Arsenal kept alive their Champions League qualification hopes and heaped more embarrassment on a below par Manchester United side by beating them 3-1.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who came back to the squad after taking a leave to mourn the death of his newborn son, bagged his 100th Premier League goal.
But, it wasn’t enough for the Red Devils to salvage anything from their trip to the Emirates.
Goals from Nuno Tavares, Bukayo Saka, and Granit Xhaka were enough to seal a vital victory that took the Gunners to the fourth spot ahead of Tottenham’s visit to Brentford.
🎉 Starting the weekend right
🔥 A huge win at Emirates Stadium
💪 WE ARE THE ARSENAL
🔴 3-1 🔵 (FT)#ARSMUN pic.twitter.com/V7oi7T5EIf
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 23, 2022
Arsenal dominate from start
Arsenal got a golden opportunity to break the deadlock early in the game when Raphael Varane failed to clear an Emile Smith Rowe cross and the ball went straight to Bukayo Saka.
David de Gea kept out Saka’s strike but he could not do anything to deny Nuno Tavares’s rebound shot.
Eddie Nketiah found De Gea in an isolated position later in the first half, but he could not find a way past the Spanish custodian.
Minutes later Nketiah did put the ball on the back of the net, but the VAR ruled it offside.
However, video officials found Alex Telles guilty of bringing down Saka inside the penalty box and awarded the home side a penalty.
Saka kept his calm and gave Arsenal a two-goal cushion right by the half hour mark.
Ronaldo strikes for United
United responded immediately through Ronaldo as the Portugal international managed to overpower Tavares and Gabriel to reach a Nemanja Matic cross and send it past Aaron Ramsdale to cut the deficit short.
Manchester United had a few good attempts before they scored the goal, and after Ronaldo brought them back in the game, they stepped up their efforts.
The Arsenal backline was looking nervy and the United attackers managed to force them into making a few mistakes.
United’s attacking threat persisted after the break with Diogo Dalot forcing Ramsdale into making a fantastic save and Ronaldo’s second goal ruled offside by inches.
Penalty miss by Bruno
Bruno Fernandes made a rare penalty miss and squandered an easy chance to draw the scores level.
Man United were growing in confidence and started to pile up the pressure on Arsenal defence.
Granit Xhaka’s long range strike tipped the balance towards Arsenal’s favour once again and the North Londoners managed the game well afterwards to see out a crucial win.
Manchester United put on a far more impressive display than their disastrous 4-0 defeat at Anfield.
But, they could not capitalise on their chances and allowed the hosts to walk away with all three points.
United’s Top four chances fade
The fourth successive away defeat pushed Man United six points away from the top four with only four matches to play.
Arsenal moved three points clear of their North London rivals Tottenham, who were scheduled to take on Brentford later in the day.