Despair to joy in the closing stages, this was some turnaround, some way for Arsenal to ignite their season. And some way for Manchester United’s away-day misery to continue.
As the Emirates Stadium bellowed the name of their team, United’s pain knew no bounds.
Alejandro Garnacho thought that he had won it for the visitors, thought he had landed the most perfect of sucker punches. On as a substitute, the winger accelerated on to a Bruno Fernandes pass in the 89th minute to finish past Aaron Ramsdale and into the Arsenal net.
Garnacho had struck late on at Fulham last season to secure Erik ten Hag’s only win in London. It continues to stand as such because of a wild sequence of events that had the Emirates Stadium rocking.
First, the VAR spotted that Garnacho had been fractionally offside when he began his run. On the replay it looked as if Gabriel Magalhães, the last Arsenal defender, had sucked in his stomach as he stepped up in the middle. Then Arsenal stole it.
Did they deserve to win? It was hard to say after a topsy-turvy game in which they were not convincing, their combinations lacking zip and precision. Not that United were any better. But the bulk of those present did not stop to ask the question. They simply let the emotions run over them after Declan Rice, unmarked beyond the far post on a corner in the sixth minute of stoppage-time, took a touch and his shot flicked off the United substitute Jonny Evans to beat André Onana. It was some way for Rice to score his first Arsenal goal after his £105m summer arrival from West Ham. Ten Hag wanted a foul against Evans by Gabriel. It was not there.
In the 81st minute Arsenal thought they had made the decisive move only for Onana to save with his feet from Bukayo Saka. When they showed the replay on the big screen, there was a collective gasp from the home crowd. Saka was at close range when a low cross broke for him and he had to score.
But now Arsenal were ahead and the stadium descended into ear-splitting pandemonium when another substitute, Gabriel Jesus, streaked clear at the very end to cut inside Diogo Dalot and roll past Onana.
United have still to record a Premier League win at a major rival under Ten Hag and Arsenal have now beaten them three times in a row here. They last achieved that feat in the league in 1991. They have won five and drawn one of the previous six meetings with United at this venue.
There were plenty of difficult-to-answer questions, the first concerning how United were able to take the lead on 27 minutes. Until then they had struggled to get beyond the midfield, living on the end of their nerves when building from the back, wayward when going long.
Arsenal settled the quicker, determined to play on the front foot and they had the first big chance. Kai Havertz won possession and got his team moving only to miskick badly when the goal beckoned, United having made a mess of clearing a Gabriel Martinelli cross.
Inevitably, it was Marcus Rashford who did the damage for United. Christian Eriksen had sparked the break, stepping up to intercept a loose Havertz pass and it was up and over to Rashford. He sliced inside from the left and, with Ben White and William Saliba not close enough, he steered an expert finish inside the far corner.
It took Arsenal all of 35 seconds to equalise – a bitter frustration for Ten Hag, United’s undeserved ascendency frittered away. The green and white stripes (yes, United) watched Arsenal ping a few passes, Martinelli playing the key one, a lovely cut back for Martin Ødegaard and he swept home.
Every United fan knew their team could conceivably have arrived at the Emirates Stadium with zero points instead of six, results having greatly outstripped performances. They badly needed something more cohesive, an answer to the questions that seem to be everywhere – and that is before we get to the ongoing Glazer drain, the sapping torment of the owners’ tenure. They were better in the second half but it was not enough.
Injuries have bitten. Raphaël Varane, Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia and Mason Mount are out and there was yet another problem for Ten Hag when Lisandro Martínez was forced off after hurting himself when making a yellow-card tackle on Eddie Nketiah in the 66th minute. Scott McTominay did not travel because of illness.
On came Harry Maguire to predictable derision from the Arsenal fans and to partner Victor Lindelöf. Ten Hag would finish with Maguire alongside Evans, the free agent signing – surely not the central defensive pairing he would have envisaged in a Champions League season.
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Lindelöf had spent a booking on a cynical foul on Ntekiah just before half-time and, after Ramsdale had denied the disappointing Anthony Martial, White blocking the rebound from Rashford, Arsenal thought they had a penalty. Havertz got away from Aaron Wan-Bissaka and in front of Casemiro before he went down. But the VAR saw that he had anticipated the contact rather than actually felt it and overturned the award. Once again, it was not Havertz’s day.
Ten Hag introduced the £72m signing Rasmus Højlund and he had a couple of promising moments on his debut, Ten Hag feeling he might have had a penalty from a tussle with Gabriel. Martinelli guided a shot narrowly wide and Rashford would menace at the other end. Cue the late drama.
