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Arsenal 2-0 Man Utd: Nicolas Pepe secures Mikel Arteta's first win – 5 talking points


Arsenal climbed into the top half of the Premier League thanks to their first win under new boss Mikel Arteta.

After coming unstuck late on against Chelsea on Sunday, the Gunners managed to see out the 90 minutes after goals from Nicolas Pepe and Sokratis.

Arsenal started superbly and Pepe broke the deadlock as he turned in after good work from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Sead Kolasinac.

Pepe then hit the post as Manchester United failed to get going before Sokratis made it two at the interval from close range.

United were better after the break but failed to really test Bernd Leno as they failed to capitalise on Chelsea and Tottenham dropping points.

Here are five talking points.

1. Pepe makes his mark

Arsenal’s Nicolas Pepe celebrates

This is what the Arsenal fans have been waiting for from Nicolas Pepe.

He had managed just four goals (two in the Premier League) since his record £72m move in the summer.

Mikel Arteta had preferred Reiss Nelson in his first two games in charge and ahead of this one, urged Pepe to deliver on his huge potential.

“If he is willing to learn, to work hard I am sure he has potential to be top, absolutely top,” Arteta said.

Arsenal’s Nicolas Pepe scores a goal

It took Pepe just eight minutes to deliver against United as he turned in a clever pull back from Sead Kolasinac.

The goal gave the Ivorian a clear lift as he tormented Luke Shaw down the Arsenal left, almost setting Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang up for an immediate second.

Pepe came within inches of a second too only for his curling effort from distance to come back off the post.

He drifted out of the game from then though and Arteta was forced to bring on Nelson just after the hour.

2. No Pogba – more problems

Alexandre Lacazette is fouled by Nemanja Matic

Manchester United fans expected Paul Pogba to return to the starting line-up after missing the win at Burnley .

He didn’t – and speaking before the game, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed he would be out for “a few weeks” after suffering an ankle injury setback.

United have done OK without the Frenchman, particularly in the big games this season, but they really missed him at the Emirates.

Fred has improved rapidly but still has some way to go while Nemanja Matic, 31, appears to be getting slower by the week.

This United team needs creativity and the front three needs something to feed off, which they didn’t get here.

Unfortunately, the one man who can provide it is spending more time on the treatment table than the pitch.

3. Arteta’s system pays off

Arsenal’s Sead Kolasinac in action

While interim boss Freddie Ljungberg insisted Aubameyang and Lacazette couldn’t play together, Arteta has found a system to include them both.

And that approach paid dividends with an unlikely hero emerging in the first half in Sead Kolasinac.

With Aubameyang, who played from the left, desperate to come inside at every opportunity, Arsenal were able to overload Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Arsenal’s Sokratis celebrates with team mates

The overlap worked perfectly for the Gunners with Kolasinac constantly bombing forward and creating a number of goalscoring opportunities.

Make no mistake, this was one of the Bosnian’s finest games in an Arsenal shirt.

There is no doubt skipper Aubameyang wants to play centrally but right now this shape is working for the good of the team.

It will be here to stay.

4. Lingard leaves a lot to be desired

Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard

Jesse Lingard angered Arsenal fans with his Michael Jackson moonwalk celebration after scoring in the FA Cup last season.

He riled them further by changing his location from the Emirates to ‘dancefloor’ in a post-match Instagram post.

But there was very little for Lingard to get excited about on his return to north London after a particularly subdued display.

The England star can be outstanding eye on his day but those appearances are few and far between – and there seem to be a lot more displays like this one.

Lingard was hauled off on the hour mark as Solskjaer replaced him with Andreas Pereira.

Safe to say Arsenal fans told him exactly what they think of him as he walked off.

5. Emirates gets a lift

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta

Mikel Arteta outlined his desire to restore the relationship between the Arsenal players and their supporters.

If they can keep performing like this, he will have nothing to worry about.

Arsenal fans want their side to play quick, attacking football and that is what they got against United.

No wonder the fans came together to deliver one of the finest atmospheres in recent times.

It may only be January 1 but there can be many more nights like this in 2020, if the fans and players are singing from the same hymn sheet.





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