Arsenal missed the chance to reopen a seven-point gap at the top of the Premier League after a dramatic 3-2 home defeat against Manchester United, leaving Mikel Arteta demanding a strong reaction from the squad before the upcoming Champions League meeting with Kairat on Wednesday.
Matheus Cunha struck an 87th-minute winner at Emirates Stadium, just three minutes after Mikel Merino thought a late equaliser had salvaged a point, handing caretaker manager Michael Carrick a second victory in two league matches and ending Arsenal’s long unbeaten home sequence.
Arteta stressed that responsibility lies with the group to respond quickly, especially with Champions League action so close. The manager accepted that Arsenal fell short of usual standards and stressed how
narrow margins in the Premier League leave little room for error when a team chases the title.
It was Arsenal’s first Premier League defeat at the Emirates since May, when Bournemouth left with three points, underlining how rare such setbacks have been. This was also only the second league fixture this season in which Arsenal had trailed at any stage on home turf.
The scoreline also carried an unwanted landmark for Arsenal. Manchester United became the first side to put three past Arteta’s team since Luton Town did so in December 2023, ending a sequence of 121 matches in all competitions without Arsenal conceding more than twice in a single game.
Defensive numbers from this match were especially stark. Three of the eight Premier League goals Arsenal have allowed at home this season arrived in this fixture, meaning 38% of their home concessions in the current league campaign came during one chaotic afternoon at Emirates Stadium.
The contest had earlier swung back and forth. Arsenal moved ahead when Lisandro Martinez turned the ball into the defender’s own net, but Manchester United responded as Bryan Mbeumo struck, before Patrick Dorgu found the top corner with a powerful effort that turned the tie in favour of the visitors.
Merino restored parity late on with a composed finish, appearing to rescue a valuable point for the league leaders. However, United found another decisive moment when Cunha bent a curling shot beyond the goalkeeper in the 87th minute, closing out a comeback that silenced the home support.
Arteta highlighted Manchester United’s quality in decisive situations but was clear Arsenal contributed heavily to the defeat with individual errors and poor ball retention, particularly after a strong opening spell in which the home side dominated territory and scored first yet gradually surrendered control in dangerous areas.
"You have to give credit to Manchester United. We gave them a goal which is unusual and painful, then they had two brilliant moments with incredible goals," Arteta conceded. "We were not at our best. In the first 30 minutes, we were in total control, scoring a goal, but after that, so many times we gave the ball away in important areas. We started to lose control and dominance, and it became a chaotic game. The players deserve a lot of praise for their consistency. When we lose a game, I take the responsibility, and I have to protect the players. We just gave it away. If you want to win, you have to go through these moments, and you can't expect to win every game. That's unrealistic. The margins are extremely small, and we made them even smaller. Now we have to react and see what we are made of. The first game is the Champions League [against Kairat on Wednesday]. Today we were not at our level, and we paid the price. "
Not the result your support deserved, Gooners. We'll be back to make amends. pic.twitter.com/mia69HF0RuArsenal (@Arsenal) January 25, 2026
One of the major turning points came when Martin Zubimendi misplaced a pass deep in Arsenal territory, presenting Mbeumo with the chance to equalise. That mistake fed into a wider pattern of recent league games, where errors in possession have increasingly led directly to opposition goals.
Arsenal’s latest lapse was the second time in four Premier League fixtures that a clear mistake had contributed to a goal against them. That figure already exceeds the tally from the first 19 league matches of the campaign, underlining a recent dip in concentration for a side still targeting the title.
Some of the key defensive numbers from Arsenal’s defeat are shown below.
Club captain Martin Odegaard reflected the manager’s frustration. The midfielder felt Arsenal played well in phases but handed momentum back to Manchester United through repeated turnovers, particularly around the interval, when the pattern of the contest began to shift away from the home side.
"It was not good enough from us, and we need some time to analyse it," the Arsenal captain added. "We should've done better, but now is the time to stick together more, keep working, push each other more and bounce back. In the first half, we were the better team. We scored a goal and had control, but a lot of giveaways. We managed to get to 2-2, but then they scored straight away. It's never going to be easy in this league, we know that. I thought we were well-prepared, we started the game well, and in the second, we saw the momentum change a bit. The performance definitely should've been better for us, and we have to take the lesson and keep working. Every game is a big challenge; this is part of football. We are still top of the league, so we have to keep going and bounce back straight away. That's the only medicine. "
Despite the setback, Arsenal remain top of the Premier League, but the gap is now smaller than Arteta hoped, and attention swiftly turns to the Champions League tie against Kairat, where the team will aim to reset standards, cut out recent defensive mistakes and respond to their first home league loss since May.
