Arsenal 1-3 Manchester United: Jesse Lingard scores twice to settle thriller as Jose Mourinho's side survive Gunners barrage and Paul Pogba red card

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Jose Mourinho's chronic record for Manchester United at the Big Six clubs is over, and how ironic he should be given a large helping hand by the continued defensive failings of his old foe, Arsene Wenger.

United had not won away against a close rival since Mourinho took charge, and had scored only once in those seven games. But on a pulsating night at The Emirates, the Premier League's Match of the Season so far, they were presented gifts by Arsenal like London buses, two at a time.

Catastrophic errors by defenders Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi put United 2-0 ahead inside 12 minutes, the chances tidily accepted by Antonio Valencia and Jesse Lingard. 

Antonio Valencia is at the centre of celebrations after opening the scoring for Manchester United in the fourth minute

The United right wing-back drilled home a low shot after Arsenal's defence was pulled out of position by Paul Pogba

Valencia watches as his low shot beats Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech and finds the bottom corner for the opening goal

Valencia (right) leads the United celebrations with Pogba and Victor Lindelof after his early strike gave them the lead

MATCH FACTS, UPDATED TABLE AND MATCH ZONE

Arsenal (4-3-3): Cech 5.5; Koscielny 4, Mustafi 4.5 (Iwobi 15 6), Monreal 6; Bellerin 6.5, Xhaka 5.5 (Welbeck 70 6), Ramsey 7, Kolasinac 6 (Giroud 76 6); Ozil 6, Lacazette 8, Sanchez 7

Substitutes not used: Ospina (GK); Mertesacker, Wilshere, Coquelin

Scorer: Lacazette 49

Booked: Bellerin, Koscielny, Sanchez

Manchester United (3-4-3): De Gea 9.5; Lindelof 6, Smalling 6.5, Rojo 5; Valencia 7, Pogba 7, Matic 7.5, Young 6 (Rashford 90); Lingard 8.5 (Darmian 76, 6), Lukaku 7, Martial 6.5 (Herrera 67, 6) 

Substitutes not used: Romero (GK); Mata, Blind, McTominay

Scorers: Valencia 4; Lingard 11, 63

Booked: Rojo, Herrera

Sent off: Pogba 74

Referee: Andre Marriner (West Midlands) 7

Attendance: 59,547 

Man of the Match: David de Gea 

How Jesse Lingard's first goal of the evening unfolded - CLICK HERE for more stats in our match zone service

 

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Arsenal fought back with a wonderful goal from Alexandre Lacazette and forcing David de Gea into making 14 saves, some of them world-class that left both fans and players gasping in amazement.

But Lingard scored United's killer third goal with a swift break that exposed Koscielny again and a great dollop of controversy was thrown into the mix late on when Paul Pogba was shown a straight red for standing on Hector Bellerin's leg.

The Frenchman made his view on the decision clear by sarcastically applauding the officials as he left the field. But he will miss United's next three games including the Manchester derby, a shame as Mourinho's side look the only genuine title challengers to City, standing five points behind this morning.

'I think the game was fantastic. If I'd been in the stands or watching at home, I would be sad to see it finish,' said Mourinho, whose quick start was a million miles from the accusations of parking the bus at Liverpool earlier this season.

'We came with a the intention of intensity and positivity, the desire to play and force mistakes.' 

Jesse Lingard scores United's second goal on 11 minutes after being slipped through by Anthony Martial's cute flick

Lingard starts to celebrate after seeing his shot beat Arsenal goalkeeper Cech and nestle in the net for the second

Lingard celebrates by showing off some dance moves in front of the travelling Manchester United fans at the Emirates

United's Pogba and Romelu Lukaku are pumped up as they shout to the travelling fans after Lingard's goal

Aaron Ramsey and his Arsenal colleagues look dejected after falling two goals behind in just 11 minutes at the Emirates

In that respect, they found Arsenal willing partners. Skipper Koscielny had sent a tweet earlier in the week hailing his side's three consecutive clean sheets. Bad move.

After four minutes, his careless pass to Sead Kolasinac deep inside his own half was eagerly intercepted by Valencia, who exchanged passes with Paul Pogba and then show low under Petr Cech to open the scoring.

For The Gunners to then repeat a mistake seven minutes later was almost unforgivable for the home crowd, who let their feelings known.

Shkodran Mustafi tried to dribble out of defence, was caught by Jesse Lingard, who quickly laid a pass off to Romelu Lukaku and dashed into the penalty area to finish once Lukaku's pass had been flicked on by Anthony Martial.

'I am angry and frustrated,' said Wenger, his mood clear after seeing his side's 100 per cent home record ended. Mustafi quickly signalled he needed to be replaced, claiming Lingard's tackle had hurt him. Cynics thought the German was more embarrassed than anything else and Wenger wasn't sympathetic either. 'I don't know what his injury is,' he snapped. 

Alexandre Lacazette halved the deficit early in the second-half, following in to score after Aaron Ramsey teed him up

United were caught out attempting to appeal for an offside, allowing Ramsey to knock the ball back to Lacazette to score

The goal, on 49 minutes, have Arsenal a lifeline in the match as Lacazette celebrates with his Gunners team-mates

The impressive David de Gea reacts with dismay after Lacazette finally breaks down United's stubborn defensive resistance 

To Arsenal's credit, they had enough chances to mount a successful comeback. Lacazette was denied by the crossbar when his shot bounced off de Gea's back and spun crazily onto the crossbar.

But the Frenchman wasn't to be denied after 49 minutes when Alexis Sanchez played in Aaron Ramsey and he controlled with his back to goal before laying off for Lacazette to score. It was a goal of wonderful invention because the scorer would have been offside in normal circumstances, except on this occasion Ramsey's ball was a backwards pass.

De Gea's super-human reflexes kept United ahead. His save from Alex Iwobi was brilliant, but the double-stop to deny Lacazette low to his right and then fling out a boot to stop Sanchez's rebound was extraordinary.

United though countered with pace and purpose. Lingard hit the woodwork after Cech came out to meet him but he sealed the game midway through the half when he, Lukaku and Pogba combined before he tapped in from six yards for his first Premier League brace.   

Having been under the cosh for most of the second-half, United broke away to score a third courtesy of Lingard

Lingard celebrates with a knee slide after scoring his second of the evening and United's third on 63 minutes

United's substitutes, who were warming up nearby, join in with Lingard's celebrations after the third goal went in

United were rocked when Pogba was shown a straight red card by the referee for stamping on the back of Bellerin's leg 

Pogba stamped on the back of Bellerin's leg as the ball went past the Arsenal man and earned a straight red card

Television replays showed that Pogba's straight red card was merited as he stamped Bellerin on the back of the knee

The result looked secure but the drama didn't stop. Pogba was sent off with Mourinho complaining: 'He is frustrated. Everyone knows he is a clean player. I am a bit disappointed with his colleague Koscielny with his reaction.'

United felt Koscielny should also have gone later for a tug on Lukaku but Wenger also had his own gripe, a trip on Danny Welbeck not producing a penalty. 'I saw Napoli v Juventus on television, that was how refereeing should be,' he said.

Arsenal have now dropped out of the top four, adding to Wenger's frustration.

'When you have 33 shots, it means your dominance was top class. But I am angry because I have nothing to show for it,' said the Frenchman. 

Arsenal forward Lacazette tries to guide the ball home under pressure from United defender Marcos Rojo

United were lucky to survive this moment as Lacazette shoots from close range with United keeper De Gea grounded

Arsenal goalkeeper Cech grabs the ball ahead of United striker Lukaku as the visitors push for a third goal

Arsenal's Granit Xhaka can't believe his luck as United somehow get away without conceding during the first-half

A frantic vignette of the first-half action as United keeper De Gea just guides a cross away from Koscielny's head

Arsenal midfielder Xhaka is sent tumbling after Lukaku beats him to the ball in the air as Arsenal searched for a breakthrough

Another moment of alarm in the United penalty box late in the first-half as Chris Smalling clears ahead of Alexis Sanchez

'But to get what's fair, you have to be efficient. We had chances to score, we didn't take them. Their goalkeeper was outstanding. Our concentration was not sharp enough from the back.'

Everyone is raving about Guardiola these days. But Mourinho is still there. And he has rediscovered how to go to the big boys and win well.

He even managed to finish with a little joke, with Nemanja Matic and Lacazette both starting, with Matic considered a major doubt beforehand and Arsenal claiming Lacazette was definitely out with a muscle injury.

'My congratulations to both medical departments, said Mourinho, before delivering the punchline. ' My medical department managed to recover Matic from a maybe to a yes but Arsenal medical department managed to recover a player [Lacazette] from a 'No' to a complete 90 minutes. Amazing. I congratulate them.' 

De Gea goes to ground early as Arsenal striker Lacazette attempts to go round him and shoot towards goal

De Gea made a staggering double save from Lacazette and then Sanchez (pictured) to prevent an Arsenal equaliser

United's Lingard closes down Sanchez of Arsenal during the opening exchanges of the hard-fought contest in the capital

Arsenal wing-back Hector Bellerin tries to turn inside United's Lingard during the first-half at the Emirates Stadium

Mesut Ozil attempts to cut the ball back from the byline, beating United defender Lindelof, during the opening minutes

Arsenal's German playmaker Ozil leaps to win a header ahead of United defender Smalling in the first half

Sanchez and Smalling tussle for the ball as Arsenal attempted to fight back from their double early blows

United manager Jose Mourinho issues instructions to Pogba as the French midfielder takes a swig of his drink

Arsenal's Iwobi, an early replacement for the injured Shkodran Mustafi, gets the better of United's Ashley Young

Iwobi tries to break away but comes under pressure from United midfielder Pogba as Arsenal look for a route back

Arsenal captain Laurent Koscielny comes under pressure from United's Lingard as the home side go on the attack

United forward Martial attempts to shield the ball away from Ozil during the first-half as United go on the offensive

Sanchez shoots from a free-kick 25 yards from goal as the Gunners look for a route back into the contest

Lukaku, the United striker, breaks away from a grounded Nacho Monreal as the visitors go on the counter-attack

Arsenal mascot Gunnersaurus Rex showed off some silky skills just before the kick-off but didn't make their starting line-up