Arsenal 2-0 Man Utd (Timber 54′, Saliba 73′)
EMIRATES STADIUM — This is getting silly now. Two more Arsenal set piece goals, and they could have had a hatful more. Two corners, to be specific, producing the goals in an otherwise tight game that clawed back two more vital points from Liverpool’s nine-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.
A league leader that suddenly seems all that more catchable, especially with a generous run of fixtures through the festive period.
Manchester United, still feeling their way a few games into Ruben Amorim’s tenure, arrived at the Emirates with a careful game plan to irritate and contain Arsenal, yet appeared to forget completely how to deal with the most devastating set piece team in England.
They conceded the game’s only two goals from corners, and could easily have conceded two or three more. By the end, the Emirates crowd greeted each corner – and they had 13 of them – with almost pantomime anticipation, cheers rising in crescendo towards an expected goal.
In many ways, Arsenal are a blueprint for Manchester United to follow. How an empire that has risen and fallen can rebuild once more into realistic, consistent title contenders. It has taken time, and patience, and pain, and blood, and a specialist set piece coach who is worth his weight in free kicks and corners.
The warning signs had been evident in the early stages. From one corner Declan Rice found Thomas Partey who somehow failed to connect properly with the ball when virtually on the goal-line, the ball hitting his shoulder and bouncing wide. From another corner, Manchester United were unable to clear properly only for Gabriel Martinelli to scoop wide from a promising position.
Amorim hopped up and down in frustration at too many sideways and backwards passes from his players, but out of possession they were, nonetheless, doing a solid job of frustrating their opponents, closing down angles, shutting off passing options – and getting under the skin of the home crowd.
Goalkeeper Andre Onana took an age at goal kicks or when releasing the ball from his hands, treading a fine line between taking his time and time wasting, soon drawing boos from the Arsenal supporters each time he had it. Arsenal players started pointing it out to the referee, Sam Barrott.
Mikel Arteta is renowned for his niggling, dirty tactics but this one, clearly part of the game plan, was evidence that Amorim possesses plenty of his own fun and games.
You can actually see shades of the early Arteta days in this Manchester United side under Amorim – a strict directive to pass out from the goalkeeper in a particular way, but one that can take years to perfect, and can be a hard, nerve-shredding watch.
It can create so many of those moments where gasps escape around the stadium, and people watching at home wince. Arsenal had the ball in the back of the net from one such moment within the first 10 minutes, although it was ruled out by Kai Havertz standing narrowly offside before laying the ball off for Martinelli to score.
Noussair Mazraoui tried to dribble around two Arsenal players in his own half, losing possession and lucky to be bailed out by team-mates. Manchester United were, still, just about deserving of the goalless first half. They’d had no shots on target of their own, but neither had Arsenal.
Yet the referee grew wary of the time wasting and after United took another lifetime over a goal kick early in the second half, with Matthijs de Ligt receiving treatment just off the pitch and doing a will-he-won’t-he-return dance, Harry Maguire was eventually booked. He looked a touch annoyed – probably thinking if anyone was deserving of the booking it was his own goalkeeper.
And then the corners started raining down. Yet another cleverly choreographed and executed play, the Arsenal players milled and jostled around the back post as Rice set the ball in place and stepped back to take it, then swarmed forwards as one towards the near post, catching their opponents by surprise.
In the confusion, Jurrien Timber squirmed free and rose to nod the ball, unmarked, past Onana.
Arsenal just LOVE scoring from set-pieces!
Jurrien Timber glances his header into the net to hand the Gunners a lead over Man Utd! #PLonPrime #ARSMUN pic.twitter.com/x3Nv5JTmeQ
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) December 4, 2024
Arsenal almost scored from an identical move a few minutes later. Same play, this time Manchester United’s Joshua Zirkzee, on from the bench, accidentally heading the ball in desperation towards his own goal. Manuel Ugarte nodded it wide of the post from the goal line.
Then Arsenal mixed it up and added a second. A corner from the other side, this time the players stayed at the back post, Bukayo Saka dispatched a deep delivery to it, Partey headed the ball right across the front of goal and it bounced off William Saliba and in.
Man Utd just CANNOT DEAL with Arsenal's corners! 😯
The Gunners have their second goal thanks to William Saliba! ✌️#PLonPrime #ARSMUN pic.twitter.com/N2JQ105S8Q
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) December 4, 2024
Unforgivably for United at this stage, Arsenal should have scored from another corner but Havertz, free again, headed just wide from a good distance.
If this carries on much longer, if they keep scoring so freely from set pieces – and if it does lead to a Premier League title – Arsenal might need to make room next to the statue of Arteta for Nicolas Jover, the mastermind behind it.