Man United show progress in losses, Arsenal chase Liverpool

LONDON – Arsenal stepped up their pursuit of Premier League leaders Liverpool with a 2-0 win against Manchester United at the Emirates on Wednesday, again highlighting their unparalleled ability to score from set pieces.

Second half goal from Jurriën Timber and William Salibaboth from corners, secured a comfortable win for the Gunners, leaving United manager Ruben Amorim with his first defeat since taking charge at Old Trafford last month.

As Liverpool dropped two points after being held to a dramatic 3-3 draw against Newcastle St. James’ Park, Arsenal reduced the gap between themselves and Arne Slot’s team to seven points with the win against United.

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First defeat to Amorim, but Man United shows progress

Amorim warned that a “storm will come” ahead of Manchester United’s visit to Arsenal. The new United manager arrived at the Emirates unbeaten in three games since arriving at the club last month, but defeat to Arsenal ended the spotty start.

Amorim said he expected United to endure a difficult period, and that could come given a string of games where his side will play Manchester City, Tottenham and Newcastle before the end of the month. But while United were well beaten in the end by the Gunners, there was enough shown by the players to suggest that Amorim’s influence is starting to have an effect.

For a start, United played purposefully for large parts of this game and had a clear plan of what was expected of them. Amorim and his coaches have clearly teased the players on the training pitch and the back three look convincing and in midfield, captain Bruno Fernandes seems like he could be a solution in a deeper role. Mason Mount brought energy and tactical awareness to his position further forward and Leny Yoro‘s appearance as a second-half substitute was the French teenager’s first competitive game since his summer arrival from Lille following a long-term foot injury.

However, the manner of United’s defeat – two goals conceded from two corners – and the way his side ran out of steam late in the game will be a concern. Amorim has already mentioned the need to improve the squad’s physical condition, and that is work that still needs to be done. But there are signs of progress. Amorim gives all his players a chance to make or break their United careers and he watches them win and now lose, which will help him learn more about their abilities.

By the time United return to the Emirates for an FA Cup third-round tie in January, expect them to be even better and more likely to emerge with a positive result. — Mark Ogden

Arsenal cut into Liverpool’s lead

Gunners manager Mikel Arteta warned Liverpool last week that a big lead at the top of the table is no guarantee of anything, suggesting that “suddenly when you think you’ve got it, one day it collapses .”

A 3-3 draw at Newcastle does not constitute a collapse of Liverpool, but it did provide an opportunity for the chasing pack to take over their nine-point lead. Chelsea and Manchester City did so in the slightly earlier kick-offs with wins against Southampton and Nottingham Forest respectively, increasing the pressure on the Gunners to follow suit.

They were just about to wrap up those wins around the time Timber opened the scoring at the Emirates Stadium in the 54th minute, and nerves were palpable in the stands after a first half in which United did a good job of stifling their opponents.

Arsenal held their nerve despite an opening 45 minutes in which they never really got going and Arteta will be pleased with the maturity his side showed in keeping their composure and finding the breakthrough. From the moment they took the lead, United never seriously threatened apart from Matthijs De Ligt’s 67th-minute header, and after Saliba’s goal six minutes later, the Gunners held on to close out a relatively comfortable win, which will boost their confidence at , that Liverpool can be captured.

A winnable series of league games until the New Year awaits: Fulham away, Everton at home, Crystal Palace away and Ipswich at home. Maximum points would put Liverpool under further pressure. — James Olley

Amorim gives Man United energy from the touchline

The new Manchester United manager is a bundle of energy on the touchline and his passion and drive is rubbing off on his new team.

Erik ten Hag’s successor trained, praised and constantly scolded his players from the technical area of ​​left-back. Tyrell Malacia pretty much given a personal one-on-one coaching session as he tried to deal with Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka during the first half.

Amorim organized his players, told them to be more compact as a defensive unit and also urged them to hit Arsenal quicker on the break. His frustration was also evident every time an attack broke down because his attackers – usually Alejandro Garnacho — cutting back and failing to be more direct.

There are shades of Jurgen Klopp in Amorim’s actions on the touchline, although he has yet to be quite as critical of the officials as the former Liverpool manager. But compared to Ten Hag, who often stood motionless on the sidelines with his hands in his pockets, Amorim is a much livelier character, and his players feed off of it because they know they need to step it up to impress their new boss. — Ogden

No Gabriel, no problem from set pieces for Arsenal

When Thomas Partey made an embarrassing hash of a near-post header in the eighth minute, it was tempting to wonder how much Arsenal would miss their biggest threat from set pieces.

They scored 32 Premier League goals from set pieces last season – a league high – and from corners the figure is even stronger. No Premier League team has scored more goals from corners since the start of last season than Arsenal’s 22, and in the past three years no defender has scored more than Gabriel’s 15.

In a reminder of the Brazilian’s continued threat, he scored in Arsenal’s previous two games before missing out here with a thigh injury – against Sporting CP in the Champions League last week and then the opening goal in Saturday’s 5-2 thrashing of West Ham. Starring in that corner routine at the London Stadium was Timber whose gentle push was close to the post Lucas Paquetá enabled Gabriel to meet Bukayo Saka’s delivery.

This time Timber got the telling touch himself Declan Rice‘s corner to score his first goal for the Gunners. They were at it again in the 73rd minute. Saka’s delivery to the far post found Partey unmarked and this time his header bounced back across goal Saliba and flew in.

Arteta celebrated both goals with Arsenal set-piece coach Nicolas Jover – a familiar sight these days, and Arsenal’s exceptional strength from set-piece situations decided another game in their favour. — Ollie