Arsenal 1-3 Manchester United: 5 Talking Points

Arsenal succumbed to their first home defeat in 11 months, as Manchester United recorded a 3-1 win over the Gunners, in what was quite comfortably, the game of the season so far, in the Premier League.

Antonio Valencia opened the scoring for Jose Mourinho's side within the first 4 minutes of the game, before Jesse Lingard doubled the lead only a few minutes later. Arsenal pulled one back through Alexandre Lacazette, before Lingard scored his second to kill the game off for the visitors.

Paul Pogba saw a straight red for a dangerous tackle on Hector Bellerin and that will haunt Mourinho ahead of the Manchester derby.

The scoreline does not do justice to the Gunners, who recorded 33 attempts in the game and enjoyed 75 percent of the possession.

Here are the 5 talking points from what was an exhilarating encounter between two of England's finest:

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#5 Mourinho trumps Wenger once again, but only barely

Jose Mourinho added yet another win to his near-perfect record against his arch-rival Arsene Wenger, but only barely so.

It can't be deemed as a Jose Mourinho tactical masterclass as his side were thoroughly outplayed for most parts of the game by Arsenal. If not for the exceptional goalkeeping by David de Gea, the scoreline would have been much different.

However, Mourinho didn't have to do much. He knows the tried and trusted formula to dismantle Arsene Wenger's side. Absorb pressure, be lethal on the counter-attack and then see the game out.

It has worked on so many occasions for the Portuguese master-mind and it worked last night also, although barely.

#4 Arsenal's profligacy and the lack of defending

Arsenal recorded 33 shots in the game against Manchester United. 14 out of these were saved by David de Gea, some were off target and one was converted into a goal.

However, the scoreline could have read a lot different, if only Arsenal had been a little more clinical in front of goal.

Alexander Lacazette - who started the game despite Wenger ruling him out for the game due to a groin injury - enjoyed one of the best games of his relatively short Arsenal career, but failed to convert it into goals to win the game for his side.

Mesut Ozil - the subject of immense criticism in recent times, and one who has been linked with a move to Manchester United - had one of the games of his Arsenal career as he created chance after chance for his teammates, who failed to bury them.

Manchester United, who were second best for most parts of the game, scored through two defensive lapses by Arsenal in the first half. First, it was Laurent Koscielny, who allowed Antonio Valencia to bomb into the box and finish off the opener.

Then, it was Shkodran Mustafi, who gifted the ball away near his penalty box only to see his side concede a second, despite having been the better side.

The third goal can also be attributed to some poor defending by Koscielny, who failed to hold off Paul Pogba, as the Frenchman set up Jesse Lingard for the third.

Arsenal got everything right in the game apart from the 3 defensive lapses, which turned out to be the difference between a win and a loss at the end of the game.

#3 Jesse Lingard is thriving in the #10 role

Jesse Lingard's stats might read only 6 goals and 4 assists in 19 games across all competitions but the English midfielder looks to be thriving in the new #10 role that he has been entrusted with by Jose Mourinho.

In the last two games that Lingard has started instead of Anthony Martial, in the #10 role, the 24-year-old has provided one assist and scored 3 goals.

The English midfielder has successfully managed to displace rather illustrious names in Juan Mata and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and is now striving in the role.

Mourinho's side have been heavily linked with a move for Arsenal's soon to be out-of-contract superstar Mesut Ozil, but going by the evidence that Lingard game in last night's game, they don't need one.

#2 Of Paul Pogba, red cards, and stone wall penalties

Paul Pogba was given his marching orders in the 74th minute after a tragic foul on Hector Bellerin. Tragic, because although the intent was not malicious, the player could have sustained a serious, horrific injury.

And was rightly deemed by the referee as dangerous play

Because of that red-card, the Frenchman will be ineligible for the Manchester derby this weekend, and the games against Bournemouth and West Brom. Pogba will be a huge miss for the Red Devils, who have thrived on the brilliance of their Frenchman on many occasions this season.

Not only did Paul Pogba receive a rather controversial red-card, there were another few moments that would have the Arsenal fans fuming. The Gunners were robbed off two stonewall penalties in the dying embers of the game: first for a clear foul by Matteo Darmian on Danny Welbeck, then for Chris Smalling clearing out Alexandre Lacazette, despite getting none of the ball.

It's hard to say whether Arsenal might have still failed to draw or win, even if they had been awarded the penalties, but they will surely feel robbed.

#1 Jesus loves but David saves!

There was that solitary goal by Arsenal, which the Spaniard could do nothing about. But apart from that, whatever the Gunners threw at him, De Gea was up for it.

The 27-year-old made 14 saves during the game - the joint-most by any goalkeeper in the Premier League era - and it was enough to earn him the Man of the Match award and his team the three points.

That double save to deny Alexandre Lacazette and Alexis Sanchez, that dive to his right to deny the Frenchman with a firm right hand were just some of the highlights of De Gea's performance, who had an impeccable game.

When Manchester United fans chant "Jesus loves but David saves", they couldn't have been more correct, for they have, arguably, the best shot-stopper in the world.