Manchester United faced Arsenal today, who are sitting in first place in the Premier League, as the Reds looked to extend their current win streak to four.
Erik ten Hag would have wanted nothing more than to secure another three points against one of the best in-form teams in the league.
It had been a rocky start to the Dutch manager’s time at the club, with a couple of defeats to start the season, but a convincing 2-1 win over rivals Liverpool kickstarted the squad’s current form, which has now extended to four games as the Red Devils romped to a 3-1 victory.
Here are four things we learned from the 3-1 win.
Antony pleases fans on debut
For some fans, it was considered a surprise that the Brazilian winger was selected from the start after only being an official signing for Man United on Thursday.
Casemiro hasn’t been selected as Ten Hag slowly integrates him into the side after joining the club after pre-season.
It was fully expected a similar situation would happen for the new winger after the form of Anthony Elanga and Jadon Sancho.
However, Antony soon proved many people wrong after scoring a sensational debut goal 35 minutes into the match.
Scott McTominay knows his spot is up for grabs
It has not gone unnoticed that this season, the Scottish international has stepped up his game after a couple of new midfielders joined the club during the summer.
Since the start of the Premier League campaign, McTominay hasn’t put a foot wrong after being selected from the start in the majority of matches under Ten Hag.
Today, he played superbly, often tackling the Arsenal forwards and helping the defence when it was clear that United needed reinforcements at the back.
It was a similar performance from the 25-year-old vs. Leicester and could be the reason why Casemiro is yet to start in a United shirt.
An unusually shaky performance from the defence
It was a total contrast from the previous two matches for the back four who often struggled to combat Gabriel Jesus.
It was clear to see that more work needs to take place to improve the defensive awareness of some of the players.
However, with Arsenal being the current league leaders, it was always clear a real battle was going to happen throughout the match.
Tyrell Malacia had a poor show at left-back today, with dangerous tackling inside the box and a lucky escape to not give a penalty away in the second half.
Rashford is enjoying life under Ten Hag
Before the season had started, it was going to be a difficult season for Rashford who has one year left on his contract plus an option to extend.
Under the new manager, he has played as a striker due to the uncertain future of Cristiano Ronaldo and the injury to Anthony Martial.
Rashford played superbly in the number nine position, assisting one and scoring two goals as he looked like a real threat going forwards.
It was a troublesome night for the Arsenal defence who were unbeaten coming into today’s match.
United next face Crystal Palace in the Premier League but before that, a European night vs. Real Sociedad takes place on Thursday, with rotation expected.
