Van Gaal reacts to defeat at the Emirates

Manchester United's Dutch manager Louis van Gaal gestures to his players during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium in London on October 4, 2015

Louis van Gaal admits he was “amazed” at how Arsenal outfought his Manchester United side in the 3-0 defeat at the Emirates.

The Dutchman said: “I was surprised. Not performing to our game plan, not the will to win. I have not seen that when you are top of the league.

“You need aggression at the moment you have a duel and Arsenal were much more aggressive.”

Alexis Sanchez hit two and Mesut Ozil scored the other – all in the first 20 minutes – as Arsene Wenger’s men leapfrogged the Red Devils into second place.

Van Gaal added: “I was surprised, amazed - maybe that is a better word.

"When you give a team like Arsenal so much space to play football then you know you will lose.

“There was a lack of ball-winning.

"They were not slow, but they were not aggressive.

"Players like [Michael] Carrick and [Bastian] Schweinsteiger have a fantastic positional sense. But you need aggression and winning the second ball. And you have to do it not only with the two in midfield but also as a team.”

Frenchman Wenger believes man-of-the-match Theo Walcott, who set up two of the goals, made a huge statement in his bid to become the club’s central striker.

He said: “I was always convinced. When a guy plays well it’s difficult to find people who are not convinced.”