Arsenal beat Manchester United 2-0 on Sunday, with the win lifting the Londoners above their opponents into fourth place in the English Premier League (EPL).
It was a win which also ended Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s unbeaten domestic run as Manchester United’s caretaker manager.
Goals from Granit Xhaka and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang earned the Gunners a victory that sent them into the UEFA Champions League places while pushing Manchester United back down to fifth.
It was Manchester United’s first league defeat since Dec. 16, Jose Mourinho’s last game in charge, and ended Solskjaer’s remarkable unbeaten start in the league as Manchester United’s manager.
Arsenal went ahead in the 13th minute when Xhaka belted a swerving shot from 30 metres out, with Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea seemingly wrong-footed by the ball’s curve.
Manchester United hit the woodwork either side of the goal, with Romelu Lukaku heading against the crossbar first and Fred striking the post minutes later.
Lukaku had a golden opportunity to score from close range early in the second half.
But his first touch was heavy and, as he lunged to shoot, goalkeeper Bernd Leno blocked the shot with his body to send the ball spinning up and over the bar.
Arsenal won a very soft-looking penalty kick in the 67th minute, when Fred was judged to have brought down Alexandre Lacazette.
However, the replay showed that the Brazilian barely brushed the Frenchman’s side as they ran for the ball.
Aubameyang then converted the penalty kick, making up for his missed spot kick at Tottenham Hotspur a week earlier.
The win lifted Arsenal to 60 points, just one point behind their north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, who are third, and two points above Manchester United who slipped to fifth.
Earlier on Sunday, second-placed Liverpool had beaten Burnley 4-2 to move on to 73 points, one point behind leaders Manchester City.
(Reuters/NAN)