Arsenal drowned Man Utd in injury time
From a corner on the right, Rice received the ball in the second column without being marked by anyone, when the away team's players could not close in time. The $132 million midfielder volleyed the ball to the near post, defeating goalkeeper Andre Onana, increasing the score to 2-1 for the host. At the last minute, striker Gabriel Jesus completed Arsenal's quick counterattack, turning the ball to eliminate Diogo Dalot and then cushioning it to the far corner to seal a 3-1 victory.
Before scoring twice, Arsenal seemed to have had nothing to do when Alejandro Garnacho scored in the 89th minute to help Man Utd take a 2-1 lead. However, this goal was canceled because VAR confirmed that Garnacho was offside by only a small distance. The Emirates crowd cheered the referee's decision just as much as the home team scored. And their enthusiasm seemed to energize the "Gunners" to win.
The developments in the last 10 minutes were much more exciting than the previous 80 minutes, when he played cautiously. There were only three notable situations in the first half, the first being Kai Havertz's missed shot in the 13th minute from less than 10 meters.
The German midfielder has not performed well since joining Arsenal, and it was he who passed the error that led to the visitors' opening goal. Christian Eriksen stole the ball and then slid it up the middle before slotting it to the left for Marcus Rashford to rush forward. The English striker turned the ball into the penalty area and then shot to the far corner, causing goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale to touch the ball and could not save it.
However, Arsenal responded after just one minute with a masterpiece that reflected the team's identity between Zinchenko, Martinelli and Nketiah. Finally, Martinelli passed to the second line for captain Martin Odegaard to cross the corner to equalize 1-1 for the home team.
The two teams continued to play closely in the second half, but when given the opportunity, they could not take advantage of it. The first was Rashford's kick in front of the almost empty goal but hit the home defender's leg. Then it was Saka's turn to miss an opportunity to cushion the ball close to the goal when he kicked goalkeeper Onana in the foot.
VAR also once again took away Arsenal's joy in the game, when referee Anthony Taylor blew a penalty for them after Havertz bumped into Aaron Wan-Bissaka and fell in the penalty area. However, after reviewing the situation, the referee changed his decision and canceled the penalty.
Match stats show Arsenal doing better on key stats, especially 12 corners, four times as much as their opponents. Rice's goal also came from such a situation.
And Man Utd continues to show lackluster play, with only a rare bright spot in rookie Rasmus Hojlund. The 20-year-old striker only played for the last 30 minutes, but impressed in his ability to sweep, even though he did not have the opportunity to bring it to fruition.
