The north-Londoners shattered Manchester United with three goals in an opening 19 minutes blitzing at Emirates on Sunday; the Red Devils capitulated and could not match Arsenal’s stunning start, which produced Alexis Sánchez’s brace and a fine effort by Mesut Özil.
The result will boost the Gunners morale which was on a low after their shocking 3-2 defeat at home against Olympiakos in the Champions League match last week.
Arsenal scored their first goal in the sixth minute; this was a sublime finish by Sanchez after brilliant team effort by Aaron Ramsey and Özil. The second goal came only a minute later; the German international scored, after Theo Walcott dashed past United’s defence.
The Chilean then tricked Italian international full-back Matteo Darmian to complete his brace with a brilliant strike from the edge of the penalty box into the top-right corner. This was an unwanted result for the visitors, as they conceded three goals in the opening 19 minutes of a Premier League game for the first time in what was a truly mesmeric start to the match for the 2004 champions.
The game was effectively over before the half-hour mark.
And then, just a few minutes later, the Gunners had a chance to score again, as Ramsey lobbed wide from close range, in what was one of the best chances out of the lot.
United improved their performance after the break; they dominated the second-half’s possession, but they came out far too late to affect the result. And it was Arsenal who looked more likely to add to the scoreline when substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain hit the crossbar late on.
The Gunners goalkeeper Petr Cech performed well and made some amazing saves.
This defeat leaves Louis van Gaal's side in third place, behind Arsenal on goal difference; the Red Devils’ manager is now left to figure out as to why his side performed so poorly and with so little motivation.
The Gunners, who won the FA Cup trophy and achieved the convincing third-placed finish in the Premier League last season, are now second, just two points behind leaders Manchester City going into a two-week international break, which had the potential to be uncomfortable for their fans and for Wenger, as they are to meet Bayern Munich.