Arsenal 3-1 Manchester United
by Layth Yousif
at Ashburton Grove 

TWO late, late goals from Delcan Rice and Gabriel Jesus sealed a joyous last-gasp victory for Mikel Arteta's Arsenal on a dramatic Sunday afternoon in North London.

Just as a lively game appeared to be heading for a draw, Arsenal showed tremendous character to dig deep and beat United. First £105m record signing Rice fired home in a crowded box to put the home side 2-1 ahead in the 96th minute, prior to substitute Gabriel Jesus slotting home a third in front of a delirious crowd.

Earlier, during a feisty and frenetic opening, Kai Havertz fluffed his lines when miskicking from six yards out with the goal at his mercy, as the Gunners chased an opener in the glorious September sunshine.

With Thomas Partey out for days, weeks, or months depending on who you talk to, Gabriel slotted back into the Gunners backline, to resume his doughty partnership with William Saliba that powered the team to second place last term. With the Ghana international missing Ben White returned to right-back and Olexsandr Zinchenko slipped in seamlessly into the spot vacated by Partey.

While the four defenders immediately gave Arsenal an air of solidity, somewhat missing in red and white during this embryonic season so far, they could do nothing when Marcus Rashford cut inside to fire past a grasping Aaron Ramsdale to put United 1-0 up on 27 minutes.

However, with Arsenal looking more balanced with a midfielder triumvirate of Havertz, Rice and Odegaard, the home side swept forward from the restart. Gabi Martinelli racing into the box, fed his captain, who steered a well-crafted drive far beyond Onana to make the score 1-1 after a breathless 60 sixty seconds of action.

The second half continued in the same vein. Arsenal had seen a penalty overturned by the VAR after referee Anthony Taylor originally ruled Havertz had been fouled - prior to missing a glorious late opportunity when Bukayo Saka shot straight at Onana.

To underline the growing tension, United then thought they had scored a late winner.

Yet, VAR also ruled that one out in a chaotic finale to an entertaining game when United thought they had snatched three points - only to see Alejandro Garnacho's 88th-minute finish ruled out for offside by VAR with the score 1-1.

Then, as the teams looked set to share a point each, there was still huge drama to come, as up stepped record buy Rice, followed by Jesus to seal a dramatic victory, and unleash scenes of unbridled joy in North London.

Speaking after the match, a delighted Arteta said: “We all worked so hard and plan everything to live moments like this. Those moments are going to stick with us. To see the crowd so connected with the team again and celebrate in a big match like today with the history of this clash is something great, so [I’m] very happy.”