Arsenal outplayed Manchester United at the Emirates on Wednesday night to secure their first Premier League home win after six straight unsuccessful attempts
The new year has started in the best possible way for the struggling Gunners side, who have finally climbed to the upper half of the table after halting a four-game winless Premier League run.
Mikel Arteta kick-started his managerial career at Arsenal with a massive 2-0 home victory over fierce rivals Manchester United.
Nicolas Pepe broke the deadlock in the eighth minute before Sokratis made it 2-0 for the hosts, who managed to keep a two-goal cushion until the end to stretch their winning streak in top-flight home H2Hs with United to two games.
Arsenal are the first 'Big Six' team to beat Manchester United in any competition this season:
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) January 1, 2020
Man Utd 4-0 Chelsea
Man Utd 1-1 Arsenal
Man Utd 1-1 Liverpool
Chelsea 1-2 Man Utd
Man Utd 2-1 Spurs
Man City 1-2 Man Utd
Arsenal 2-0 Man Utd
Mikel's at the wheel. 😉 pic.twitter.com/pNEbc0d3ZS
Notably, it was only Arsenal’s fourth clean sheet of the season and their first at home since a narrow 1-0 triumph over Bournemouth back in early October.
Another positive sign for the Gunners fans is that Mesut Ozil seems to have regained some momentum, as he was directing the pace of the game for the entire 90 minutes.
Wednesday’s success helped the North Londoners to cut down the gap on fourth-placed Chelsea to nine points, leaving them with plenty of time to roar back into contention for a top-four finish.
Meanwhile, the Red Devils missed a great opportunity to reduce a five-point gap on Chelsea, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men continue to struggle for consistency.
