Arsenal beat Manchester United 2-0 to reduce the gap to Liverpool at the top of the Premier League to seven points.

After a boring first half, the home team tried to break the stalemate. They finally achieved this with a corner kick in the 54th minute. Jurrien Timber converted Declan Rice’s corner before heading the ball into the net.

Almost 20 minutes later, Mikel Arteta’s team doubled their lead. The reason for this was another corner where William Saliba directed the ball past Andre Onana. The result leaves United 11th in the Premier League.

Here, The Athletics Experts analyze the game on Wednesday evening.

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Have Arsenal coped without Gabriel?

A player of Gabriel’s specific profile will likely be missed up front as well as at the back, given his prolific efforts from set pieces. A couple of tries from Arsenal early on saw the ball get into the zone of interest, but without the buccaneering runs of their ‘King of Brazil’, as the song goes, it seemed there was a huge gap in their dead ball -Strategy. Thomas Partey certainly should have done better when the ball bounced off his shoulder just before goal.

But as it turned out, it wasn’t Gabriel, no problem. Declan Rice delivered from Arsenal’s left and Jurrien Timber put his team ahead with a clever shot at the near post. Timber’s importance is reflected in the fact that he has to play almost every minute of every game at the moment, and he has the versatility to be able to switch from right-back to left-back – as he did here to try to strengthen left-side Oleksandr Zinchenko began to expose.

Arsenal doubled their lead with another set piece. This time Bukayo Saka hit the ball into the goal and after Partey headed the ball over the side, it slipped past William Saliba’s back. The Ashburton army behind the goal couldn’t resist a song of celebration: “Standard again, ole ole”.

Amy Lawrence

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Yoro debuts – was it worth the wait?

Leny Yoro had to wait to make his Premier League debut due to a metatarsal fracture, but his substitute appearance in the second half gave the first glimpses of his quality. The Frenchman came on as a substitute for Harry Magure in the 59th minute and played on the right in United’s back three.

Yoro’s standout feature right now is his recovery speed. It’s still early days for the 19-year-old to work under his new coach, but errors in positioning are often compensated for by his intensity when retreating and his timing when tackling. When defending from set pieces, Yoro was one of a few players floating in the middle of the six-yard box at Saka’s corner as the ball was headed towards Partey and William Saliba at the back stick.

United would have hoped for easier games to integrate Yoro into the team, but fitness issues and rotation meant he had to enter the fray here. The 80th minute provided a good example of his penalty area defense when he parried away a cross from Saka that was intended for Leandro Trossard. It was the kind of stop that reminded viewers why Yoro has earned comparisons to Raphael Varane in the past. The teenager still has a long way to go before he can match the trophy-winning centre-back, but his pace provides a new tool for Amorim as he builds his defense for the future. The closer Yoro gets to playing 90 minutes every three days, the sooner the head coach can solve any potential problems at right center back.

Carl Anka

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Can anyone stop Arsenal’s corners?

The last time United visited the Emirates, it was corners towards the back post that allowed Arsenal to take the lead in stoppage time through Rice before Gabriel Jesus made it 3-1.

Here it was Rice’s inside swing towards the near post that gave Timber the final score of 1-0. Arsenal mixed up their corners all night, but perhaps an identical inswinger in the first half – which Partey failed to convert – should have alerted United.

Arsenal’s variety of corners was on display again when Partey was sent towards the area following a cross from Saka and the midfielder’s header hit Saliba before finding the net.

In games where Arsenal are not at their best or cannot beat the opponent, the attacking corners have been an important solution to change the course of the game and force the opponent to be more proactive.

If your manager is asked about the set-piece bonus in his contract for the second year in a row, that’s an indication that your dead balls are deadly.

Ahmed Walid

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Mount and Malacia came in – how did they play?

Amorim’s fitness-focused rotation approach once again turned heads at the Emirates. He named six changes to the lineup that beat Everton 4-0 on Sunday, the most United have made from one Premier League game to another in the 2024-25 season.

Tyrell Malacia and Mason Mount were two outstanding additions to the starting lineup. Erik ten Hag signed both players to bolster the team’s strength, but their United careers were cut short by injury. Malacia had a particularly difficult role in their first Premier League start in 556 days. Deployed at left-back and facing Bukayo Saka, the Dutchman opted to frustrate the winger and push him into less dangerous areas rather than get too narrow and try to throw him out of play.

By halftime he had won three of his four ground duels and appeared to have held his own. The presence of Noussair Mazraoui at left centre-back helped in defense as Arsenal appeared content to let United build from the back, Malacia remained steady before being substituted for Amad Diallo at half-time.

Further up the pitch was Mount, a player Amorim has already spoken well of. He has experience in the 3-4-2-1 system under Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea. Coaches love Mount for his outstanding off-the-ball qualities, while his frightening intelligence allows him to spot and avoid an opponent’s pressing trap.

Depending on what a manager needs, they can also seamlessly switch from pressing a player in possession to focusing on a specific zone. That off-ball quality was present in the first half, albeit at the expense of United’s attacking power. Amorim’s team had one touch of the ball in the Arsenal penalty area in the first 45 minutes, and a shot from Diogo Dalot went wide. The football cynic may claim he could have done better to save Saliba from the corner that led to Jurrien Timber’s opener, but many struggled with Arsenal’s corners. In the 59th minute he finally made way for Marcus Rashford as part of a saving three-man substitution.

It wasn’t an exciting first half, but that seemed to be the intention. Mount and Malacia are not the preferred players fans would turn to if they needed to win a game, but both men worked hard to prevent United from losing the game.

Carl Anka

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Is this the game where Declan Rice found his mojo?

It hasn’t been the easiest season for Arsenal’s key midfielder. There was a hint of a hangover after his outstanding performances last season and a long run at the Euros without much pre-season to prepare him for a resumption. Rice endured the frustration of his controversial red card for pushing the ball away to delay a restart, a suspension for the north London derby and a broken toe, which he is currently playing through.

Arsenal’s midfield needed a bit to break out of its flatness in the first half against United. Perhaps it was partly the awareness of covering the changes at left back and left centre-half that made Rice particularly keen to step in and help out.

In the second half, Rice rose to the occasion. He became more dominant in possession and more influential in his leadership, which helped Arsenal gain a foothold. It was his corner that opened the game. He directed traffic and constantly pointed toward the ball. If this level of performance shows he has prepared for the challenges ahead, it can only be good news for Arsenal.

Amy Lawrence

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How did Arsenal put United under pressure?

A key tactical question heading into this game was how Arsenal planned to drive Manchester United’s new rebuilding phase forward. It has been clear since Amorim’s first game against Ipswich Town that this is a period in which United will excel. On the other hand, Arsenal have been one of the best pressing teams in the world since the start of last season.

As expected, Amorim’s team wanted to attract Arsenal before pressing through with quick passing combinations and shifting play to the opposition. They had occasional success and when they weren’t pressing, they were at least controlling the ball.

Arteta’s side pressed United’s three-man line-up into a 4-1-4-1 formation, with Martin Odegaard the most advanced player, Kai Havertz and Partey keeping an eye on Manuel Ugarte and Bruno Fernandes, Rice behind them but settling Mount is focused, and Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are able to jump to the full-backs.

However, a key player in the Arsenal press is William Saliba. The French centre-back can easily push higher, which is why he has been tasked with marking Alejandro Garnacho. Furthermore, his aerial presence ensured Saliba won the aerial duel or second ball when United tried to go wide towards Rasmus Hojlund.

Ahmed Walid

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What’s next for Arsenal?

Sunday December 8th: Fulham (away), Premier League, 2pm UK, 9am ET

What’s next for Manchester United?

Saturday December 7th: Nottingham Forest (Home), Premier League, 5:30pm UK, 12:30pm ET

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(Top photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images)