By Our
Correspondent, London
Mikel Arteta got
everything he asked for in his first win as Arsenal manager
with a rampant first 45 minutes from the Gunners earning a 2-0 victory over
Manchester United at the Emirates.
Nicolas Pepe
and Sokratis Papastathopoulos scored the goals to secure just a second win in
16 games.
Arsenal
started the game three times as many points off the top four as the relegation
zone, but a first home win in 87 days hauls Arteta's men up to 10th and within
four points of United in fifth.
"I am
very pleased with the performance, I'm even more pleased with the result,"
said Arteta after his third game in charge. "Everything I wanted to see on
the pitch, I saw tonight."
There were
signs of encouragement for Arsenal in Arteta's home debut against Chelsea on
Sunday when only a late collapse saw a 1-0 lead turn into a 2-1 defeat.
However,
this time the hosts saw the game through as a dismal United performance raised
fresh questions over their chances of finishing in the top four.
"At the
moment we are suffering to maintain that level of intensity of the first
halves," added Arteta.
"That
will come, but as well I really liked the resilience they showed. I liked to
see them suffer together."
Ole Gunnar
Solskjaer's men were again shorn of Paul Pogba, who faces another month out
after an operation on a troublesome ankle injury that has kept him out for the
majority of the season.
Pogba's
absence is still evident in United's inability to create when denied the chance
to counter-attack and they failed to recover after falling behind early on.
"After
they scored the first goal, it seemed like they got loads of energy," said
Solskjaer.
"They
were the better team. They were aggressive, they regained the ball and it was
hard to get the ball off them."
For the
first time Arsenal started with all of Pepe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang,
Alexandre Lacazette and Mesut Ozil together in attack and Arteta's bold choice
paid dividends eight minutes in.
Pepe scored
just his second Premier League goal from open play since a 72 million move from
Lille when he swept home Sead Kolasinac's cross at the back post.
The Ivorian
was suddenly brimming with confidence as he twisted and turned Luke Shaw before
crossing for Aubameyang to volley just over.
Lacazette
then rolled Harry Maguire easily in a night to forget for the world's most
expensive defender before pulling his shot across goal.
David de Gea
is another of United's more experienced stars suffering an alarming dip in form
and a poor clearance from the Spaniard offered another sight of goal to Pepe,
whose long-range strike came back off the post.
Arsenal's
first half dominance was rewarded with a second goal before the half-time
interval as De Gea could only palm Lacazette's header from a corner back into
the danger area and Sokratis pounced to fire into the roof of the net.
As the
hosts' energy levels dipped from a frantic first 45 minutes, United were
allowed to dictate the game but did not have the guile to make their possession
count.
Andreas Pereira had the best chance to give
United a lifeline but fired into the side-netting from Nemanja Matic's clever
reverse pass.
"We
have to be honest and admit physically we are not ready, but you have to show
heart and this team is ready to change a lot of things," said Arsenal
defender David Luiz.
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