Arsenal ended their five-year wait for a Premier League away win against ‘Big Six’ opposition with a second half Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang penalty giving them a 1-0 win at Manchester United on Sunday.
The Gunners had not enjoyed such a win in 29 games since their victory at Manchester City in January 2015.
The result leaves United still without a win at Old Trafford in the Premier League this season and it was a disappointing performance from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side after their impressive display in the 5-0 win over RB Leipzig in the Champions League in midweek.
The decisive moment came when Paul Pogba stood on Hector Bellerin’s foot inside the area and Aubameyang kept his cool to convert the spot-kick.
United did hit the post through a deflected shot from substitute Donny van de Beek late in the game but Solskjaer’s 100th game as manager ended in a defeat which leaves them in 15th place with just seven points from six games.
Arsenal move up to eighth on 12 points.
Solskjaer opted to start with Pogba in a Premier League game for the first time since their 6-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur last month but neither he nor the most advanced midfielder Bruno Fernandes were able to get a firm grip on the game.
Mason Greenwood forced a save out of Arsenal keeper Bernd Leno, from a tight angle in the 21st minute but the Gunners pinned United back for long stages with their impressive pressing.
Arsenal’s Brazilian winger Willian clipped the cross-bar in the 39th minute and Aubameyang drifted a shot just wide after the interval.
But Pogba’s ill-advised challenge decided the outcome and left Solskjaer with some more thinking to do about how best to organise his midfield.
“It’s hard to put your finger on it. It was disappointing from us. It was a cagey game, a game of few chances,” said United skipper Harry Maguire.
“We needed to do more, we needed to create more. It’s not good enough, we’ve got to go work hard tomorrow at training. We can’t find excuses, we’ve got to look within.”
ASTON VILLA 3-4 SOUTHAMPTON
Southampton broke into the Premier League top four on Sunday after midfielder James Ward-Prowse curled in a pair of sublime free kicks and set up another goal on his 26th birthday to engineer a thrilling 4-3 win at Aston Villa.
Southampton romped to a 4-0 lead before Villa‘s late surge ultimately produced an avalanche of goals, with the Midlands side suffering their second successive home defeat after they were beaten by Leeds United 3-0 in the previous round of matches.
Villa, who narrowly avoided relegation last season, had enjoyed majestic form as they won their opening four games but have now been brought down to earth after Southampton ripped through them in the opening hour.
Ward-Prowse was delighted after a classy individual performance which helped the visitors to stretch their unbeaten league run against Villa to eight games.
“Nice to get a couple of goals on your birthday, I’m living my boyhood dream so I’m happy,” the midfielder told the BBC.
“We got a little bit complacent at the end. But we’ve grown as a team; the next step is to manage those moments when we’ve got the lead.
“We’re a totally different team to a year ago. I feel as if we’re on a great path to get back to where we belong and break into the top 10.
“We had a taste of Europe a few years ago and genuinely believe we have what it takes to get back there.”
Having had an Ezri Konsa own goal disallowed for Che Adams’s marginal offside early on, Southampton took the lead in the 20th minute when Danish centre back Jannik Vestergaard headed home a Ward-Prowse free kick from the left.
Ward-Prowse then turned scorer with more set-piece subtlety, lashing in a superb free kick from 25 metres in the 33rd minute before he curled another one past keeper Emiliano Martinez on the stroke of halftime.
Ings made it 4-0 with a spectacular shot into the top corner in the 58th minute before the Saints took their feet off the pedal and Villa took full advantage.
Tyrone Mings pulled back a goal in the 62nd as he turned in a Jack Grealish cross with a glancing header and the home side pressed on to keep visiting keeper Alex McCarthy busy, notably halftime substitute Trezeguet who came close several times.
Villa‘s late pressure produced two more goals in stoppage time as Ollie Watkins netted a penalty before Grealish also scored with the last kick of the game.
NEWCASTLE 2-1 EVERTON
Newcastle United striker Callum Wilson scored twice to hand high-flying Everton their second straight Premier League defeat as they went down 2-1 at St. James’ Park on Sunday despite a late charge led by Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Carlo Ancelotti dropped goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, whose mistakes have cost Everton a number of goals so far this season, and gave a debut to Swedish international Robin Olsen, who joined from AS Roma on loan at the beginning of October.
The Swede had to be on his toes on the half-hour mark when Newcastle quickly counter-attacked from an Everton corner. The move ended with French forward Allan Saint-Maximin getting a stinging shot which Olsen was able to parry.
That turned out to be the only effort on target in a drab first half as Everton, who were missing James Rodriguez through injury and the suspended Richarlison, struggled to create any more of note.
Newcastle went ahead when Wilson scored from the spot following an innocuous foul by Andre Gomes on the striker in the 54th minute, and following a short VAR review he stroked the ball home.
Olsen continued to stand firm in goal for Everton but Wilson managed to add a second goal when he bundled home a cross from Ryan Fraser five minutes from the end of normal time after defender Yerry Mina got caught out of position.
Calvert-Lewin scored a stoppage-time consolation goal for Everton but Newcastle survived to take a win that puts them in 10th position on 11 points, while Everton are second on 13, three points behind Merseyside rivals Liverpool.
“We knew what this kind of game would be like. We didn’t have opportunities… we had a good reaction to 2-0 down but it was not enough,” a disappointed Ancelotti said.
“We need to recover some players who are injured but we need to be focused. It is a moment that we suffer a bit after a good start,” he added.
REUTERS