Arsenal inflicted Ruben Amorim’s first defeat in England as they secured a 2-0 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Goals from Jurrien Timber and William Saliba got the job done for Mikel Arteta’s side on the night as they continued their rich vein of form.
Arsenal have reduced the gap at the top of the table to seven points as Liverpool were held to a 3-3 draw against Newcastle United at St James’ Park.
It was another dominant performance from the Gunners at the Emirates and an interesting stat appeared to take Timber by surprise after the game against Manchester United.
Jurrien Timber can’t believe just how good Arsenal are at set pieces
Jurrien Timber of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Manchester United FC at Emirates Stadium on December 04, 2024 in ...
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
With Ben White, Gabriel Magalhaes, Riccardo Calafiori and Takehiro Tomiyasu out injured, the Dutch international started at right back for Arsenal.
He scored his first goal for the club with a header from a corner in the second half – a recurring theme for the Gunners over the past 18 months.
With 15 minutes left on the clock, Saliba put the result beyond reasonable doubt as he diverted the ball into the back of the net after Thomas Partey headed a corner his way.
Arsenal were deadly in terms of their set pieces once again and when Timber was told after the game that they’ve now scored 22 goals from corners since the start of last season, he was surprised, to say the least.
“Oh yeah? Wow,” said Timber to NBC Sports after the game.
“That’s the most important thing – building different ways of winning games and I think we did that today as well [against Manchester United].”
Arsenal undoubtedly the Premier League’s set-piece kings
Since the start of last season, no team has scored more goals from set pieces than the Gunners (22) and it has become one of the most unstoppable inevitabilities in world football.
Club Goals
Arsenal 22
Manchester City 15
Everton 14
Liverpool 14
West Ham 14
Set piece coach Nicolas Jover has quickly become one of their most important members behind the scenes and his work hasn’t gone unnoticed, with the wider football audience taking notice of his role this season.
Alan Shearer feels Arsenal can compete for the Premier League title and with Liverpool dropping points against Newcastle, the Gunners will fancy their chances of reducing the gap at the top of the table.
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