Sunday, September 4, 2022 at 7:21 PM• Mart Oude Nijeweeme

Manchester United recorded their fourth consecutive win on Sunday afternoon. The top match against Arsenal was won 3-1 at Old Trafford. Antony and Marcus Rashford (twice) provide the goals in a true spectacle. In addition to Antony, there were also starting places for Lisandro Martínez and Tyrell Malacia. The latter had a particularly difficult time with Bukayo Saka. United rise to fifth place in the Premier League with the win. Arsenal have lost their clear status after six games, but are still in the lead.

Antony completed his transfer to last Thursday the Red Devils finally finished and could not yet participate in the won away match at Leicester City (0-1). But in front of his own audience, the Brazilian immediately made his basic debut for Manchester United on Sunday afternoon. The midfield was formed by Christian Eriksen, Scott McTominay and Bruno Fernandes, leaving no room for Casemiro yet. Antony was joined at the forefront by Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho. Cristiano therefore started on the bench just like Casemiro.

United and Arsenal turned it into a true spectacle from the first whistle. The first chance of the match came in the name of Christian Eriksen, who shot wildly wide after wonderful preparatory work by Antony, among others. On the other side, William Saliba fired over in a promising position a minute later. After fifteen minutes of play, Arsenal still thought they would take the lead. Eriksen lost the ball to Martin Ødegaard, after which Gabriel Martinelli rounded off. However, the VAR called referee Paul Tierney to the screen due to a questionable pushing error by the Norwegian and disallowed the goal.

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Arsenal thought they would take the lead at Old Trafford, but VAR has put a stop to this. In the run-up to the goal, Eriksen was fouled.

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Arsenal showed a strong appearance at Old Trafford, but had to concede the first goal after more than half an hour of play. Served by Rashford, Antony didn’t think twice and outwitted Aaron Ramsdale with a diagonal shot. The winger who came over from Ajax seemed to have quickly lost his love for the team from Amsterdam, as he kissed the logo of his new employer after his goal. Just before the goal, the Brazilian had shot wildly over with the left after crawling in from the right. David de Gea impressed with a brilliant save on a header from Martinelli.

Also in the second half it was Arsenal that mainly beat the clock. Ødegaard shot past on a pass from Gabriel Jesus, while Saka also didn’t have his sights sharp. The latter also hit the top of the bar with a cross. After an hour of play, Ten Hag brought Antony to the side for Ronaldo, but the manager saw Arsenal equalize. After sloppy ball loss in the build-up, Martinelli could still be stopped by Diogo Dalot, but it was Saka who hit the rebound through Martínez’s legs: 1-1. A hit that was more than deserved given the game image.

While Arsenal seemed on the hunt after the lead, it was United that struck in the switch. At the first real chance in the second half, Rashford scored after a brilliant assist with the outside of Fernandes’ shoe: 2-1. Ramsdale corrected his own mistake not much later after a bad pass and Jesus curled the ball just past De Gea’s goal before United would lift the margin to two. Again it was completely open at the Gunners. Eriksen could be tucked away in the middle line by Fernandes, kept the overview and awarded the goal to Rashford. The sliding Ben White came too late: 3-1.