Arsenal faced Manchester United at the Emirates on Sunday evening in what was one of the most dramatic endings to a Premier League match in a long while.
Gabriel Magalhães and Oleksandr Zinchenko came into the starting line-up for Arsenal as Jakub Kiwior dropped to the bench while Thomas Partey was ruled out through injury. Manchester United made one change from their victory against Nottingham Forrest as Victor Lindelöf started in place of the injured Raphaël Varane.
The first half started slowly with both teams feeling each other out. Manchester United had plenty of possession but did not look dangerous going forward. Manchester United did not register a shot on target up until the 27th minute where Christian Eriksen played through Marcus Rashford, who cut in and provided a lovely finish to give the Red Devils the lead.
Less than a minute after the goal, Arsenal responded with a delightful passing move down their left hand side as Martinelli teed up Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard, who went on to find the bottom corner to equal the score.
The second half is where things got truly exciting. As the time ticked on, Arsenal grew more into the game and began to pile on attacks as Manchester United looked to hit the Gunners on the break.
The half saw referee Anthony Taylor rule out an Arsenal penalty as well as VAR cancel out what seemed to be a late winner for United from Alejandro Garnacho.
A 95th minute corner from Bukayo Saka found its way to an unmarked Declan Rice at the back post, who fired home the winner for his new club. Gabriel Jesus closed out the game as he slotted past Andre Onana to seal a 3-1 victory for the Gunners.
Here are four things we learnt as Arsenal left it late to defeat United.
Declan Rice is Worth Every Penny
A lot was made of the £105 million that Arsenal spent on Declan Rice, but his performances for Arsenal are proving his worth.
Rice was deployed as the Gunners' lone defensive midfielder and he did everything you would expect a world class player in that position to do.
He ran his socks off and won everything in the middle of the park. What really stood out from Rice today was his willingness to drive the team forward. When the match seemed like it was teetering out for both sides, Rice constantly picked up the ball and carried it into Manchester United's half.
Rice reaped the rewards of his display today with a match-winning goal against one of Arsenal's fiercest rivals in the dying minutes of the game.
What a way to start your Arsenal career!
Kai Havertz Underwhelms
This week saw Mikel Arteta come to Kai Havertz's defence in an interview for Sky Sports Premier League asking for fan encouragement, saying: "The people who love the club and love our players, give him love."
Arsenal secured the win, but should fans be concerned about another disappointing display from the German? Both sides of the coin are understandable. Seeing new signings Jurrien Timber light it up in pre-season, and Declan Rice come in and make an immediate impact on the side may make it hard for fans to jump to defend Kai Havertz, however, as Arteta stated, these things take time.
Havertz's effort today has not gone unnoticed, he was constantly picking up fouls, making tackles, and creating space in attacks. However, in the big moments he fumbled.
Havertz did miss an early chance, which would have seen Arsenal take the lead, and was partly at fault for Manchester United's opener as he lost the ball which enabled them to go on the break. The 24-year-old was even bypassed in Arsenal's build-up for their equaliser as Arsenal's left hand side were all involved in the goal bar the German.
Hopefully Havertz can re-find his form and settle into his new role in north London.
Manchester United's Identity Crisis
During Manchester United's pre-season, Erik Ten Haag stated that he wanted Manchester United to be the best transition team in the world and that he wanted his side to be successful using that style.
Today, Manchester United seemed caught between two minds.
In the first half, especially, United opted to hold onto the ball in their own half looking to play their way out the back. Although Onana did his best to help his defence out in that regard, there was a severe lack of cutting edge when trying to breakthrough Arsenal's midfield.
All Arsenal had to do was keep their pressing shape and United did not have an answer. This saw ten Hag's side create nothing up until their goal.
Rashford's opener came from a loose ball from Havertz, which saw Eriksen pounce on the loose ball and play a perfectly weighted pass to Rashford. This was United's best chance of the first half, which came from an Arsenal mistake, mirroring what ten Hag mentioned in pre-season.
Similarly in the second half, United's best chance came on the break where Casemiro played through Garnacho, for what was thought to be the winner. Both times the visitors managed to put the ball in the net, it came in transitional moments.
This begs the question: why did they United attempt to play through Arsenal for large periods of the game considering build up clearly is not one of their strengths?
Rasmus Højlund Looks Dangerous
Rasmus Højlund made his Premier League debut this game coming onto the pitch for Anthony Martial, and the Dane immediately made his presence known.
The centre-forward found himself tussling with Arsenal centre-back, Gabriel, showing immense strength for a 20-year- old.
Højlund was used as an outlet as Onana and Harry Maguire both found him in space up field where he tried his best to make it stick. He capped off an impressive cameo with a backheel flick to Casemiro who played through Garnacho for United's offside goal.
With more minutes, Højlund has the potential to become the linchpin in Manchester United's attack.
