A quick flurry of second-half goals from Granit Xhaka and Danny Welbeck see the race for top four take another twist
MANCHESTER UNITED'S unbeaten record league run came to an abrupt end against Arsene Wenger at the Emirates this afternoon.
Quick-fire goals from Granit Xhaka and Danny Welbeck saw Arsenal secure a deserved 2-0 win to shatter Jose Mourinho's ultra-defensive tactics and boost their own chances of a top four finish.
United had not lost any of their last 25 matches following October's 4-0 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, although half of those results were draws.
Yet they were on the backfoot from the whistle as Mourinho made eight changes to the side which edged past Celta Vigo in the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday.
Axel Tuanzebe made his debut at right-back but was not afforded the luxury of charging forward like Antonio Valencia, effectively rendering United blunt in attack.
Wingers Juan Mata and Henrikh Mkhitaryan were at times deeper than their full-backs, allowing Arsenal to quickly take control and fire off a number of shots at David De Gea.
But despite both sides going in level at the break, it was the Gunners who found the breakthrough after 54 minutes.
Granit Xhaka unleashed a rocket of a shot from 30 yards out, and a wicked deflection by Ander Herrera saw the ball loop over De Gea even though he was stood on the line of his goalmouth.
However, Arsenal did not let up and managed to double their lead within two minutes when ex-Red Devil Welbeck headed home from a fine Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain cross.
Mourinho responded by throwing on Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford despite their midweek European heroics, with youngster Scott McTominay also making his first-ever appearance .
But United could not get on the scoresheet as their winless league run extended to three matches.
It means they remain four points behind fourth-place Manchester City and just two ahead of Arsenal, with the Londoners still with a game in-hand.
Mourinho said in the build-up to the match that victory in the Europa League was United's best chance of qualifying for the Champions League.
And based on this performance, it seems like a message his players were all too quick to take on board.
FACTS, STATS, GOALS AND LOLS
THE BIG PICTURE
Arsenal remaining fixtures
Southampton (A): 10 May – Prem
Stoke (A): 13 May – Prem
Sunderland (H): 16 May – Prem
Everton (H): 21 May – Prem
Chelsea (N): 27 May – FA
Man Utd remaining fixtures
Celta Vigo (H): 11 May – EL
Tottenham (A): 14 May – Prem
Southampton (A): 17 May – Prem
Crystal Palace (H): 21 May – Prem
DREAM TEAM RATINGS
Arsenal: Cech 7, Holding 7, Koscielny 7, Monreal 6, Oxlade-Chamberlain 8 (Bellerin 6), Ramsey 7, Xhaka 7 (Coquelin 6), Gibbs 7, Ozil 7, Sanchez 6, Welbeck 7 (Giroud 6)
Subs not used: Gabriel, Ospina, Walcott, Iwobi
Goals: Xhaka 54’, Welbeck 56’
Booked: Koscielny
Man Utd: De Gea 5, Tuanzebe 6, Smalling 6, Jones 6, Darmian 6, Herrera 6 (Rashford 6), Carrick 6, Rooney 6, Mata 6 (McTominay 6), Martial 6, Mkhitaryan 6 (Lingard 6)
Subs not used: Bailly, Pogba, Blind, Romero
Star Man: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
SOCIAL SAYS
WHAT THEY SAID
Danny Welbeck: "It was really important to get the victory, with our position in the table we need to be further up there.
"Hopefully victory gives us a good end to the season. Manchester is a special place in my life but once we get on the pitch it's business."
Jose Mourinho: "I'm disappointed with the result, not the performance, I liked all individual and collective performances. We lost because we didn't score. We missed great chances to score before them.
"They had luck with that goal, I cannot demand more from players that dont play 1 min of football in 7 weeks. Jones Mata Smalling were amazing, the keeper the same, he did an amazing job, I think Alexis knows his name!
"Players tried to do everything, the team was good , organised, played to win, defended well. Arsenal were not better than us, they scored and they win. The goal is a lucky situation, we had much better opportunities, the game was totally under control.
"We did not deserve to lose and if we scored we would have won But I leave this stadium with Arsenal fans happy, its' the first time I see them smile and be happy, they deserve this joy. You cannot say we didn't try to win the game, [we'll throw] everything for Thursday."
Arsene Wenger: "We had to look at ourselves first, it was a patient win. In the first half we were a bit nervous, we had a good spell and took advantage of it.
"[The formation] gives us more defensive stability, there was a spell where we conceded too many goals.
"There's still a mathematical chance [of top four]. The best chance we have is to focus on our own games."
