Former Arsenal player Robin van Persie helped Manchester United to secure a home win against 10-men Arsenal by scoring after only three minutes.
This was the first time for the Holland striker to face his previous club after he was transferred to United for £24m in the summer. He was booed continuously by the away fans who once regarded him as an icon in Arsenal. Nevertheless, Van Persie opened the score for United in just only three minutes, when he received Thomas Vermaelen's poor clearance before aiming the ball at the far post. He became the second player to score against all 20 soccer clubs in the Premier League after former Everton striker Yakubu.
Arsenal failed to create much scoring chance and struggled to deal with United's attack down both flanks. Left-back Andre Santos struggled to contain the pace and penetration of Antonio Valencia. The away team only managed to have two goal scoring chances during the first half which both missed the target. At 44 minutes, United was close to extend its lead when the team was given a penalty. However, Wayne Rooney missed the penalty, in which he had already missed seven out of 20 penalty chances in the Premier League.
Van Persie continued to play actively in the second-half. He first stole the ball from Vermaelen and sent a short pass to winger Valencia, who did not manage to score from close range. Later, the former Arsenal captain beat the offside trap and his shot was blocked by goalkeeper Vito Mannone when facing him one-on-one.
United scored again at 66 minutes, as Rooney's cross was headed into the net by left-back Patrick Evra. To make matters even worse, Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere was sent off three minutes later after receiving a second yellow card for tackling Evra. The situation was pretty similar to that of Tom Cleverley, who barely escaped the red card with a foul on Wilshere before quickly substituted by Ferguson.
Santi Carzola pulled one back for Arsenal during the stoppage time with a fine curled finish, but it was too late to change things around. The game itself showed that there is still a long way for Arsenal to go before they can challenge the Premier League title, as they are 9 points behind United, which currently sits on the top of the table with 24 points.
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