Matheus Cunha celebrates scoring for Manchester United at Arsenal(Image: )
Michael Carrick stood motionless on the Emirates touchline. Hands behind his smart black jacket, dressed to kill like a Manchester United manager should be. Inside, his stomach must have been churning.
He raised his left arm to try to wave his team forward, but his right arm never moved. He looked like the calmest man inside a stadium that had long since lost its head.
A couple of minutes earlier, Casemiro had grabbed the back of Matheus Cunha's shirt and slammed him into the turf in sheer delight. That wasn't even to celebrate the forward's stunning goal, but to mark him winning a free-kick from an Arsenal corner. The emotions were everywhere, from a United side finding its mojo again to an Arsenal team that just can't take control of this title race.
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Everywhere apart from the away technical area, that is. United's coaches poured out to appeal for a late free-kick as they defended another Arsenal cross. The unflappable Carrick barely flinched.
When the full-time whistle blew, Carrick clenched his left fist and twice subtly punched the air next to him. There was a low-key embrace with his staff and a handshake with Mikel Arteta. For the 44-year-old Carrick, this is just what Manchester United do.
As auditions go, this couldn't have got off to a better start. Carrick has guided United to wins against the Premier League's top two when a month ago they had looked like a team devoid of confidence and lacking enjoyment. This win against Arsenal was the kind of dramatic away-day success the very best United teams produce.
They have had some moments to savour in the FA Cup here in recent years, but they hadn't won a league match at the Emirates since December 2017. That was the day of David de Gea's 14 saves and Jesse Lingard's double in a 3-1 victory under Jose Mourinho.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ralf Rangnick, Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim had tried and failed to win a league fixture here. Carrick had at least some experience of success. He was among Solskjaer's staff for an FA Cup fourth-round win on a Friday night in January seven years ago.
A lot had changed since then. Arsenal have gradually built to a point where their 22-year title drought could end in the next five months. United have cycled through a succession of failed managers and are back on another short-term appointment in Carrick. Short-term for now, at least.
The feelings of de ja vu are pretty hard to escape right now. Carrick has delivered exactly the kind of uplift Solskjaer brought in December 2018, both in mood and performance. He has to be in the frame to get the job permanently after these victories. Any more of this and it may prove impossible to overlook him.
This was a different kind of win, as well. They started the derby well last weekend and built the confidence that comes from seeing a game plan work on the pitch.
At the Emirates, they began on the back foot. They faced a flurry of early set-pieces and Senne Lammens turned over a header from Martin Zubimendi at point-blank range. Set-pieces had seemed Arsenal's likeliest route to goal, but it felt like United had weathered the storm when they went behind.
Patrick Dorgu failed to deal with Piero Hincapie's cross, Bukayo Saka found a pass to Martin Odegaard and his mis-hit shot was sliced into his own net by Lisandro Martinez. You feared for United at that point, but the response was exceptional before and after half-time.
Bruno Fernandes almost capitalised on a defensive error from William Saliba before Bryan Mbeumo punished Zubimendi. The Spaniard's pass back towards his goal only succeeded in playing in United's false nine and he rounded David Raya before finishing.
Arsenal had been shooting themselves in the foot, but they were powerless to stop the goal that gave United the lead. Dorgu manipulated a bouncing ball into a more promising position and then sent a 20-yard rocket fizzing past Raya, the ball hitting the underside of the bar and bouncing into the roof of the net to give the strike the kind of aesthetic it deserved.
Dorgu's renaissance over the last five weeks has been one of the stories of United's season. He had struggled in the first half here, not only with Arsenal's goal but against Saka, who got far more joy against him than he did the excellent Luke Shaw. But Dorgu's future surely belongs further forward if his recent contributions in the final third are anything to go by.
Arsenal piled the pressure on in search of an equaliser and looked to have rescued a point when Mikel Merino bundled a corner over the line, but United again responded almost immediately. Kobbie Mainoo poked a clever pass to Matheus Cunha, who bent a stunning shot from distance into the corner of the net.
As the majority of the Emirates emptied, United's players gathered in front of a delirious away end at full-time. Casemiro handed his shirt to a fan, and Carrick was serenaded several times. By the time Cunha and the immense Harry Maguire finished their TV interviews, it was still full. There was time for one final flurry of fist pumps after a breathtaking victory.