Manchester United see off Arsenal to maintain Solskjær's perfect start

By now, it has become a familiar sight: Ole Gunnar Solskjær hugging his staff, eyes twinkling, applauding his players and celebrating the return of Manchester United, as we used to know them. Quick, incisive football, willing to take on anyone and, more often that not, coming out on top.

Solskjær has even taken to chewing furiously on his gum, Sir Alex Ferguson-style, with the wrappers scattered round his feet, and at this rate the only possible regret for his club is that they did not tire of José Mourinho earlier.

This was their eighth straight win since Solskjær was handed the role on a caretaker basis and the case for him taking over properly is building all the time, particularly now his restorative qualities appear to stretch to Alexis Sánchez, who scored the opening goal on his return to his former club. A lesser team would have wilted in the face of some concerted pressure from Arsenal, and perhaps Mourinho’s United would have, too. Not the current side, though. Solksjær’s team have rejuvenated, epitomised by the transformation of Victor Lindelof in the heart of their defence, Paul Pogba in midfield and assorted others.

Solskjær was once part of the best counterattacking side in English football. He seems to be building the modern team the same way and United’s second and third goals, converted by Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial, were another reminder of the days when Ferguson led the team into battle with Arsenal. So was the moment, late on, when Marcus Rashford clashed with Sead Kolasinac, locking foreheads like two angry stags, and the subsequent melee when Lingard was extremely fortunate to avoid his second yellow card of the night. A coin was thrown from the crowd, though it still felt small-fry compared to the hostilities when these teams used to meet.

Solskjær, of course, will remember the years when it was the biggest occasion in English football. It is a bit different now, with Granit Xhaka against Lingard not quite the same as Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane, and two managers who greeted one another with an embrace, as opposed to the days when a handshake between Ferguson and Arséne Wenger involved no eye contact and only the briefest touch of flesh on flesh. Solskjær, in keeping with the modern rivalry, was even gentlemanly enough to instruct Luke Shaw to kick the ball out when Sokratis suffered the knee injury that ended his evening prematurely.

Apart from the late bust-up, the only flicker of malevolence came on the occasions when Sanchez had the ball and Arsenal’s crowd reminded their former player what they thought of him. Even that, however, lacked real spite, quite possibly because the fans who were making their displeasure voluble must have known enough about the Chilean to realise he might take pleasure in turning down the volume. Sánchez celebrated his goal with fists raised but did not go in for any shushing gestures. No need to rub it in, after all, when nothing will have hurt his former club more than his goal, wriggling past Petr Cech to score with the kind of skill that has been seen only fleetingly during his year as a United player.

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For Arsenal, that was a devastating period bearing in mind Sánchez’s goal was followed three minutes later by Lingard scoring from one of their swift counterattacking thrusts. Both times it was Romelu Lukaku with the decisive pass and, for the first one in particular, the striker’s through ball was expertly weighted, completely deceiving the Arsenal defenders.

Lukaku spent a lot of the night drifting into the space that Kolasinac, Arsenal’s left-back, vacated on his forward forays. It left Arsenal vulnerable on the break and Lingard’s finish, so calm and collected, was a beauty.

There was no power in Lingard’s shot. No attempt to put his laces through the ball, the old-fashioned way. He simply controlled Lukaku’s pass, opened up his foot and rolled the ball into the bottom corner.

Two-nil down, Arsenal were in deep trouble but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s goal, two minutes before half-time, gave the home side a new sense of hope. Aaron Ramsey created the danger in a congested penalty area. As the pass was flicked across the six-yard area, Alexandre Lacazatte could not get a full touch of the ball. Aubameyang was next in line and scored with a simple finish.

Arsenal would have been level a minute into the second half had it not been for a superb one-handed save from Sergio Romero to keep out Ramsey’s header and supply more evidence for those who believe David de Gea’s understudy has legitimate credentials to be recognised as the outstanding second-choice goalkeeper in the English game. The tie had ignited and the second half was an absorbing spectacle, interrupted only by the nasty blow suffered by Laurent Koscielny after challenging Lukaku, falling to the ground and accidentally taking his opponent’s studs to the side of his face, leaving him with a gash below his left ear.

Koscielny, bloodied and bruised, was unable to continue after eight minutes of treatment on the pitch and that meant Arsenal had lost both their centre-halves.

Unai Emery had to be adventurous, bringing on a midfielder, Matteo Guendouzi, as Koscielny’s replacement and also introducing Mesut Özil in the hope the German could conjure up some magic.

Instead, United broke forward again in the 82nd minute. Pogba, driving through the middle, had the first attempt and Martial turned in the rebound after Cech had kept out the first shot. Koscielny’s injury meant ten minutes of stoppage time but United were never likely to be caught and their renaissance under Solskjær continues.

Bristol City see off Bolton to progress

Niclas Eliasson’s brilliant first-half goal proved the winner in a stirring FA Cup fourth-round tie as Bristol City edged out Bolton 2-1 at Ashton Gate.

The visitors took a sixth-minute lead when defender Mark Beevers was given the freedom of City’s penalty area to shoot home unmarked with a sweet right-footed half-volley from a Luca Connell cross.

But the advantage lasted less than two minutes. City winger Callum O’Dowda was allowed time to control a chip to the edge of the box on his chest before sending a low volley past the diving Remi Matthews.

The result extended City’s unbeaten run in all competitions to 12 matches.