Arsenal vs. Man United score: Premier League result, stats as Cunha stunner silences panic-stricken Emirates

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Arsenal's January wobble continued as Matheus Cunha's stunning late winner saw Manchester United silence Emirates Stadium with a stirring 3-2 victory.

Manchester City and Aston Villa had closed to within four points after their weekend victories, and Mikel Arteta's side must now feel their breath on their neck after three winless games.

The Gunners were initially assured, pushing and prodding United back before being rewarded by Lisandro Martinez's own goal before the half-hour.

Strangely for a side that had only lost twice in all competitions this season, going ahead seemed to spook Arsenal, who made uncharacteristic errors before Martin Zubimendi left an equaliser on a plate for Bryan Mbeumo.

Arsenal vs. Man United score

Venue: Emirates Stadium, London
Referee: Craig Pawson

Keep track of every game and every goal via SN's live Premier League scoreboard

Starting lineups:

Arsenal (4-3-3, right to left): 1. David Raya (GK) — 12. Jurrien Timber, 2. William Saliba, 6. Gabriel, 5. Piero Hincapie — 8. Martin Odegaard, 36. Martin Zubimendi, 41. Declan Rice — 7. Bukayo Saka, 9. Gabriel Jesus, 19. Leandro Trossard

Man United (4-2-3-1, right to left): 31. Senne Lammens (GK) — 2. Diogo Dalot, 5. Harry Maguire, 6. Lisandro Martinez, 23. Luke Shaw — 18. Casemiro, 37. Kobbie Mainoo — 16. Amad Diallo, 8. Bruno Fernandes, 13. Patrick Dorgu — 19. Bryan Mbeumo

The sense of Arsenal and their public unravelling heightened after the break when Patrick Dorgu followed up his game-sealing goal in the Manchester derby last weekend by screaming one in via the underside of the crossbar.

Arteta's response of a quadruple substitution shortly afterwards hardly inspired a return to calm, and the hosts were flighty and listless as they failed to regain their grip on the game.

They still had their favourite set-pieces, though. United stood up to that challenge well all day until the 84th minute, when the otherwise excellent Senne Lammens couldn't get to a punch through a crowd of bodies and Mikel Merino scrambled home.

Arteta and others whipped up the crowd, but they were left open-mouthed in the 87th minute when William Saliba and Gabriel backed off Cunha, allowing the Brazilian to fire home a majestic winner from 25 yards.

United are up to fourth, still a point ahead of Chelsea and two better off than Liverpool in sixth. In the positions above them, it suddenly feels like it's all to play for again.

Arsenal vs. Man United stats

Arsenal vs. Man United highlights and commentary

Fulltime

Manchester United care not for your fancy title race. Eight days after ransacking Manchester City, Michael Carrick's side have handed Arsenal their first home defeat of the season. Arsenal's lead at the top is down to four points. City have difficult away games coming up next and have shown no consistency of note outside of a November and December run, but Arsenal and their supporters look absolutely bereft here. It'll be fascinating to see what comes next. There are Manchester United players smiling on a football pitch, which really isn't something we've seen too much of lately. What a stunning game. Thanks for joining us.

90+6 mins: Saka cleverly slips a pass to Madueke but Martinez slides in to clear. White then sends a deep cross to Gabriel at the far post, where Dalot ships a head injury. Play stopped. A deathly silence around the Emirates. That might be that.

90+5 mins: Gyokeres charges after a long ball but Lammens gets there first.

90+4 mins: The Arsenal rally has not really emerged. They look shellshocked. Fernandes launches an audacious attempt from the halfway line with Raya out of his ground.

90+1 mins: Lammens gets the punch on the ball this time and Eze makes an entirely needless foul on Cunha. United will take their time.

90 mins: Timber wins a corner. Rice will boom one under the crossbar. Seven minutes to be added on.

87 mins: GOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLL!!!! Matheus Cunha!!!!!!!

Ohhhhh, that could be a winner. Cunha gets the ball 25 yards out and screams one in to remove all the air from Emirates Stadium.

84 mins: GOOOOOOAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!! Mikel Merino

Lammens comes into a crowd of bodies and can't properly get there. Merino scrambles a shot towards the goalmouth and it's over the line before Cunha clears it. Can anyone find a winner.

83 mins: The corner is cleared but comes back to Saka. He tries to catch out Lammens at his hear post and that's a fine save.

82 mins: Sesko's first touch is wearing a ball clean in the face after getting in the way of a Fernandes pass. Arsenal win a corner.

81 mins: Saka, now out of position on the left, hurls in a cross that Gyokeres heads way over. Dorgu, who had been down with apparent hamstring soreness, makes way for Sesko.

76 mins​​​​​​: Arteta's final sub is Madueke on for Trossard. The former Chelsea winger gets into his work with a direct run in off the left to win a throw-in deep in United territory.

72 mins: Here's Dorgu bursting into the Arsenal box. He tries an audacious backheel to Cunha. Ballon d'Orgu more like! United come again, with Cunha looking to make things happen.

71 mins: Merino sets one to Eze, whose shot deflects up off Maguire's arm as he was tumbling and into Lammens' gloves. To use the current trendy phrase, that was definitely a natural position, so no penalty.

69 mins: Rice lofts a ball into the United box and the resulting Arsenal header sails over. Arteta complains about how long Lammens is taking over the goal kick.

68 mins: Mbeumo trudges off after some shift to be replaced by Cunha. Gabriel tries to hurry him off the pitch.

65 mins: Rice now joins the attack and clatters well over from 25 yards. There's so much time left in this game. Arsenal do not need to be this frantic. But then, what sort of a message does a quadruple substitution send?

64 mins: Rice is booked for a petulant clip on Fernandes. Honestly, that seems like the most questionable of Arteta's four switches. Rice is a formidable player and he should be driving Arsenal forward, not playing in a holding role where he's often uncomfortable.

61 mins: Arsenal win a corner for their very big substitutes to have a dart at.

58 mins: Hincapie, Odegaard, Zubimendi and Jesus off. That means Timber over to left-back, Rice and back into holding midfield. 

57 mins: Rice looks to drive Arsenal forward. Shot blocked. Arteta is bring on FOUR subs. Merino and Gyokeres also in the mix.

55 mins: Bit of afters from Martinez on Jesus as United concede a corner and Arteta turns towards his bench. Eze and White are coming on.

53 mins: Mbeumo plays Dorgu down the left channel. He has a shot over from an absurd angle, but why not?

52 mins: No handball, the goal stands.

51 mins: GOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLL!!!!! Patrick Dorgu!!!!!!!

Oh my absolutely word! Patrick Dorgu, what have you done?!?!?! Fernandes and Dorgu get into what seems like an endless exchange of bouncing, one-touch passes before the ball sits up for the winger to clatter home via the underside of the crossbar. There'll be a VAR check

Kickoff: 2nd Half

Arsenal get us back underway, no changes for either side.

Halftime

Arsenal worked hard to earn a deserved lead through Lisandro Martinez's own goal. But they've been unusually skittish since then. Bryan Mbeumo's equaliser was slightly on the cards before it happened, courtesy of a dreadful error from the usually super dependable Martin Zubimendi. It doesn't tend to take much for nerves to take hold of this stadium and this feels like a big team talk for Mikel Arteta. Arsenal have made a habit of blasting emphatically into second halves this season and they could certainly do with some of that here.

45+1 mins: Into two minutes of added time and Arsenal probably look like they need the break more than their opponents. Fernandes chips a pass towards Mbeumo, who clears the bar comfortably as he tries to loft a cheeky volley over Raya.

42 mins Arsenal repel a United corner and spring forward after Mbeumo misses a pass. But it's frantic and the attack never truly falls into shape. 

40 mins: Rice whips a venomous ball in but Lammens claims with authority.

37 mins: GOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!! Bryan Mbeumo!!!!!

My goodness, that is poor! Zubimendi gifts the ball to Mbeumo and the United forward coolly takes his time, draws Raya and slots home.

35 mins: Arsenal make a bit of a hash of a United corner. Raya ends up scrambling to his back post and they survive. Still, this has been poor from the league leaders since going ahead.

32 mins: Ohhhh, Fernandes should do better there. The ball breaks to United's captain inside the Arsenal box and he looks certain to finish. Saliba gets a slight, sliding touch on the ball just before Fernandes cuts the trigger and that's crucial.

30 mins; United look for an instant response as Mbeumo gets the chance to stretch his legs on the break. Arteta is furious that this is the case and berates his team even after Fernandes drags his initial shot wide from outside the box.

29 mins: GOOOOOOAAAAALLLL!!!!! Lisandro Martinez (OG)!!!!!!

Hicapie sends a deep cross towards Saka. Dorgu tries to clear and makes a hash of it, heading the ball straight up into the air. Saka finds Odegaard, who hits the ball towards the goalmouth. Timber is grappling with Martinez, who misses his clearance and the ball bounces past Lammens off his standing leg.

23 mins: United finally keep an attack going but there's no way through before Mainoo has a speculative shot blocked.

21 mins: Shaw sticks to his task well and blocks a cross behind from his long-time England colleague Saka. Arsenal have their fourth corner of the match. Saliba is unable to contort himself and turn it goalwards, but United probably need to stem the flow of setpieces they find themselves defending.

19 mins: United deal with Saka's resulting corner.

18 mins; Fine save from Lammens!  The United line is deep and Zubimendi gets up above Casemiro to head goalwards. The visiting goalkeeper turns over.

17 mins: Dorgu concedes a free-kick at a nice angle for Rice to swing one in, about 25 yards out.

14 mins: Saliba joins a sweeping Arsenal attack and cuts the ball back to Rice, whose shot is blocked by Martinez.

12 mins: It's not an inswinger, Rice fizzes a low one out to Saka on the edge of the box. Nice idea, but the winger makes a hash of bringing the ball under control. Still, not a bad thing to plant that seed.

11 mins: Trossard raps a cross into Dalot's legs. A corner from the left this time. Rice over it for the inswinger.

10 mins: We know how dangerous Arsenal are from these situations but United get a pack of black shirts back underneath Saka's delivery. The clearance goes as far as Trossard, who lashes over.

9 mins: Been a pensive start but Arsenal starting to assert themselves. Saka has a couple of goes down the United left and wins the afternoon's first corner.

3 mins:  A meaty early challenge from Martinez on Jesus. The traditional "hello, how do you do?" In Argentinian and Brazilian terms.

Kickoff: 1st Half

After the unmistakable strains of North London Forever, Bruno Fernandes gets us underway.

5 mins before kickoff: There's some lights show going on at Emirates Stadium right now, with the players waiting in the tunnel. United wearing drill tops that pay tribute to Gary 'Mani' Mounfield, the much-loved bass player from the Stone Roses and Primal Scream, who sadly died last Novermber. Here they come.

Forever United 🔴🍋

This afternoon, we will pay tribute to the late, great Mani ❤️ pic.twitter.com/QHl3cBL8CI

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 25, 2026

20 mins: This has the feel of a big moment in terms of everything Mikel Arteta is trying to achive at Arsenal. He's up for the fight.

I don’t think anybody has more motivation, more hunger, more desire for us to go all the way and win it (than me).

But we know that the only way to do it is to focus, be present in the moment, and everything that we have done today, do it better.

That’s it and that’s the only thing that we can control. The rest doesn’t add any value to us and it can take our focus to the wrong place.

40 mins before kickoff: Arsenal have failed to fully capitalise on Manchester City dropping points recently with back-to-back goalless draws against Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. Saturday's win over bottom-of-the-table Wolves saw City cut the gap to four points and Aston Villa have done likewise with a 2-0 win at Newcastle. It would be good to see some of the attacking freedom Arsenal showed in their respective recent wins over Chelsea and Inter Milan in the Carabao Cup and UEFA Champions League. Gabriel Jesus could be an important figure in terms of shifting them in that direction, having scored a brace at San Siro.

1 hour before kickoff: Somewhat unsurprisingly, Michael Carrick has decided to stick with the United side that did such a fine job against Manchester City. Nevertheless, they can expect a far more robust challenge from this Arsenal team.

Michael Carrick names an unchanged XI for today's game ⚫️

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 25, 2026

1 hr 15 mins before kickoff: The teams are in. Piero Hincapie returns at left-back for Arsenal, while Mikel Arteta has given Gabriel Jesus the nod to start up front after his midweek brace at Inter.

🔴 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎 ⚪️

🔙 Hincapie returns
⚓️ Rice anchoring the midfield
⚡️ Jesus up top

We know what this game means - COME ON YOU GUNNERS!!

Presented by @deel 🤝

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 25, 2026

1 hour 40 mins before kickoff: United are understandably riding high after raking Manchester City apart in last weekend's derby, a result that leaves City fans in the unusual position of rooting for a United victory here. But their record at Emirates Stadium is dismal of late. United are winless in this corner of north London since December 2017 in and have lost their past four visits in the Premier League. They did manage to prevail on penalties in the FA Cup last season, however.

2 hours before kickoff: Welcome to today's coverage of Arsenal vs. Manchester United. Can the Red Devils halt the Gunners' title charge?

Eyes fixed firmly on Sunday's test 👁️ pic.twitter.com/P1hmG4AyHZ

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 23, 2026

Arsenal vs. Man United kick off time

The match kicks off in London, UK at 4:30 p.m. Local time.

Here's how that time translates across some of the major territories:

Arsenal vs. Man United lineups, team news

Arsenal remain without Riccardo Calafiori as he continues his injury recovery. Piero Hincapie  gets the nod over Myles Lewis-Skelly at left-back.

Gabriel Jesus' recent form means he starts ahead of Viktor Gyokeres. Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice return after starting on the bench against Inter.

Arsenal (4-3-3, right to left): Raya (GK) — Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie — Odegaard, Zubimendi, Rice — Saka, Jesus, Trossard

Arsenal subs: Kepa (GK), White, Lewis-Skelly, Mosquera, Eze, Martinelli, Madueke, Merino, Gyokeres

United are unchanged from the win over Manchester City. 

Casemiro confirmed this week that he will leave at the end of the season, but he keeps his place ahead of of Manuel Ugarte, who has been linked with a move away.

Man United (4-2-3-1, right to left): Lammens (GK) — Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw — Casemiro, Mainoo — Amad, Fernandes, Dorgu — Mbeumo

Man United subs: Bayindir (GK), Mazraoui, Mount, Cunha, Malacia, Yoro, Ugarte, Heaven, Sesko

Arsenal vs. Man United live stream, TV channel

Here is how to watch the match in some of the world's major regions: