Marcus Rashford was Manchester United 's match-winner as Erik ten Hag 's side ended Arsenal 's 100 per cent record.
Rashsford boosted his chances of an England recall with two goals and an assist, while United's £85.5million signing Antony marked his debut with the opener. United moved up to fifth with a fourth successive win, just three points behind Mikel Arteta 's side, who remain top, despite a first defeat this season.
Rashford, who has three goals this season and looks back to his best after managing just five in total last term, had not scored against Arsenal since his Premier League debut back in 2016. “It’s been a long time,” said Rashford. “I’d not scored against Arsenal, but I didn’t realise it had been that long until before the game.
“It was something I was looking to do this year and I’m happy I managed to get the goals. It’s a great feeling. You do miss it as a player. I’m just hoping I can stay fit, stay healthy and keep putting performances like that.”
England assistant boss Steve Holland was at Old Trafford, with Rashford offering a timely reminder of his quality, with Gareth Southgate naming his latest squad a week on Thursday. Ten Hag praised his United players, but said they can get even better if they keep to the standard they have set in their last four games.
“We have to keep pushing, the attitude and mentality, and set high standards every day,” said Ten Hag. “We have to do better. There’s still a lot of room for improvement from the start of the season. We set high standards. We live those high standards and values, and when you show discipline like that, you create a winning culture. That is what we have to work for. I’m not thinking we’re there, but we're on our way, going in a good direction.”
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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said: “I'm very disappointed we haven’t won the game. The game was there for the taking. We haven’t won because we lacked some discipline in some moments and we weren’t ruthless enough in front of goal.“
Arteta added to Sky Sports : “Really disappointed to lose the game. We had some big periods where we were totally dominant and in total control. We created chance after chance but we didn't close the game. Both boxes was the big difference. They had three big chances and scored three goals. We had numerous chances and didn't score enough.”
Next up for Arsenal is a trip Zurich in the Europa League on Thursday, while United welcome Real Sociedad to Old Trafford for their group-stage opener.
