10-man United earn hard-fought win at Arsenal

Jose Mourinho has Jesse Lingard to thank for his double, as well as star goalkeeper David de Gea, who made 14 saves to keep Arsenal out.

In an incredible start to the game, the Red Devils took the lead after just four minutes. Antonio Valencia stole the ball away from Sead Kolasinac following Laurent Koscielny’s loose ball and played a one-two with Paul Pogba before firing under Petr Cech.

And seven minutes later, the visitors doubled their lead. Shkodran Mustafi dithered on the ball allowing Lingard to nip in. Romelu Lukaku then found Anthony Martial, who took a touch before flicking it on for Lingard, and he steered his strike in off the post.

Despite the early setback, Arsenal showed tremendous fighting spirit and had numerous chances before the break to pull a goal back.

Alexandre Lacazette met a flick on from a corner, only to see David de Gea save from point-blank range, before Ashley Young cleared a Mesut Ozil free-kick off the line.

The Gunners then amazingly failed to score just after the half-hour mark. Alexis Sanchez's cross from the left was diverted into the path of Lacazette, who waited and waited before seeing his attempt come off De Gea and bounce off the bar. The ball then fell to Granit Xhaka, but he fired agonisingly wide of the post from ten yards out.

Both of Arsenal’s wing-backs, Hector Bellerin and Kolasinac had long-range efforts parried away by De Gea, who by this point would have been desperate for half-time, but he was forced into one final dramatic stop when Lukaku turned a Sanchez free-kick from the left towards his own goal.

The match continued at it’s same frantic pace after the restart and Arsenal were soon rewarded for their attacking play. Sanchez clipped a ball over the United defence for Aaron Ramsey, who cushioned the ball back into the path of Lacazette, and he took a touch before firing past De Gea from close range.

All their positive work was nearly undone moments later, however, when Lingard’s effort was only partially saved by Cech. It bounced towards goal, but the post comes to Arsenal's rescue.

De Gea was forced into a superb double save just before the hour mark. Substitute Alex Iwobi found Lacazette in a crowded United area, and his first touch allowed him to fire at goal, but De Gea saved before sticking out a boot to deny Sanchez on the rebound.

To Arsenal’s dismay, the visitors did make it three on 63 minutes. Pogba showed his strength to hold off Koscielny before sending a ball across goal for Lingard to tap in for his second of the night.

But just as the home side’s hope looked to have disappeared, they were handed a lifeline. Pogba challenged Bellerin with his studs showing and was correctly shown a straight red card by the referee.

From that point on though, the chances dried up for Arsenal and with various substitutions running down the clock, they were limited to just speculative shots from outside the box by 10-man United before the full-time whistle.

United have now beaten Arsenal on their own patch more than any other team in the Premier League and with today’s win, they keep the pressure on leaders Manchester City. For the Gunners, they drop down to fifth after Liverpool beat Brighton earlier on Saturday.