EPL: Corner kings Arsenal beat Man Utd to close gap on Liverpool

Arsenal`s Dutch defender Jurrien Timber celebrates scoring the opening goal during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium in London. Pic/AFP

Arsenal worked their set-piece magic to beat Manchester United 2-0 on Wednesday, ending Ruben Amorim's unbeaten start to life in the Old Trafford hotseat and closing the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool. United frustrated the home side at the Emirates in a cagey first half but Jurrien Timber broke the deadlock from a corner after the break and William Saliba repeated the feat. The win leaves Arsenal in third place in the Premier League, behind Chelsea on goal difference and seven points adrift of leaders Liverpool, who were held to a 3-3 draw at Newcastle. "A special day, 500 games in this stadium. We scored two set pieces, but we could've scored from open play many more," Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told the BBC.

"We lost two massive players for us in our backline but the team are still responding. "The game opened up a little bit and we looked a real threat. Very pleased. It's a joy to play in this stadium with that energy, it's something incredible." Amorim made six changes from the team that brushed Everton aside 4-0 at the weekend, dropping in-form Amad Diallo and Marcus Rashford from his starting line-up. Gabriel was a significant absence from Arsenal's defence, joining Ben White and Riccardo Calafiori on the injury list.

Amorim travelled to London with two wins and a draw from his first three matches in all competitions, keenly aware that Arsenal would be his biggest test yet. Arteta's men should have been ahead early when Thomas Partey skewed his header wide from a corner -- giving United a warning. Gabriel Martinelli flashed just wide from another corner midway through the first half as Arsenal continued to look dangerous from set pieces. United were content to bide their time when they had the ball but they looked blunt in attack.

Corner routine

The game picked up tempo at the start of the second half, with Diallo replacing Tyrell Malacia for United. Feeding off a more vocal crowd, a re-energised Arsenal put United under pressure, finally breaking the deadlock in the 54th minute when Timber headed his first goal for the club from a Declan Rice near-post corner. Amorim reacted quickly, bringing on forwards Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee and handing French teenage defender Leny Yoro his United debut. Diallo won a free-kick after fine work on the right in the 66th minute and Arsenal were grateful to goalkeeper David Raya, who pushed away a powerful Matthijs de Ligt header from Bruno Fernandes's free-kick.

Arsenal doubled their lead from a Bukayo Saka corner in the 73rd minute when Partey's header at the back post hit Saliba and beat Andre Onana. Arsenal have scored more goals from corners -- 22 -- than any other side in the Premier League since the start of last season. Onana got down well to save a Kai Havertz shot as Arsenal threatened to cut loose. The Gunners, who had a blip last month, are now back in the groove, with their third league win in a row. Amorim, who had warned the "storm will come", will now have a better idea of the size of the job on his hands.

It was the former Sporting Lisbon manager's first league defeat since December 2023. "The set pieces changed the game," he said. "We could've been more aggressive towards the Arsenal box. Until the set pieces the game didn't have too many opportunities for both sides. The set pieces killed the game. "They can put a lot of players near the goalkeeper and it's almost impossible to fight for the ball but we have to manage to defend them and we already know we have to be better."

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