It is a while since The Emirates has been like this. It is a while since frustration gripped it and angst overcame it and fear stalked it. The crushing anxiety that accompanies the anticipation of old failings had stayed away from Arsenal’s home this season but now it is back. And it may not go away again. What Sir Alex Ferguson called Squeaky Bum Time has come early to this part of North London.
When Matheus Cunha scored Manchester United’s winner three minutes from the end of normal time, the frustration of the Arsenal supporters boiled over. The ground became a tortured vision. A forest of hands pointing, a sea of heads shaking, a cacophony of angry voices yelling.
This 3-2 home defeat to a United side that Arsenal dominated totally for the opening 30 minutes meant that Arsenal’s lead over Manchester City at the top of the Premier League remained at just four points.
Arsenal have not won in the league for three matches now and even if this is not a City team capable of putting together a run of 15 straight wins, like some of the City teams of the recent past, they have the best manager in the league in Pep Guardiola, a manager who knows better than any of his peers what it takes to get the job done.
Arsenal are wobbling. This match made it official. Their detractors have been waiting for this moment and now it is here and a new phase of their attempt to win their first Premier League title for 22 years is upon us.
What had seemed relatively serene progress towards that goal suddenly seems fraught with dangers. Away at Leeds United next week could be tricky, away at Brentford in the middle of next month could be tricky, too, even away at Spurs at the end of February might be awkward.
Man United beat Arsenal 3-2 in a thriller at The Emirates, a week after overcoming Man City
Arsenal are wobbling and this defeat made it official, with their lead at the top cut to four points
Matheus Cunha’s stunning strike won it for Michael Carrick’s side on a damaging afternoon for Mikel Arteta’s men
The problem is that every game is awkward if a team’s confidence goes. Arsenal have been accused of ‘bottling’ title challenges in the recent past and they must respond quickly and decisively to this blip before that trend is allowed to take hold again.
After a strong start, they began to look tired and stale against a United team led by caretaker manager Michael Carrick, who has started his second spell in charge with victories over Manchester City and Arsenal. Much more of this and United will find themselves in a familiar position where the caretaker performs so well, there is little alternative but to give him the job full-time
Another worrying statistic for Arsenal is that have only won two of their seven matches against the so-called Big Six this season and they were against United and Spurs, who really aren’t in the Big Six any more. Against the big teams, it is starting to look as if they struggle to hold their nerve.
United look like a different side to the incoherent outfit they were under former boss Ruben Amorim. Huge credit must go to Carrick and his lieutenants for that. United look free again. This victory moved them up into fourth place and they are starting to look up and up, rather than over their shoulders.
After Gabriel Jesus scored twice in Arsenal’s midweek Champions League victory over Inter in Milan, Arteta’s only real selection dilemma revolved around whether to choose him or Viktor Gyokeres in attack. Arteta went for Jesus. It didn’t work.
The defences, to no one’s great surprise, were on top in the first 20 minutes. The one time Arsenal did scythe through United’s midfield, Lisandro Martinez, who had such a fine game against City, read William Saliba’s cut-back and blocked Declan Rice’s goalbound shot.
But then Saka was fouled 30 yards out and we know what an Arsenal set-piece on the edge of the opposition area means. Danger. Rice curled the ball in and Martin Zubimendi rose above Casemiro to meet it with his head. The contact was clean but Senne Lammens, who had come to claim the ball and then retreated, produced a brilliant reflex save.
Just before the half-hour Arsenal got the goal their dominance deserved. It started with a poor defensive header from Patrick Dorgu that fell at the feet of Saka. Saka dinked an improvised pass to Martin Odegaard, Odegaard volleyed it goalwards and as Martinez wrestled with Jurrien Timber in the six-yard box, the ball ricocheted off his heel past Lammens.
Arsenal went ahead through Lisandro Martinez’s own goal in a dominant start from the hosts
Bryan Mbeumo capitalised on a gift from Martin Zubimendi to level for United
Patrick Dorgu’s wondergoal, which went in off the crossbar, turned the game on its head
Mikel Merino bundled home a scrappy equaliser to set up a pulsating finale – but United left with the points
United almost conjured an improbable equaliser when Bryan Mbeumo played a ball in behind the Arsenal defence and Bruno Fernandes ran on to it. Saliba came across to cover and did just enough to distract Fernandes, who scuffed his shot wide when he should have scored.
Arsenal did not pay enough heed to their lucky escape. A couple of minutes later, they handed United another chance and this time United took it. Saliba and Zubimendi played each other into trouble on the edge of their own box, and when Zubimendi misplaced a backpass, Mbeumo pounced on it, took the ball around David Raya and slid it into the net.
Five minutes after half-time, United took the lead. Dorgu and Fernandes played an untidy one-two 10 yards outside the Arsenal box, Zubimendi could not shepherd it away and when the ball bounced, Dorgu hit a shot that sliced away from Raya, cannoned off the underside of the bar and over the line.
Frustration inside The Emirates began to turn to anger. Arteta reacted. Before an hour had gone, he made four substitutions to try to wrest back control of a game that was getting away from his team. Gyokeres and Eberechi Eze were among those who came on.
But Arsenal still looked like a team out of ideas and out of energy. They did not threaten United’s goal again until seven minutes from time when Saka brought a fine save out of Lammens, who dived low to his left to push the shot around the post.
From the resulting corner, it was United’s turn to hand Arsenal a goal. Saka swung the ball over from the Arsenal right, Lammens missed his punch and in the melee, Mikel Merino forced the ball over the line.
Michael Carrick has started his second spell in charge with victories over City and Arsenal
The crowd celebrated. Relief flowed around the ground, quickly followed by a roar of belief that Arsenal could yet win this. That belief was misplaced. Parity only lasted three minutes. Then United stormed back into the lead.
Fernandes played a clever ball to Kobbie Mainoo in midfield, Mainoo slipped another clever ball through to Matheus Cunha. Cunha saw space open up in front of him and ran into it. Then, using a defender as a screen, he hit a shot that had enough venom and curl to bend beyond the reach of Raya into the bottom corner.
It was a goal worthy of winning any game. On the sideline, Carrick and his coaches danced in joy. A few yards away, Arteta stood, arms folded across his chest, knowing the test that lies ahead.
