Premier League: Man United Beat Arsenal, Chasers Close In

Arsenal’s grip on the Premier League summit loosened on Sunday as a dramatic 3-2 home defeat to Manchester United injected fresh uncertainty into the title race and revived memories of missed opportunities.

Second-half strikes from Patrick Dorgu and Matheus Cunha stunned the Emirates Stadium, handing United their first league victory away to Arsenal since 2017 and reopening the door for the chasing pack. The loss denied Mikel Arteta’s side a chance to re-establish a commanding lead at the top.

Instead of stretching their advantage to seven points, Arsenal suffered their first home defeat of the season across all competitions and now sit just four points clear of Manchester City and Aston Villa. City returned to form with a win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, while Villa claimed a convincing 2-0 victory at Newcastle United earlier on Sunday.

Arsenal’s recent stutter is beginning to show. Having failed to score in back-to-back goalless draws before the weekend, the north London side has now gone three league matches without a win. They remain top with 50 points from 23 games, but City and Villa are close behind on 46, while a resurgent United has climbed to fourth on 38.

Chelsea kept pace in the race for Champions League places, moving into fifth after a 3-1 win away to Crystal Palace. Goals from Estevao, Joao Pedro and Enzo Fernandez sealed the points, with Chris Richards netting a late consolation for Palace, who were reduced to 10 men following Adam Wharton’s dismissal.

Elsewhere, Nottingham Forest eased relegation worries with a 2-0 victory at Brentford, opening up a five-point buffer above the drop zone.

At the Emirates, Arsenal appeared to be in control when Lisandro Martinez inadvertently turned the ball into his own net midway through the first half. However, a costly error from Martin Zubimendi allowed Bryan Mbeumo to equalise for United before the break.

United grew in belief after half-time and took the lead when Dorgu lashed home a superb volley in the 50th minute. Arsenal fought back late on, with substitute Mikel Merino forcing the ball home from a corner to restore parity, but the visitors were not finished.

Cunha produced the decisive moment, surging forward before curling a long-range effort beyond David Raya to spark jubilant celebrations among the travelling supporters.

“You have to acknowledge the quality of Manchester United,” Arteta said afterwards. “We gave them a goal, which is painful, and then they scored two outstanding goals. We weren’t at our best and we paid for it.”

Villa, who had collected just one point from their previous two league matches, rediscovered their rhythm at St James’ Park. Emiliano Buendia opened the scoring with a dipping effort in the 19th minute before Ollie Watkins sealed the win late on, arriving at the far post to head home in the closing stages.

Despite having little recovery time after a Europa League fixture against Fenerbahce in midweek, Villa showed resilience and maturity.

“It’s a demanding schedule, but this is what we want,” Buendia said. “We want to compete in Europe and in the Premier League, and that means adapting and going again.”

Nottingham Forest also responded under pressure after West Ham United closed the gap beneath them. Goals from Igor Jesus and Taiwo Awoniyi earned Forest only their second home defeat inflicted on Brentford this league season, lifting them level on points with 16th-placed Leeds United.

With momentum shifting across the table, the Premier League title race — once seemingly under Arsenal’s control — has suddenly become wide open.

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