While the rest of the footballing landscape continued to be gripped by the twists and turns of transfer deadline day, Manchester United and Leicester City took centre stage on the King Power field, and the Red Devils’ recent resurgence would deservedly continue.
Jadon Sancho’s finish on the 23-minute mark secured a third Premier League win on the bounce for Man United, who are seeking to consign their torrid start to the season to history, and the defensive nous that Ten Hag’s side demonstrated on Thursday was a sight for sore eyes for the home fans.
Three consecutive wins over Liverpool, Southampton and now Leicester have lifted Man United up to fifth in the tablewith nine points gleaned from the opening 15 on offer, but a mere five goals is the lowest tally out of any team in the top half.
Ten Hag may have spent all of Thursday preparing his players for battle in Leicester, but the Red Devils hierarchy continued to work behind the scenes until the 11pm transfer deadline and officially welcomed Antony and Martin Dubravkato Old Trafford ahead of the visit of Arsenal.
Seeking to find the back of the net in a Premier League home fixture for the eighth game in a row, Man United ought to pay no attention to the fact that they have suffered three consecutive top-flight defeats in games played on a Sunday, even if Arsenal have been a different beast so far.
It was very nearly a whirlwind 24 hours for Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz, who scored direct from a corner against Arsenal before being involved in a deadline-day transfer saga, but the Gunners’ attempts to prise him away from the West Midlands did not bear fruit.
Nevertheless, Mikel Arteta’s summer business has already paid dividends to the maximum in the Premier League, and while Luiz managed to cancel out Gabriel Jesus’s opener on Wednesday night, Gabriel Martinelli was on hand to tuck home the winner 151 seconds later.
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The Gunners should have arguably been four or five goals to the good in the first half alone, but by continuing their theme of responding quickly after conceding, Arteta’s side remain the only team in the Premier League with a 100% record still intact.
As a result, Arsenal are sitting pretty at the top of the pile – two points clear of reigning champions Manchester City – but the Gunners’ return to European football is imminent as they travel to Zurich for their maiden Europa League tie next week.
Not since the 1947-48 campaign have Arsenal opened a top-flight season with six successive wins, and they went all the way to title glory that year, but Old Trafford is not a happy hunting ground for the North London club, who have won just one of their last 15 Premier League outings away to Man United.
