Ten things you may have missed at the weekend
Your Monday Briefing is here to provide a snappy round-up of the weekend’s news for Manchester United fans, so scroll through our 10 key points to get yourself up to date…
Jose Mourinho’s Reds ruthlessly punished defensive errors to become the first club to win a Premier League game at the Emirates Stadium since January in one of the matches of the season so far, thanks to goals from Antonio Valencia and Jesse Lingard (2). Alexandre Lacazette scored for the Gunners but it wasn’t enough and the boss said afterwards: "My players deserve all the great words. I don't know so many in English but amazing, phenomenal, fantastic. They deserved three points."
Goals: Arsenal 1 United 3
Our last match at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium, in December 2017, was stuffed with great goals and stunning saves...
De Gea: This was a team victory
Man of Match David De Gea typically deflected the praise after United's win at Arsenal.
2: THE BEST GOALKEEPER IN THE WORLD
That’s how Mourinho described David De Gea following his jaw-dropping performance in north London, where the Spain international made 14 saves – which is the joint-most in a Premier League game since 2003/04, when Opta started collecting this data. Our no.1 was voted our Man of the Match by fans, with a whopping 90 per cent of votes cast, and he later told MUTV: “Sometimes, you just feel unbeatable.”
3: POGBA OUT OF THE DERBY
The France international was shown a red card late in the second half when he mistimed a tackle on Hector Bellerin. It means he is suspended for three top-flight matches, beginning with this weekend’s Manchester derby at Old Trafford.
4: THREE AT THE BACK
Jose named an unchanged team that featured three centre-backs in Marcos Rojo, Victor Lindelof and Chris Smalling, with Valencia and Ashley Young excelling as wing-backs. "We were carrying on from Watford and when we play in this system we can play with two strikers,” said a delighted Smalling.
5: IBRAHIMOVIC DID NOT TRAVEL
Zlatan was a noticeable absence from the squad at the Emirates Stadium following his four substitute appearances since returning from injury last month. No reason was given by the manager, but it seems likely the Swede will feature (and possibly start) against CSKA Moscow on Tuesday night. Meanwhile, the big man has been having fun on Twitter...
6: OUR LUCKY MASCOTMy feet are firmly on the ground. Where else would they be? pic.twitter.com/d0GORtHDvI
— Zlatan Ibrahimović (@Ibra_official) December 3, 2017
The heavyweight champion of the world, Anthony Joshua, was pictured with Smalling and the defender has seemingly invited the boxer to Old Trafford this weekend. “Good to see lucky mascot @anthonyfjoshua at Arsenal today,” Chris tweeted. “Make sure you're at the derby next weekend!”
Good to see lucky mascot @anthonyfjoshua at Arsenal today. Make sure you're at the derby next weekend!🥊 #derby pic.twitter.com/251HF9XXiM
— Chris Smalling (@ChrisSmalling) December 2, 2017
7: LITTLE CHANGE AT THE TOP
There is still an eight-point gap between us and leaders Manchester City, following their 2-1 win over West Ham United. Chelsea and Liverpool both earned victories, but sixth-placed Tottenham Hotspur stuttered once again by drawing 1-1 at Watford. Spurs are now level on points with Sean Dyche’s Burnley.
It was confirmed on Saturday morning that current France Under-17 international Aliou Traore has signed for United. The midfielder accompanied the squad on the pre-season training camp in Austria and he made his debut in the 3-2 defeat to Wolves at the weekend in the Under-18 Premier League Cup. "Traore is a boy we've been looking at for a while," Under-18s coach Kieran McKenna told MUTV recently. "He is a really powerful midfielder who likes to run box to box. He is very strong technically and is improving all the time."
United’s Under-23s ensured continued involvement in the Premier League International Cup when we secured our place in the next phase with a hard-fought 2-0 win over Celtic at Leigh Sports Village. James Wilson bagged both goals - one in each half - to clinch United’s progress and also maintain his personal record of having scored in all this season’s games in the competition.
CSKA Moscow warmed up for Tuesday's final Champions League Group A match with a 6-0 win over Tosno. That result against us would not secure qualification to the knockout stages - as they must win 7-0 at Old Trafford!