Match report: Arsenal 3-1 Man United

 Granit Xhaka ran towards the corner flag, hit a knee slide and then blew a kiss to the Arsenal fans. Crazy I know! He had just hit a rocket of a shot past De Gea from outside the box giving us a 3-1 lead against Manchester United. The Emirates was bouncing, fans and legends present started to dream again, chants of ," Arsenal" reverberated throughout the stadium. Arsenal have breezed through Chelsea and United in a week. 

The match itself was a nervy but drama filled affair. Both sides looked unsure of themselves defensively. So it was not a surprise to see a goal within the first three minutes. Xhaka's pass to the box was badly misjudged by Varane giving Saka the chance to shoot from the right. De Gea made the save but Nuno Tavares reacted quickest to score his first goal for the club. We could not have wished for a better start.

United were jolted into life after that opener. Ronaldo with a nice through ball to Elanga but his shot was too close to Ramsdale who made the save. That was the first of many ominous warnings for Arsenal who struggled to play out from the back. Ramsdale with a poor ball from a goal kick straight to Fernandes whose shot was well blocked by Gabriel. Arsenal were struggling to build up play but when they slithered their way into midfield Ødegaard found lots of space behind United's midfield. The Norwegian was again the creative force for us. 

Ødegaard and Saka were at it again. A superb through ball from the former resulted in Telles fouling Saka for a penalty. Saka ,like he did at Stamford Bridge, stepped up and sent De Gea the wrong way for a 2-0 lead. The last week has shown how much Saka has grown in stature in this Arsenal side. Stepping up in Lacazette's absence, Saka has declared himself penalty taker by taking those two high pressure penalties in crucial games for us. Ronaldo pulled one back just two minutes later. The game was chaotic, unpredictable but entertaining.

We were ahead at half time but the performance was far from perfect. Cedric had a horrible first half, Ramsdale looked nervous every time we played out from the back, Elneny kept playing the ball backwards and Nuno Tavares was leaving plenty of space for Elanga to run in behind. Upfront however, it was a completely different story. We looked dangerous every time we went forward. 

Arsenal started the second half as they finished in the first half. We couldn't get a hold of the game. Cedric and Tavares struggled. The pair gave the ball away multiple times and the crowd got frustrated. It was wave after wave of United attack. During that period one couldn't predict how the game would go. Tavares handled in the box from a corner and Bruno had the chance to level the game. Were we going to bottle this again? We were going to let United back in the top four race? Fernandes hit the post with his penalty amid jubilant celebrations from the fans. 

United's penalty miss jounced the Emirates into life. The fans were going to drag us to a win by hook or crook. Then came Granit Xhaka with a thunderous shot into the corner leaving De Gea with no chance. An almost perfectly written script. Xhaka was excellent throughout the game. He took charge of the midfield and dictated it at will. Elneny again put in a superb performance. The pair have stepped up at a crucial part of the season.

Mikel Arteta was full of praise for Granit at full time. Asked about Xhaka's celebration with the fans he said, “I was dreaming of that, he deserves it. If any fan would individually spend five or 10 minutes with Granit, or even two minutes because that’s all you need, they would understand the person he is & how much he cares about the club.”  "Thank you to the fans [for celebrating with him]. I know what it means to him."

The win leaves Arsenal on sixty points with five games left. A tough away match against West Ham awaits but in the meantime Mikel and his young guns can bask in the glory of these two wins. Arsenal 3-1 Man United.