Arsenal defeat Man United as Amorim suffers first EPL loss

Arsenal overcame a stubborn Manchester United side on Thursday (AEDT) in the English Premier League, winning 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium.

It was Ruben Amorim’s first league defeat since taking over the managerial role at Old Trafford in November, having previously drawn with Ipswich Town and won against Everton.

Goalless at the break against Amorim’s well-structured Reds, the Gunners finally broke down their visitors through set-piece goals by Jurrien Timber and William Saliba.

The opener came in the 54th minute when Timber connected with Declan Rice’s corner to score at the near post, while Saliba doubled the lead from another corner 17 minutes from stoppage time.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was pleased after securing victory in such an important game.

“I’m very happy,” he said post-match.

“It was a very special night, celebrating 500 games in this incredible stadium against an opponent with so much history between the two teams.

“Very happy with the way we played, after tweaking a few things for the second half, and how dominant we were, so a lot of positives.”

United showed character and identity in the defeat, and Amorim emphasised the need for improvement in attack.

“We have worked a lot on building up,” the Portuguese tactician said.

“You can see the structure and the idea. But then in the last part, in the final third, you can see we need to improve, be more aggressive and have more ideas.

“I make the evaluation of the game regardless of the result. Like I said with the 4-0 against Everton, you can take positive things but you have to improve.

“In the first half, especially the end of the first half, you could feel they were not comfortable. You could feel it in the stadium.”

The result leaves United in 11th place on the EPL table ahead of their clash with Nottingham Forest in Matchweek 15, with top soccer betting sites paying -147.06 for the Red Devils to win.

Arsenal, sitting third, are now within eight points of Liverpool after the league leaders drew 3-3 with Newcastle United on Thursday morning.

Arteta’s men take their title campaign to Craven Cottage this weekend, and top bookie Marantelli Bet has them as -161.29 favourites.

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