Arsenal returned to the top four by ending Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's unbeaten Premier League run as Manchester United manager with a hard-fought victory over their rivals.
The Gunners have an impressive home record this season and extended their streak to 15 league games without defeat at the Emirates Stadium with a 2-0 win.
Granit Xhaka's long-range effort caught out David De Gea either side of United hitting the frame of the goal before a contentious second-half penalty allowed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to seal three vital points in the race for Champions League qualification.
On a day where Aston Villa's Jack Grealish was attacked by a Birmingham fan running onto the field of play, an Arsenal supporter appeared to run into Chris Smalling as he invaded the pitch after Aubameyang's goal.
While it seemingly lacked the malice of the St Andrew's incident, questions will be asked of how the invader was able to cover so much ground before being halted.
The win sees Unai Emery's side leapfrog United into fourth spot and move to within a point of north London neighbours Tottenham, who lost at Southampton on Saturday.
For Solskjaer, whose side delivered heroics with a 3-1 Champions League win at Paris Saint Germain in midweek, this was his first taste of domestic defeat since being appointed caretaker manager in December and ended a club-record run of nine away wins.
🔴 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang coolly converts a penalty after Alexandre Lacazette was fouled...
— Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) March 10, 2019
⚽️ Aubameyang (17) is now one goal behind Sergio Aguero in the race for the Premier League Golden Boot
🤙 #AFC #ARSMUN pic.twitter.com/E764M3AiQ3
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- Arsenal have won 12 points from their 10 games against fellow ‘big six’ sides in the Premier League this season, double the amount they won in such games last term.
- Manchester United suffered their first Premier League defeat under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (W10 D2 L1), and also ended a run of nine successive away wins in all competitions.
- Arsenal have beaten Manchester United 10 times in Premier League games played on Sundays, the most the Red Devils have lost against an opponent on a specific day of the week in the competition.
- Arsenal have won their last nine Premier League home games, their joint-longest winning run at the Emirates within a single season (also nine in 2014-15).
- Manchester United failed to score for the first time in 22 away games in all competitions this season, last failing to find the net on the road in May 2018 at West Ham.
- Six of Granit Xhaka’s seven Premier League goals for Arsenal have come from outside the box, including both of his strikes against Manchester United.
- Man Utd keeper David De Gea has made two errors leading to a goal in the Premier League this season – both of them against Arsenal.
- 17 of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s 27 Premier League goals have been scored on Sundays (63%) – the highest percentage of goals scored on that day in the competition (min. 20 goals).
