Arsenal trimmed Liverpool's lead at the top of the Premier League to seven points with a vital victory over Manchester United at Emirates Stadium. Following Fabian Schär's late equalizer that denied Liverpool a win at St James' Park, Mikel Arteta's squad was presented with an opportunity to narrow the gap at the summit. The Gunners seized the moment, with Jurriën Timber and William Saliba both netting from corners in the second half, securing a win that bolstered their title aspirations.

After a draw at Ipswich and home wins against Bodø/Glimt and Everton, Ruben Amorim cautioned that his unbeaten run at Old Trafford might be disrupted by a 'storm.' However, the initial phase at Emirates Stadium was a dull affair. Gabriel Martinelli thought he had scored within four minutes, but Kai Havertz was offside in the buildup. A quintet of players lined up at the far post for one of four Arsenal corners in the first half, but Thomas Partey failed to capitalize on Declan Rice's delivery.

Arsenal's best chance in the first half came when Martinelli's shot from Oleksandr Zinchenko's blocked effort went wide. Moments later, the hosts appealed for a penalty when Bukayo Saka's cross hit Harry Maguire on the thigh. Despite Arsenal's dominance in chances, the best effort of the first 45 minutes fell to United as Diogo Dalot's shot flashed across David Raya's goal.

Two minutes into the second half, Martinelli had the home crowd cheering when he found space on the left, but his shot deflected off Maguire and into André Onana's arms. Sixty seconds later, Rice's shot ricocheted off Mason Mount for a corner. Arsenal made their breakthrough within nine minutes of the second half starting. Timber leaned into Rasmus Højlund at the front post before directing Rice's set-piece into Onana's net.

United introduced Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee on the hour mark, but the latter nearly scored an own goal from another Rice corner. United struggled to respond, and the 'storm' Amorim predicted arrived. However, the visitors almost equalized with 66 minutes gone. A tired Zinchenko fouled Amad Diallo, and Raya produced a world-class save to deny Matthijs De Ligt's header.

Seven minutes later, Arsenal doubled their lead. Partey found himself unmarked at the back post from Saka's corner, and his header deflected off Saliba's shoulder. This marked Arsenal's 22nd goal from a corner since the start of last season. Arteta and the club's set-piece coach Nicolas Jover celebrated on the touchline as Amorim was left frustrated.

Havertz could have sealed the game at the restart but fired his shot at Onana. Substitute Mikel Merino's header from Saka's corner drifted wide. However, it did not affect the Gunners, who comfortably secured the three points, handing Amorim his first defeat as United boss.

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