Arsenal 3 - 0 Man U What happened !!!
Arsenal 3
- Home team scorers
- Alexis Sanchez 6
- Mesut Ozil 7
- Alexis Sanchez 19
Man Utd 0
- Away team scorers
Arsenal 3-0 Manchester United: Premier League – as it happened!
Arsenal started at a blistering pace with Alexis Sánchez shining and
it was game, set and match for Arsène Wenger’s team inside 20 minutes
Updated
A team that was on its knees after the ordeal against Olympiakos last week delivered what Gary Neville once described as a “put-your-pens-down” kind of performance. At the same time, Arsenal turned down the volume on the supporters who have been making the most noise about Wenger. In the Premier League years, no side has ever taken a 3-0 lead against Manchester United with such devastating speed. Arsenal managed it in 20 minutes in a blur of one-touch speed, penetration and movement when Alexis Sànchez, Theo Walcott and Mesut Özil seemed to take turns tormenting their opponents.
Sànchez, in particular, bewitched this stadium. His little piece of improvisational brilliance to open the scoring was reminiscent of Gianfranco Zola’s exquisite airborne flick to score for Chelsea in an FA Cup tie against Norwich in 2002, darting to the far post and turning the ball into the net with the instep of his trailing boot. His flick in the build-up to Arsenal’s second goal was not too shabby either and the ovation for Walcott and Özil when they were substituted late in the match told its own story. Sànchez followed shortly afterwards and in those moments Wenger stood on the touchline and joined in the applause.
Louis van Gaal, in stark contrast, was so disturbed by the way his team were being dismantled he removed two of his summer signings, Memphis Depay and Matteo Darmian, at half-time. United’s manager also shunted Wayne Rooney out to the left for the second half in what could easily be perceived as the first clear sign of dissatisfaction about his captain’s form. Marouane Fellaini was brought on to take the attacking role just behind Anthony Martial but their improvement never left the sense that a comeback might be plausible.
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This was the first time they have encountered a top-four opponent and Van Gaal must have been startled by the nature of his team’s defending. The third goal began with a throw-in on the right and United were vulnerable as soon as Theo Walcott switched play to pick out Sànchez on the left. Sànchez stepped inside Darmian but the Italian, with his least distinguished game in United’s colours, was not the only one who let Arsenal’s tormentor-in-chief take aim. The punishment for Juan Mata and Michael Carrick standing off was considerable. It needs something special to beat David de Gea from 25 yards and Sànchez duly provided it with a shot that was still rising as it flew into the top corner.
United’s lethargy in that opening spell was almost bewildering given the potential for exploring whether their opponents might be of fragile mind. Yet Wenger must be congratulated for the way his players played as if free of any self-doubt. Walcott’s pace and movement made him an elusive opponent but it was the team’s work-rate that also brought the crowd to their feet. At one point Walcott could be seen chasing back into midfield, dispossessing Bastian Schweinsteiger with a brilliantly executed sliding tackle, then quickest to his feet to win the second challenge. Schweinsteiger might have a quick football brain but these are the occasions when his legs cannot keep up. Later, Walcott did something similar to Rooney. United were, in short, ponderous.
Even before scoring, Arsenal should have been awarded a penalty for Schweinsteiger’s grappling of Gabriel at a corner and, by half-time, Sànchez’s perfectly weighted cross deserved a better finish than Aaron Ramsey’s when the Welshman had the chance to add a fourth. Anthony Martial’s neat spin and shot was thwarted by a sprawling Petr Cech save just before the interval but Rooney’s decline was evident again and Depay can have few complaints about his early withdrawal.
Sànchez’s first goal arrived after four minutes via Özil’s cutback and the replays on the big screen sent a wave of stunned appreciation around the stadium from those in the crowd who had not quite fathomed out the fancy footwork on the first viewing. Sànchez pulled if off with the expertise of a man at the peak of his profession and it was another delicate touch that caught out United three minutes later. Sànchez’s flick left Walcott running at Darmian and Özil was waiting for the pass, side-footing a precise shot past De Gea from close to the penalty spot.
United had not been three goals down this quickly since the opening day of the 1995-96 season at Aston Villa, when Alan Hansen came out with his immortal line that you win nothing with kids. Twenty years on, it was almost a surprise Arsenal did not add more goals, the substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain coming the closest in stoppage time with a chipped effort that came back off the crossbar.
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