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Manchester United 3-2 Arsenal Cunha: 'These are the games I dreamed of'

 Since Manchester United took down Arsenal with a 3-1 result at Old Trafford in the 2022-23 season, United had secured just one point in its following six fixtures against the Gunners, with the North London side notching 16 of a possible 18 points.


All that momentum came to a halt with what was a miraculous 3-2 win, which gave way to one of the most historic matches in recent Premier League history.


 




“The boys had to dig deep today,” quoted an exhausted Michael Carrick, who’s currently filling in as interim coach following the dismissal of Ruben Amorim earlier this month. 


The first 20 minutes of the match went better than any Arsenal fan packed tightly into the sold-out Emirates Stadium could have asked for. Mikel Arteta’s side dictated play and kept themselves on the front foot and nearly scored from a Declan Rice free kick, which was neatly swung into the box before Summer signing Martin Zubimendi headed the lofted pass just above the head of United goaltender Senne Lammens, but not above the Belgian’s outstretched arms that tipped the effort over the bar. 


Arsenal find first blood


Arsenal would eventually find the first goal of the thrilling matchup with a 29th-minute own goal dealt to the Argentine Lisandro Martinez, as Martinez was left wrestling with the underlapping Jurrien Timber, leading to a scuffed Martin Ødegaard shot to deflect off of Martinez and destabilize Lammes to give the league leaders a 1-0 lead. 


While past Manchester United teams may have begun to suffer in the backdrop of the Emirates, United picked themselves up and began to establish a foothold in the match, with two Bruno Fernandes-led efforts being slightly swayed thanks to pressure from Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice and center back Gabriel. 


United gifted an equalizer


However, with a league-leading defense that had only conceded 14 goals heading into Sunday, it would take a gift for United to get on the scoresheet. Luckily, a month after Christmas, Zubimendi gifted United a goal that was spurred on by a two-man press from Bryan Mbuemo and Bruno Fernandes, leaving Zubimendi parallel to his center backs and forcing a square pass into the path of Mbuemo, who calmly shuffled past the sprawling David Raya to even the game at 1-1 with 37 minutes on the clock. 


A goal of the season contender





United kept its foot on the pedal after the halftime interval and following a delictable one-two sequence between Fernandes and winger Patrick Dorgu, the Dane striped the ball off the crossbar in the 50th minute to give Manchester United its first lead of the game. 


Arteta then felt the impotence to make four changes, which saw Ben White, Eberechi Eze, Viktor Gyökeres, and Mikel Merino get subbed on for Ødegaard, Zubimendi, Gabriel Jesus, and Piero Hincapié. After low-tempo knocks at the firm United door, an 84th Merino goal from a Bukayo Saka delivery evened the score at 2-2, setting up for what should have been a barrage for the Gunners. 


Manchester United find final breakthrough



Yet substitute Matheus Cunha, who replaced Mbuemo with 21 minutes to play, swung the momentum right back in United’s favor with a thumping 87th-minute effort that resulted from a quick counter launched by Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo, which allowed Mainoo acres of space to find the splitting Cunha, who was looking to dart towards the Arsenal backline to send his shot past a screening Gabriel. 


“These are the games I dreamed of playing when I came to United,” quoted Cunha to Sky Sports following the match.


“These are the games that you watch on television and want to be part of. This is one of my best moments here.” The Brazilian maverick had not lit the league on fire since his €74.20M Summer move from Wolverhampton Wanderers, with five goals and two assists in 20 league matches this season. Yet, his nifty dribbles and superb positioning have opened up for opposing defenders to take timely bites, relieving the pressure that United sustain at various points, including Sunday. 


“You’ve got [to] bottle that feeling and take it and use it for the confidence and the belief, but it’s still that ‘back to work, back to business' and keeping our feet on the ground. And the boys have been great this week at doing that and we’ll continue to do that,” quoted the former United midfielder to club media.


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