Arsenal – Manchester United: The Gunners Go to War with Themselves (2-3)

In an exciting edition of a classic English rivalry, the Emirates Stadium staged a significant twist in the tale at the top of the table. A fallen giant are getting a glow-up under an old cornerstone from his playing days, driving a discourse that is all too familiar for the Premier League leaders.

Tactical analysis and match report by Emmanuel Adeyemi-Abere.

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Are Arsenal about to break a generational curse? The club have not won a major honor since they lifted the FA Cup in 2020, and they have never topped the Premier League table since 2004. The pressure persists for Mikel Arteta to take his team over the line and crown the six-year project with silverware: a target coming closer into view. Going into the weekend, the Gunners are seven points clear at the summit, eager to bounce back from 0-0 draws against Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.

They have Manchester United to thank for the size of their lead. A new era awaits the Red Devils after the departure of Ruben Amorim earlier this month, but the team are rallying around the appointment of a former midfield maestro as their new head coach until the end of May. Michael Carrick got off to a cracking start in the dugout, experiencing derby day delight with a 2-0 triumph over Manchester City last week. Could his camp channel the spirit of sides past to put a pause in Arsenal’s plans?

Carrick chose the same starting eleven that he selected for the derby last week. Harry Maguire made the cut with a late fitness test at Old Trafford, and he held onto his place in central defense next to Lisandro Martínez. Patrick Dorgu has earned more minutes in a wide midfield role, backed up by Luke Shaw, while Casemiro continued with Kobbie Mainoo in the double pivot. Bryan Mbeumo was the man to lead the line, forcing Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Šeško to sit on the bench once more.

Arteta altered four members of the starting eleven that he sent out in the 3-1 win over Inter Milan in midweek. Christian Mosquera made way for Gabriel Magalhães, and Myles Lewis-Skelly stepped aside for Piero Hincapié to operate as the left back. Mikel Merino made way for Declan Rice, and Eberechi Eze gave way to Martin Ødegaard in the midfield unit with Martín Zubimendi. Gabriel Jesus got a chance to follow up on his brace at San Siro, displacing Viktor Gyökeres as the central forward.

Slow and steady beginnings

Manchester United went within the wide of the post of a goal after just two minutes against City, but they had to wait for their moments in this match as Arsenal established cautious control of the game.

8^th minute: offensive sequence from Arsenal. Ødegaard operated deeper, receiving from Jurriën Timber before faking to turn into the center of the pitch. He flows against the retreat of Dorgu and dumps the ball onto Gabriel while Timber pushes forward in the inside channel. The game gets set up for Timber to try to isolate Saka, standing inside with Shaw, while Rice distributes to the wide winger.

Arsenal are not a team that try to take too many risks in ball possession: the focus on set-pieces and attacks on the wings has become even stronger this season. The fullbacks frequently inverted ahead of a rotating midfield unit while Trossard and Saka sought more opportunities to go into 1 v 1 dribbles.

But in open play, there is not a lot of dynamism in this offensive system. The fullbacks and wingers work in pairs to produce crossing opportunities without the same focus on fluid combinations from the flanks. If the service to Saka is slow and sterile, speculative approaches can appear more aimless.

Indeed, the hosts required a fortuitous moment to break the deadlock at the end of the first half hour. Hincapié hurled a delivery towards the far post, where Dorgu directed the danger more upwards than away. Saka stepped onto the ball, and as Casemiro doubled up, he scooped a pass back inside for Ødegaard. The captain cracked a strike at the goal, and it deflected off Martínez into his own net.

Friendly fire fuels the devil

However, not for the first time this season, the Gunners spluttered as they tried to go through the gears. Almost immediately, they lost structure and Mbeumo could have broken free on a transition, setting up Fernandes for a shanked strike. The captain could have scored again if not for a last-ditch tackle from Saliba, and eventually, the league leaders would be punished for this phase of sloppiness.

Saliba, short on suitable options, offloaded the ball to Zubimendi at the back. The midfielder made the decision to go back towards David Raya, but his pass was woefully underhit. Mbeumo intervened, gratefully accepting the ball and sweeping it into the net to grab a goal in a second successive game.

There was suddenly a distinct nerviness in the game of the Gunners that mirrored the tension in the ground. Uncharacteristic mistakes from ball regains robbed the hosts of the opportunity to reset and take the tempo out of the game, and the team talk at half time now looked rather different for Arteta.

45 + 1^st minute: offensive transition from Manchester United. Arsenal attempted to mop up a long ball: Saliba sliced a clearance into the air, then Gabriel could not find Rice with his header. Fernandes received the ball, and Mbeumo was already on the move, going deep on the counter.

Supporters at the Emirates Stadium would be stunned into silence barely five minutes into the second half. Hincapié hacked the ball into the air, and another unconvincing clearance gave the guests the opportunity to pile on pressure. Dorgu drove the game forward, finding a connection with Fernandes before arriving on the edge of the danger zone to hammer a strike off the crossbar and into the net.

Desperation and devastation

In the 57^th minute, Arteta acted drastically, dragging four players off the field. Timber took the place of Hincapié at left back, and Ben White was introduced on the right of the rearguard. Rice dropped into defensive midfield, displacing Zubimendi, while Merino joined Eze in the central positions ahead of him as Ødegaard’s afternoon was over. Upfront, Gyökeres got the role of the number nine.

68^th minute: offensive sequence from Arsenal. Saka steps forward with the ball, driving at Shaw on the wing. Dorgu drops to double up against the winger, who recognizes he is given the space to shift inside and move towards the goal. However, White, with whom he combines better, overhit the pass.

The waves of pressure that fans craved would not happen as Saka was the solitary talismanic presence in the attack. For the final fifteen minutes of the match, Arteta added a new attacker to the equation. Noni Madueke stood in for Trossard, taking control of the right wing while Saka switched sides.

Saka stood up again, shifting smartly inside away from his markers to fire a strike through the legs of Casemiro. Senne Lammens tipped the ball around the post, but the danger was far from finished. The winger walked to the right side, where he usually takes set-pieces for the Gunners, and his cross caused mayhem. The goalkeeper was nowhere near the ball, and Merino buried the rebound.

Fans were back on their feet, but a substitute delivered a dagger on behalf of Manchester United. Šeško stood as the backboard from a Lammens long ball, laying it off for Fernandes. Mainoo moved forwards to act as the connector, threading a pass into the feet of Cunha, who curled an effort around Gabriel and beat Raya from range. Time was ticking away, and the lead was with the Red Devils.

Matheus Santos Carneiro da Cunha. pic.twitter.com/L1XxesZTkb

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 26, 2026

Takeaways

Are Arsenal crumbling under pressure (again)? It is the first time that Arteta’s men have lost on home turf this campaign, conceding three goals in a game for first time since November 2023. Winless in their last three league games, they sit just four points ahead of the chasing pack. Eerily mirroring phases of faltering form from the past, the team now have a long way to go to prove that they can cross the line with their manager, whose wealth of resources removes a major excuse from the table.

For the second week in a row, Manchester United have pivoted the direction of the Premier League title race, ruining the aspirations of the top two. Achieving back-to-back wins at the first attempt, the Red Devils already appear to be making a mockery of Amorim’s abrupt exit. If the board wanted a figure to connect the camp to the culture of the club, they seem to have found a suitable steward for the role as Carrick continues to inspire his players in their bid to qualify for the Champions League.

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