Good evening! Thank you very much for joining
Sports Mole for the final match of this bumper day of Premier League action as the Arsenal vs.
Manchester United rivalry enters its latest chapter.
Both teams have fallen a long way since the start of the last decade but hope to be back on course for their former glories under ex-players, although United come into this match in much better form than their hosts. Mikel Arteta is still searching for his first win in charge of the Gunners, and there wouldn't be many more satisfying teams to get it against than United.
We have just five minutes until kickoff, so let's waste no time in having a look at the team news...
ARSENAL STARTING XI: Leno; Maitland-Niles, Sokratis, Luiz, Kolasinac; Torreira, Xhaka; Pepe, Ozil, Lacazette; Aubameyang
SUBS: Martinez, Holding, Ceballos, Guendouzi, Willock, Nelson, Saka
MANCHESTER UNITED STARTING XI: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; Fred, Matic; James, Lingard, Rashford; Martial
SUBS: Romero, Jones, Williams, Young, Pereira, Mata, Greenwood
KICKOFF: Here we go then! Chris Kavanagh blows his whistle and Arsenal get us underway at the Emirates!
SAVE! The first shot and save arrives after less than 30 seconds as Marcus Rashford tries his luck from range but fires the ball straight at Leno, who is left with a simple stop.
YELLOW CARD! The returning Kolasinac picks up a very early yellow card for his foul on Daniel James, which has also gifted United a free kick in a very promising position...
Leno gets a firm punch on the delivery which launches an Arsenal counter-attack, and that comes to an end when Matic bundles into Lacazette from behind. The Arsenal players immediately call for a yellow card after Kolasinac's, but the referee says no.
Arsenal are just trying to get their feet on the ball for a spell now, having started this match slightly slower than United. Already United have made a couple of dangerous breaks forward, though, which will be a concern for Arteta.
GOAL! ARSENAL 1-0 MANCHESTER UNITED (NICOLAS PEPE)
© Reuters
GOAL! First blood to Arsenal, and what a big goal that could prove to be for both the club and their record signing
Nicolas Pepe!
Kolasinac reaches the byline down the left flank and cuts a low ball back into the box which deflects straight into the path of Pepe, who applies an unerring finish!
CHANCE! Pepe looks like he fancies it tonight! He dances into the box past Shaw this time before beating the full-back again and whipping a cross into the box. Aubameyang meets it, but he skews his volley well over the crossbar.
That early goal could be exactly what both Arsenal and Pepe need. Suddenly they are playing with a certain swagger, with Pepe himself leading by example in that respect.
Arsenal have not been great when scoring the first goal so far this season, only winning three of the previous seven occasions that has been the case, so they will be eager for a second goal while they are on top to help give themselves a bit of breathing space here.
VIEW FROM THE GROUND
Our reporter Matt Law is at the Emirates Stadium tonight, and here are his thoughts on the opening 15 minutes or so...
"United started well with Rashford having the first shot of the match, but Arsenal's threat in the final third is obvious. Neither Lindelof nor Shaw covered themselves in glory for the goal, but it was a smart finish from Pepe, who has really enjoyed himself in the first 15 minutes here."
Mikel Arteta will be very happy with what he has seen from his side so far, with United looking a little short of ideas at the moment.
This Arsenal side will always give teams a chance or two, but they are stroking the ball around very nicely at the moment. The Gunners began the match just four points clear of the relegation zone, but they are looking a lot more like themselves right now.
Not an encouraging stat for United when already 1-0 down...
You certainly would not think that United were the team with one defeat in nine and Arsenal the team with one win in 15 the way things are going. The visitors were bright in the opening three minutes or so, but since then they have offered precious little.
Kolasinac has been one of Arsenal's most dangerous attackers so far tonight, with almost everything going through the left-back's marauding runs, including the goal.
The fear for Arsenal, even at this stage, will be a repeat of what happened against Chelsea on Sunday. The Gunners were much the better team then, particularly in the first half, but struggled to turn that into chances and were ultimately made to pay in the final 10 minutes.
Xhaka feeds a pass into Pepe inside the area, but the goalscorer's chest control lets his down and United are able to get a foot in.
CHANCE! Brilliant play from Lacazette, right up until the finish! Pepe rolls a pass into his path and he shows great strength to hold off Maguire than spin away from him. He is left with only the keeper to beat, but the ball is caught in his feet a little and he ends up firing it well off target when he should have done better.
CHANCE! Another big chance for Arsenal as this time Torreira spins away from some tight marking before dragging his shot wide when he too should have at least tested the keeper!
Kolasinac again storms down the left and this time stands the ball up to the back post, where Ozil is penalised for a slight push on Shaw.
I would not be too surprised to see Solskjaer consider a change at half time here as his side just haven't been able to get going at all. Rashford and Martial have barely been mentioned since the third minute.
OFF THE POST! Pepe is inches away from a second as De Gea sees a clearance charged down, sending the ball to the feet of the goalscorer. He opts to bide his time rather than trying to catch De Gea out of position and eventually curls a fine low effort which comes back off the foot of the post.
Lacazette makes progress down the right flank and whips a beauty of a cross into the box, but it is just too far in front of Pepe in the middle.
Ozil collects the ball in a deep position before clipping a pass over to Maitland-Niles, who is left in plenty of space. The winger's low cross is straight at Maguire, though, allowing him to put the ball behind for a corner.
GOAL! ARSENAL 2-0 MANCHESTER UNITED (SOKRATIS)
GOAL! Well, it has been coming! Arsenal have their second of the evening as Sokratis fires a rebound into the roof of the net from all of four yards out.
Lacazette darts to the front post to meet a corner with a glancing header which forces a good reaction stop from De Gea, but he can only push the ball out into a dangerous area. Sokratis is waiting there and thumps the ball home to give the hosts that all-important cushion.
The Arsenal fans are loving this, and they are letting the team know how much they appreciate the effort that has gone into this first half. They thoroughly deserve their lead.
There will be one minute of added time at the end of this first half.
CHANCE! Finally a chance for United to get a goal back with the final action of the first half as a deep free kick picks out Maguire, who can only nod a downward header straight at Leno.
HALF TIME: ARSENAL 2-0 MANCHESTER UNITED
The first half comes to an end at the Emirates Stadium, and it is Arsenal who boast a deserved 2-0 lead at the interval following a much-improved first half.
The Gunners have been much the better side so far tonight whereas United have offered very little going forward, and Mikel Arteta is subsequently well on course for his first time in charge of Arsenal.
The opening goal arrived after only eight minutes as Arsenal took the lead through Nicolas Pepe, who fired home after the ball broke into his path.
There was an element of fortune about it with Kolasinac's cross deflecting off a defender and falling kindly for Pepe, but the winger - who has put in probably his best Arsenal display yet - was unerring in his finish.
© Reuters
Arsenal will have felt disappointed to have gone into half time with only a one-goal lead, though, so Sokratis's second three minutes before the break was as needed as it was deserved.
Lacazette's movement allowed him to flick a header goalwards from a corner, and while De Gea did well to make a good reaction stop, he could only push the ball out into a dangerous area, where Sokratis was waiting to thump the rebound home from inside the six-yard box.
VIEW FROM THE GROUND
Our reporter Matt Law from the Emirates: "Well, it had been coming. United were warned as Arsenal continued to break forward, and the second for the home side will really hurt Solskjaer. It is a long way back from 2-0 behind, surely United will make changes at the break with Greenwood the obvious option."
KICKOFF: There are no changes from Solskjaer after all as he sends the same XI out for the second half, which is now underway at the Emirates.
It surely will not be too long before we see United changes if there isn't a marked improvement from the visitors at the start of this second half. Simply put, if they perform as they did in the first half again then there is no way they will get back into this match.
Arsenal are unhappy that United do not kick the ball out for an injured player, leading to Torreira bringing Lingard to ground and both players staying down.
Good block from Luiz as he gets in the way of a Lingard strike at the end of a United passing move about as slick as we have seen from them all night so far.
Arsenal have the chance to break as Lacazette releases Aubameyang, but his attempt to find Pepe is poor and easily cut out as a promising counter breaks down.
SAVE! This is a bit more like it from United, but they are still limited to long-range efforts as Fred lets fly with an effort which is easy for Leno to gather.
It looks as though Solskjaer is about to turn to his bench now, with Andreas Pereira and Mason Greenwood ready to come on.
MAN UTD SUBS: Sure enough, there are the changes as the anonymous Lingard is replaced by Pereira and Greenwood replaces James.
CHANCE! Pereira almost marks his introduction with a goal within one minute as Matic slides a pass through to him, but his effort slams into the side-netting. The United fans think it is in for a moment, but their joy is fleeting.
United are becoming much more of a presence in the Arsenal half now and, while Leno still has not had much to do at all, the visitors are showing signs of improvement from the first half.
Arsenal make a brilliant break forward with Ozil picking out Aubameyang, who cuts inside before trying to play the ball into the box only for Maguire to deal with the danger expertly.
ARSENAL SUB: Arsenal make their first change of the night as Pepe is replaced by Reiss Nelson.
SHOT! Martial bundles his way into the box before smuggling the ball back to Rashford, who in turn exchanges passes with Pereira before firing well over. It was scrappy and the Arsenal defenders were working very hard to deny any clear shots, but Rashford still should have done better.
Great defensive work from Lacazette as he tracks all the way back to win a ball and then tries to launch an Arsenal attack. The players are working really hard under Arteta.
Kolasinac may be forced off here, having already returned earlier than expected from an ankle injury. He goes down clutching his ankle again here, cleverly coming back on the pitch before he goes down in order to waste a bit more time.
ARSENAL SUB: Sure enough there is the change as Bukayo Saka replaces Kolasinac.
Wan-Bissaka goes down dramatically inside the penalty area and the referee says no to a spot kick, although with VAR it will get checked.
I must admit it looks more like one on the replay than it did in normal time, but VAR still backs up the on-field decision.
Arsenal try to play out from the back, with Leno passing it to Sokratis more or less on his own byline, and sure enough they lose possession inside their own half. United only get a corner out of it, but they will be happy to see Arsenal take risks like that.
SAVE! A lovely flick from Martial knocks the ball into the path of Greenwood, who tries to pick out the bottom near corner but sees his shot saved by Leno.
Leno allowed Chelsea back into the game with a howler when trying to punch the ball on Sunday, but he has just come off his line twice in quick succession to make important punches.
Lucas Torreira looks like he is carrying an injury at the moment, but he will attempt to run it off with only one change remaining for the hosts.
SHOT! Aubameyang darts inside before laying the ball off to Lacazette, who opens his body up but curls his 25-yard effort high and wide of the target.
SAVE! Another break from Arsenal as Ozil lets Saka take over, with the pitch opening up for the youngster. He carries it a long way but is always on his weaker foot and his eventual shot is tame as De Gea gathers easily.
Lacazette breaks into a really good position inside the box before getting the ball caught in his feet. He looks knackered now and he too may need to come off, leaving Arteta with two players struggling but only one change left.
MAN UTD SUB: Meanwhile, United make their final change as Juan Mata replaces Matic.
ARSENAL SUB: It is Lacazette, rather than Torreira, who comes off and on comes Matteo Guendouzi in his place.
VIEW FROM THE GROUND
"United have certainly been better in the second half, but it just will not happen for the visitors in front of goal. Had Solskjaer's side started in this manner then it might have been different, but Arsenal are closing in on what would be a huge three points in the context of their campaign."
Still no way through for United, who have come up against an uncharacteristically solid Arsenal defence tonight. David Luiz in particular has had a really good game at the back.
Aubameyang nicks the ball off Fred and bursts down the left, showing great pace to leave Fred for dead. He looks up to see Nelson in the middle, but his clipped pass is too far in front of him when a better ball would have left him with a simple finish.
There will be four minutes of added time at the end of this match.
No-one seems to want fourth place this season, do they?! If this results stands - which looks certain now - then every top-half team outside the top three who were in action would have dropped points today, while United themselves would stay five points adrift of Chelsea.
CHANCE! A chance for United to pile a bit of late pressure as Mata clips a pass over for Rashford, who gets to the ball just before Leno but sees his shot smothered by the Arsenal keeper, who came out bravely.
United win a free kick in a really good position, but Fred puts it a long, long way over the crossbar. Rashford was not even in contention for that one, but I suspect that Fred may not be allowed next time!
FULL TIME: ARSENAL 2-0 MANCHESTER UNITED
Mikel Arteta gets his first win as Arsenal manager, and what a fixture to do it in as the Gunners deservedly beat Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium!
Goals from Nicolas Pepe and Sokratis secured a first home league win since early October, but it is perhaps the performance that is even more pleasing having put in a really good team display tonight.
Right, that is all we have time for this evening!
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match as Arsenal end their torrid run of home form with victory over Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!
