Arsenal vs Manchester United final score: Gunners win thriller

Arsenal beat Manchester United in a thriller at the Emirates Stadium as the Gunners momentarily moved into fourth place in the Premier League table.

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]

Nuno Tavares and Bukayo Saka put Arsenal 2-0 up in a topsy-turvy game but Manchester United were a threat throughout as Cristiano Ronaldo made it 2-1 in the first half and there was VAR and penalty kick drama galore.

Bruno Fernandes’ penalty miss in the second half was crucial as Granit Xhaka hammered home Arsenal’s third to secure their second win in four days.

Mikel Arteta’s side now have 60 points, while Manchester United remain on 54 points and their top four hopes are all but over.

WATCH FULL MATCH REPLAY

Arsenal 3-1 Manchester United

Goals scored: Tavares 3′, Saka 32′, Ronaldo 34′, Xhaka 70′

Shots: Arsenal 14, Manchester United

Shots on target: Arsenal 7, Manchester United 5

Possession: Arsenal 56, Manchester United 44

1. Ronaldo proves he can be key part of Erik ten Hag’s rebuild: Much of the talk has been about whether or not Ronaldo should be kept around next season as part of ETH’s rebuild. On this showing it is essential. He scored a classy goal, smashed home another which was marginally offside and played in clever passes to his teammates throughout. The 37-year-old has now scored 22 goals in this very poor United side this season and if he’s given proper service next season, he’s shown he can score 25-30 goals once again. He should have been on penalty kicks as Bruno Fernandes’ miss at 2-1 was crucial in the outcome of this game. Now the question is this: will Ronaldo want to stick around given that United won’t be in the Champions League next season? He’s not a Europa League player, is he?

2. Arsenal put themselves