ARSENAL 2, MANCHESTER UNITED 0
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s unbeaten domestic run came to an end at the rainswept Emirates Stadium as Manchester United were beaten 2-0 by Arsenal.
Embed from Getty ImagesSolskjaer’s team were coming off the back of an epic win in Paris but there were no heroics this time as a David De Gea error and a soft penalty awarded against Fred earned the home side a win.
The Reds were the favourites coming into the game with an extra day’s rest against an Arsenal side who had gone down 10 men during a 3-1 defeat away at Rennes and came into the game with a day’s less rest.
United’s injury crisis abated a little and Paul Pogba returned from suspension to be joined by Nemanja Matic and Diogo Dalot who helped turn the tide in Paris from the bench.
Eric Bailly was taken off in Paris during the first half but was named on the bench at the Emirates to be joined by Andreas Pereira and Scott McTominay.
After the highs of victory in Paris Solskjaer’s men were brought down to earth against a much changed Gunners side with Unai Emery going for a high risk attacking line-up without the suspended Lucas Torreira or the industrious Matteo Guendouzi, Alex Iwobi, and error-prone Shkodran Mustafi.
Granit Xhaka was trusted in midfield for Arsenal and he came up with a stunning goal to open the scoring in the 12th minute when his swerving shot deceived De Gea.
The Gunners doubled their lead when Fred was adjudged to have fouled Alexandre Lacazette for a disputed penalty in the 69th minute.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang tucked away the spot kick and the poor weather conditions made a comeback by United who appeared to have used up all their luck in Paris.
Chris Smalling was shoved by a fan who had run onto the pitch in the aftermath of Aubameyang’s goal – just hours after a fan had punched Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish in their match at Birmingham City.
Manchester United fail to take their chances, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer must now react to first domestic defeat
United were rattled but they had their chances – Romelu Lukaku missed three chances to score including one that tested Gunners keeper Bernd Leno.
The woodwork denied Lukaku and Fred as luck and the elements conspired to deny United.
The Reds had fought their way back into contention for the top four and defeat at Arsenal today meant that they slipped back into 5th place on 58 points with Chelsea a point behind them in 6th with a game to play.
Arsenal leapfrogged United to fourth on 60 points – a point behind Tottenham in 3rd.
And with seemingly two Champions League spots available for the four clubs the fight for the top tier European club competition will rumble on for weeks to come.
Until now Solskjaer had been riding the crest of a wave of goodwill – he even managed to turn around the 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford to Paris St Germain to win the tie in Paris.
The Norwegian will now have to a new challenge – picking up the pieces from this result to put United back on course for a top 4 finish.