It was a day for Arsenal as they outperformed their rival Manchester United with 2-0. For Granit Xhaka the pain was excruciating. It came after a bang to a nerve in the back of his lower leg at Tottenham Hotspur last Sunday, only 20 minutes in, and the Arsenal midfielder feared he would have to come off. He gritted his teeth and battled on but when he eventually succumbed in the 65th minute his team were 2-0 down and heading for a morale-shattering defeat.
What a difference a week makes. Xhaka felt the same injury here and he was removed from the fray in the 76th minute. This time Arsenal were 2-0 up and coasting towards victory in a game they had to win. Xhaka departed to a rousing ovation. He had made the difference, turning the afternoon in his team’s favour with a deflected pot-shot, and no one could say the break was not overdue for Xhaka, who has endured a difficult first season in England after his big-money move from Borussia Mönchengladbach, or his club.
There had been little on when the Swiss picked up possession early in the second half, 25 yards out and with this contest rather meandering. And so he shot. The Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera turned his back, the ball hit him there and it looped up. In what felt like slow-motion, it began its descent and David de Gea watched as it plopped under his crossbar.
Arsenal were up and running, their early nerves a distant memory, and when the former United striker Danny Welbeck rose to head home Alex Oxlade‑Chamberlain’s cross, after Anthony Martial had been robbed by Rob Holding, the die was cast. United had offered little in an attacking sense and, when they were asked to respond, it was no surprise they could not.
At the 16th time of asking Arsène Wenger could celebrate victory in a competitive match against a José Mourinho team. Arsenal will need a favour from elsewhere if they are to finish a difficult season in a Champions League position but at least they are still fighting.
As for United, this was the limpest of defeats and Mourinho’s post-match press conference, when he wrote off his team’s top-four chances and had a pop at Wenger for pressuring the fourth official, was much more entertaining than what his players served up on the pitch.
