 15 points. Angel di María should have made it 3-0 before Olivier Giroud scored with a peach of a shot four minutes into stoppage time and Arsenal have now won only one of their last 15 games against these opponents.
This began as seventh versus ninth, with Danny Welbeck versus Tyler Blackett capturing the attention when once it was Patrick Vieira versus Roy Keane. Blackett was part of a new-look central defence that also featured Paddy McNair and Chris Smalling in a return to the 3-4-1-2 system that most United followers must have hoped had been seen off in conker season. It was a scratch team and Arsenal – dominant, menacing, yet too often wasteful –ought to have done more to exploit it during those long spells when the away team looked so vulnerable.
Wenger was certainly entitled to be aggrieved about the way his team could not turn their first-half supremacy into the hard currency of goals. They poured forward in great numbers during those exchanges and their frustrations were encapsulated in that moment when a raging Jack Wilshere took exception to one of Mike Dean’s decisions, aimed a mouthful of invective at the referee and then responded to Marouane Fellaini’s indignation by jutting his forehead into his opponent’s chin. Arsenal were indebted to Dean’s leniency because this was arguably a red-card offence by modern-day standards and could easily have changed the complexion of the game.
The popular suspicion was that Wilshere’s burst of temper almost certainly derived from the fact he had squandered Arsenal’s best chance, running clean through on goal only to shoot meekly at David De Gea when everything was set up to slide the ball into the corner.
Welbeck had some decent chances of his own but his accuracy rate in that period hardly blew apart Van Gaal’s theory that the striker’s finishing often lacks refinement.
United did at least start to play with a measure of control around the half-hour mark and there were some brief flashes of danger when Ángel di María was on the ball. Robin van Persie, however, is no longer the player the Arsenal crowd used to fear so much on previous visits to his old club and it was rare to see a United side play with so little width.
Van Gaal is entitled to cite his list of absentees and it is a fairly staggering statistic that Luke Shaw’s early departure with a twisted ankle means United have now accumulated 40 different injuries since their new manager was installed in July.
United might have been suffered irreparable damage inside the opening 20 minutes had Arsenal not been so generous with their finishing and the Wilshere chance summed up how susceptible United could be at the back. Alexis Sánchez had spread panic with the way he chased down Blackett and still went after the ball once United’s young centre-half had played it back to De Gea. The goalkeeper’s kick did not make the centre-circle and United’s defence was wide open as Aaron Ramsey and Welbeck combined to send Wilshere scampering clear.
Wilshere had to go off after 55 minutes and it is always alarming to see a player with his background of injuries immediately signalling he could not continue, as he did instinctively upon the impact of McNair’s challenge.
Wilshere did try to run it off but the impact was considerable and, with his departure, Arsenal lost a significant amount of their creativity. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain worked hard but Ramsey has regressed since last season and Sánchez faded after a lively start.
The first goal came two minutes after Wilshere limped away and Wenger’s displeasure will not be eased by the fact Fellaini was a fraction offside when Ashley Young, Shaw’s replacement, floated the ball into the penalty area from the left.
Rooney’s goal came from a brilliant break-out in defence, starting with Fellaini and culminating in Di María playing the killer pass for United’s captain to clip the ball stylishly over Emiliano Martinez, Arsenal’s substitute goalkeeper.
Giroud’s finish was spectacular and, briefly, it took away some of the crowd’s mutiny. Arsenal, however, had waited an awfully long time to get past such a fragile defence.
