Arsenal shootdown Ole Gunnar’s hot streak

Arsenal players celebrate after Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium in London, Sunday, March 10, 2019. (AFP]

Arsenal inflicted Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first domestic defeat as Manchester United caretaker manager to leapfrog their opponents into the Premier League’s top four with a vital 2-0 victory at the Emirates on Sunday.

Granit Xhaka’s early strike and Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang’s penalty 21 minutes from time moved the Gunners into fourth, two points above United in fifth.

Unai Emery’s men also close to within just a point of third-placed Tottenham and now hold the upper hand in the race for Champions League qualification.

Arsenal do not face any of the top six in their remaining eight league games, whilst United host title-chasing Manchester City and Chelsea in the coming weeks on top of their Champions League and FA Cup commitments.

European trips to France for both sides in midweek produced vastly contrasting results as United shocked free-spending Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 to progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

WICKED CROSS

The Gunners on the other hand went down 3-1 to Rennes to give themselves a mountain to climb in Thursday’s second leg to reach the last eight of the Europa League.

Emery made  five changes from that side and was rewarded with a fast start that could have been rewarded inside two minutes had Alexandre Lacazette connected with Sead Kolasinac’s wicked cross.

However, Arsenal were nearly hit with a sucker punch when with United’s first attack, Romelu Lukaku turned Luke Shaw’s cross onto the crossbar for the first of a series of wasted chances for the Belgian striker.

David de Gea made 14 saves as the Red Devils won 3-1 at the Emirates last season in one of the Spaniard’s best ever United performances.

But for once De Gea was found wanting for the opening goal as he failed to read the swerve on Xhaka’s long-range strike.

Elsewhere, Roberto Firmino returned to goalscoring form at the perfect moment for Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, hitting the net twice in a 4-2 victory over Burnley that hauled them back to within a point of Premier League leaders Manchester City.

Sadio Mane was also on the scoresheet twice in a game in which Liverpool were required to respond to falling a goal behind against Sean Dyche’s struggling side.

And with City having opened a four-point gap over Liverpool, with a victory over Watford on Saturday, the pressure was clearly on Klopp and his players to respond, which they did impressively despite the controversial manner of Burnley’s opening goal.

Firmino had a large role to play in steadying Liverpool nerves, taking his league tally for the season to 11 and ending a six-game goal drought as his side reacted impressively to going a goal down in the sixth minute.