Arsenal moved within seven points of leaders Liverpool as Jurrien Timber and William Saliba scored from corners to inflict Ruben Amorims first defeat as Manchester United boss. Liverpools 3-3 draw with Newcastle opened the door for Arsenal to close the gap and, after a frustrating first half against Amorims well-drilled side, their set-piece prowess proved decisive.
In the absence of the injured Gabriel Magalhaes, it was Timber who made the breakthrough after half-time when he flicked home a wicked Declan Rice delivery at the near post for his first Arsenal goal.
Saliba doubled their lead when Saka directed a delivery from the opposite side towards the back post, where Thomas Partey headed the ball across goal and it bounced in off his team-mates backside. As it happened | Teams | Match statsLive Premier League table | Watch free PL highlightsStream the Premier League with NOWSalibas second took Arsenals tally of set-piece goals to seven this season, the highest in the Premier League, and they could have had more, with a succession of deliveries causing chaos in the Manchester United box and Mikel Merino heading narrowly wide when unmarked from another Saka centre.
Arsenal were indebted to David Raya for an outstanding, one-handed save from a Matthijs de Ligt header before Salibas goal. The Gunners goalkeeper later made a sharp stop from substitute Antony following a clever Manchester United set-piece routine to avoid a nervy finale for the hosts.
Amorim, who made six changes to the team that beat Everton last time out, had successfully nullified the Gunners in the first half but his side could not withstand the hosts pressure after the break as Arsenal capitalised on Liverpools dropped points at St James Park to boost their title hopes.
Chelseas 5-1 win over Southampton means Arsenal actually drop below the Blues on goal difference, in third, but closer to Arne Slots side. For Manchester United, the defeat pushes them down to 11th. Arsenals deadly cornersArsenal have scored more goals from corners (22) than any other team in the Premier League since the start of last season.
Ten of them have opened the scoring in matches, which is also a league-high in this period.Manchester United conceded two goals from corners in a Premier League match for the first time since January 2014 (two against Chelsea, both scored by Samuel Etoo).
Since the start of last season, the two players with the most Premier League assists from set plays are Arsenal duo Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka (seven each, with Rice having now moved level with Saka).
Rice: People wrote us off but we stuck togetherArsenal midfielder Declan Rice to Amazon Prime: Its a massive result. What a night. We knew theres a new manager at Manchester United and theyve looked really good.
We knew it would be a test, we stuck to our game plan, stuck to what we knew and in the end we could have had three or four. You have to believe in your process. We believe in our process. We kept at it.
When you go up for a corner its a chance to score a goal, not a chance to relax, and weve scored again. Were buzzing, Im so happy for the boys. When you have a blip in the league you get written off. We stuck together as a group.
We knew the run of results wasnt good enough. We got together as a group, we knew we could do better and now were seeing a turn in that. Story of the match in stats Whats coming up in the Premier League?Arsenal fixturesManchester United fixturesPremier League fixtures
