Arsenal beat Manchester United 2-0 to cut the gap to Liverpool at the top of the Premier League to seven points.
After a dull first half, the home side pushed to break the deadlock. They eventually did so courtesy of a corner kick in the 54th minute. Jurrien Timber connected with Declan Rice’s corner before flicking the ball into the net with his head.
Mikel Arteta’s side then doubled their advantage nearly 20 minutes later. It came courtesy of another corner, with a William Saliba touch diverting the ball past Andre Onana. The result leaves United 11th in the Premier League.
Here, The Athletic’s experts break down Wednesday night’s game.
Did Arsenal cope without Gabriel?
A player of Gabriel’s specific profile is arguably as missed at the front as the back of the team, given his prolific efforts at set pieces. A couple of Arsenal efforts early on saw the ball pinged into the zone of interest, but without the buccaneering runs of their “King of Brazil”, as the song goes, it seemed there was a giant hole in their dead-ball strategy. Thomas Partey certainly should have done better when the ball bounced off his shoulder close to goal.
But as it turned out, it was no Gabriel, no problem. Declan Rice delivered from Arsenal’s left, and Jurrien Timber was on point at the near post with a smart glance to give his team the lead. Timber’s importance is evident in the way he is having to play almost every minute of every match at the moment, and he has the versatility to be able to switch from right to left back — as he did here to try to solidify the left side when Oleksandr Zinchenko began to get exposed.
Timber opens the scoring (Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)
Arsenal doubled their lead with another set play. This time Bukayo Saka looped the ball in, and after Partey headed across, it skidded in off William Saliba’s back. The Ashburton Army behind the goal couldn’t resist a song in celebration: “Set piece again, ole ole”.
Amy Lawrence
Yoro debuts – was he worth the wait?
A metatarsal fracture meant Leny Yoro has had to wait for his Premier League debut, but there were glimpses of his quality in his second-half substitute appearance. The Frenchman was introduced for Harry Magure in the 59th minute to play on the right of United’s back three.
Yoro’s outstanding attribute at the moment is his recovery pace. It’s early days for the 19-year-old working under his new coach, but any errors made in positioning are often remedied with his intensity when retreating and his timing of the tackle. On set-piece defending, Yoro was one of a handful of players hovering in the middle of the six-yard box on Saka’s corner when the ball was swung over towards Partey and William Saliba at the back stick.
United would have hoped for easier games to bed Yoro into the side, but fitness niggles and rotation meant he had to enter the fray here. The 80th minute gave a good example of his box defending, cutting out a cross from Saka that was intended for Leandro Trossard. It was the sort of stop that reminded viewers why Yoro has earned comparisons to Raphael Varane in the past. The teenager has a way to go before he can match that trophy-winning centre-back, but his pace presents a new tool for Amorim as he constructs his defence going forward. The closer Yoro can get to playing 90 minutes every three days, the closer the head coach can solve a potential headache at right centre-back.
Carl Anka
Can anyone stop Arsenal’s corners?
The last time United visited the Emirates it was inswinging corners towards the back post which allowed Arsenal to take the lead in stoppage time through Rice, before Gabriel Jesus made it 3-1.
Here, it was Rice’s inswinger towards the near post which set up Timber to make it 1-0. Arsenal mixed up their corners throughout the night, but perhaps an identical inswinger in the first half — which Partey didn’t manage to convert — should have alerted United.
The variety of Arsenal’s corners was present again when a back-post delivery from Saka found Partey towards that zone, and the midfielder’s header hit Saliba before going into the back of the net.
In games where Arsenal aren’t at their best or able to break down the opponent, their attacking corners have been an important solution to change the state of the game and force the opposition to be more proactive.
When your manager is being asked about the set-piece coach’s bonus in his contract for the second season in a row, it’s an indication that your dead balls are lethal.
Ahmed Walid
Mount and Malacia came in – how did they play?
Amorim’s fitness-focused approach to rotation reared its head again at the Emirates. He named six changes to the line-up that beat Everton 4-0 on Sunday, the most United have made from one Premier League game to another in 2024-25.
Tyrell Malacia and Mason Mount were two standout additions to the starting XI. Erik ten Hag signed both men to bolster depth only to have their United careers disrupted by injury. Malacia had a particularly difficult role in his first Premier League start in 556 days. Deployed at left wing-back and faced with Bukayo Saka, the Dutchman opted to frustrate and jockey the winger into less dangerous areas, rather than get touch-tight and attempt to kick him out of the game.
At half-time, he had won three of his four ground duels and looked to have held his own. The presence of Noussair Mazraoui at left centre-back helped when defending, as Arsenal seemed content to let United build out from the back, Malacia held steady before being substituted for Amad Diallo at half-time.
Malacia started the game on Wednesday night (Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)
Further up the pitch was Mount, a player Amorim has already spoken well of. He has previous experience working in a 3-4-2-1 under Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea. Coaches love Mount due to his outstanding off-the-ball qualities, while he can spot — and avoid — an opponent’s pressing trap with frightening intelligence.
Depending on whatever a manager requires, he can also switch from pressing a player in possession or focusing on a particular zone seamlessly. That off-ball quality was present in the first half, albeit to the detriment of United’s attacking potency. Amorim’s team had one touch inside Arsenal’s penalty area in the opening 45 minutes, an off-target shot from Diogo Dalot. The footballing cynic may claim he could have done better to wall off Saliba on the corner that led to Jurrien Timber’s opener, but many have struggled against Arsenal corner kicks. He eventually made way for Marcus Rashford in the 59th minute as part of a rescue triple sub.
It wasn’t a thrilling first half, but that appeared to be by design. Mount and Malacia are not the go-to players fans would turn to if they needed to win a game, but both men worked hard in a bid to stop United from losing it.
Carl Anka
Is this the game when Declan Rice refound his mojo?
It has not been the easiest season for Arsenal’s key midfielder. There was a hint of a hangover after his stellar efforts during the last campaign, and a long run in the Euro, with not much pre-season to set him up to go again. Rice endured the frustration of his controversial red card for nudging the ball away to delay a restart, suspension for the north London derby, and a broken toe, which he is currently playing through.
Arsenal’s midfield needed something to lift themselves from their flatness during the first half against United. Maybe it was in part down to the awareness of covering for the changes at left-back and left centre half, so Rice was extra careful to drop in and help out.
Come the second half, Rice rose to the occasion. He became more dominant in possession, and more influential in his leadership, which helped to give Arsenal a foothold. It was his delivery from the corner which opened the game up. He directed traffic and showed for the ball constantly. If this calibre of performance shows he has geared himself up for the challenges ahead, that can only be good news for Arsenal.
Amy Lawrence
How did Arsenal press United?
One important tactical question before this game was how Arsenal were going to press Manchester United’s new build-up phase. Since Amorim’s first game, against Ipswich Town, it has been clear that this is a phase where United will excel. On the other hand, Arsenal have been one of the best pressing teams in the world since the beginning of last season.
As expected Amorim’s side wanted to lure Arsenal in before playing through the press with quick passing combinations and switches of play towards the far side. They were occasionally successful and if they didn’t play through the press, they at least controlled the ball.
Saliba is key to Arsenal’s press (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Arteta’s side pressed United’s three-man build-up in a 4-1-4-1 shape with Martin Odegaard the most advanced player, Kai Havertz and Partey keeping an eye on Manuel Ugarte and Bruno Fernandes, Rice behind them but focusing on Mount, and Saka and Gabriel Martinelli in position to jump on the wide centre-backs.
However, one vital player in Arsenal’s press is William Saliba. The France centre-back can comfortably press higher up the pitch, which is why he was tasked with marking Alejandro Garnacho. In addition, his aerial presence meant that when United tried to go long towards Rasmus Hojlund, Saliba managed to win the aerial duel or the second ball.
Ahmed Walid
What next for Arsenal?
Sunday, December 8: Fulham (away), Premier League, 2pm UK, 9am ET
What next for Manchester United?
Saturday, December 7: Nottingham Forest (home), Premier League, 5:30pm UK, 12:30pm ET
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(Top photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images)
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