Man Utd stun leaders Arsenal to open up title race
Everything was going to plan for Arsenal when they took the lead in the 29th minute with a Lisandro Martinez own goal
Manchester United loosened Arsenal's grip on the Premier League title race with a 3-2 win in north London yesterday (25 January) thanks to stunning second-half goals by Patrick Dorgu and Matheus Cunha.
Victory would have restored Arsenal's seven-point lead over chasers Manchester City and Aston Villa, both of whom won this weekend, but Mikel Arteta's side instead left the door open as they lost at home for the first time this season.
United's win, their first in the league at Arsenal since 2017, lifted them to fourth, and while they are not in the title equation themselves, it fuelled the new-found optimism sweeping the club since Michael Carrick stepped in as interim coach.
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"It was absolutely massive," United defender Harry Maguire told Sky Sports. "Michael's come in, he's been brilliant with us, he's brought a fresh energy, the group's really galvanised."
Everything was going to plan for Arsenal when they took the lead in the 29th minute with a Lisandro Martinez own goal.
But a terrible mistake by Martin Zubimendi in the 37th minute gifted United an equaliser for Bryan Mbeumo.
Dorgu then rifled in a volley in the 50th minute and United's confidence was soaring until substitute Mikel Merino prodded the hosts level from a corner.
United were not finished though and substitute Cunha was allowed to advance towards Arsenal's goal before curling a low shot past the dive of David Raya from 25 metres to spark wild celebrations amongst the visiting fans.
Arsenal are now winless in three league games after two 0-0 draws but with 50 points from 23 games are still in a strong position, despite the boos of some fans at the end.
City and Villa are on 46 points with United fourth on 38.
DREAM START FOR CARRICK
United's win made it a dream start for former midfielder Carrick in his second spell as the club's interim manager, following a 2-0 defeat of Manchester City last weekend.
While they now target a return to the Champions League with a top-four finish, the nerves are clearly starting to show at Arsenal as they seek their first league title since 2004.
Even after Martinez got his legs in a tangle and deflected Martin Odegaard's shot past his own keeper, Arsenal never looked completely at ease and slowly lost control.
The omens still looked bad for United at that stage with Arsenal having won their last 15 Premier League games in which they had taken the lead.]
But when William Saliba casually passed to Zubimendi who in turn gifted the ball straight to Mbeumo to score in style, the visitors sensed an opportunity.
"We gave them the goal, that shifted the energy," Arteta said. "The game became a little bit open without the dominance of the first half. They had two brilliant goals."
Things took a dark turn for Arsenal five minutes after the interval. Again their defence was hesitant as Dorgu was allowed to control a bouncing ball before thumping a left-foot volley in off the crossbar past a stunned Raya.
Arteta reacted by making four substitutions, sending on Viktor Gyokeres, Eberechi Eze, Mikel Merino and Ben White while Noni Madueke also joined the fray later from a stacked bench.
There was huge relief when United failed to deal with a corner and Merino pounced from close range -- the ball being adjudged to have crossed the line after a brief delay.
It looked as though Arsenal had got out of jail and might even snatch a win but United's belief was unwavering as Cunha delivered a gift to City and Villa.
