Arsenal 2 Manchester United 0: Welbeck helps end former side's 25-match unbeaten run + Highlight

Danny Welbeck helped end Manchester United's
25-match unbeaten run in the Premier League,
scoring Arsenal's second in a 2-0 win over his
former team which handed Arsene Wenger a first
top-flight triumph over Jose Mourinho.
The Portuguese coach tempted fate by making
eight changes from Thursday's Europa League win
over Celta Vigo and it ultimately backfired, with the
hosts consigning them to their first league defeat
since losing 4-0 to Chelsea in October.
After a particularly frenetic start which saw each
side waste good opportunities, Arsenal looked the
more purposeful going forward and spent long
periods probing a stubborn United defence which
included Premier League debutant Axel Tuanzebe.
But the best chance of the half fell to Wayne
Rooney, who pounced on a defensive error before
being denied by Petr Cech.
Arsenal ultimately took charge in the second half,
though, with Granit Xhaka's deflected strike
breaking the deadlock, before Welbeck scored
against his old club for the third time to effectively
wrap things up before the hour mark.
United rarely looked like battling back as Arsenal
saw things out in professional fashion and gave
their slender Champions League hopes a boost,
while Mourinho and his men turn their attentions
back to the Europa League semi-finals after
beating Celta 1-0 in Spain in the first leg.
The two sides produced a frenetic start and both
went close inside the first eight minutes.
Arsenal were the first to be carved open, as Rooney
fed Anthony Martial and the Frenchman saw his
poked attempt turned around the post by Cech.
Alexis Sanchez then found Aaron Ramsey with an
inch-perfect pass a few moments later, only for
David De Gea to brilliantly palm his effort past the
right-hand post.
Things soon settled down and Arsenal became the
dominant force, troubling United twice just before
the half-hour mark.
Both chances fell to Welbeck, who first saw a six-
yard effort crucially blocked by Phil Jones
following a corner, before Chris Smalling produced
a similarly important intervention to get in the way
of the striker's first-time shot.
United should have made the breakthrough soon
after, but Cech bailed out Rob Holding following a
horribly misplaced backpass which was seized
upon by Rooney.
Arsenal made the most of that let-off early in the
second half and left United with a mountain to
climb.
Xhaka broke the deadlock in fortuitous fashion in
the 54th minute as his 30-yard drive took a wicked
deflection off Ander Herrera and looped over the
helpless De Gea.
And just three minutes later Welbeck put Arsenal
two up, rising to meet Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's
right-wing cross with a fine header which found
the net via the crossbar.
Mourinho attempted to claw United back into the
contest by introducing Jesse Lingard and Marcus
Rashford form the bench, but neither had a huge
impact.
The visitors' final throw of the dice saw 20-year-
old attacker Scott McTominay thrown on for his
Premier League debut six minutes from time.
Proceedings had long since lost any real tempo,
though, and Arsenal comfortably held on to move to
within two points of United and six of Manchester
City, while the Gunners still have a game in hand

on both.