Granit Xhaka sends warning to Arsenal teammates after Manchester Utd victory

Granit Xhaka says Arsenal must stay focused if they are to continue their winning ways, following the Gunners’ 3-1 victory over Manchester United on Saturday.

Goals from Nuno Tavares and Bukayo Saka saw the home side race into an early lead at the Emirates, but Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 100th Premier League just minutes after Saka’s penalty, to give United a way back into the game.

Just before the hour mark, the Red Devils were given a golden opportunity to equalise when referee Craig Pawson pointed to the spot for a Tavares handball, only for Bruno Fernandes to miss the subsequent spot kick.

The match remained on a knife-edge until Xhaka fired a long-range effort past David de Gea to secure back-to-back wins for Arsenal.

‘Very happy for the three points and secondly very happy to have helped the team with a goal,’ the Swiss midfielder told BT Sport after the game.

‘I haven’t scored in long time and it’s good to do it in front of the fans. But the most important thing was the three points.

‘We started well but it was a 50-50 game in the second half. United were pressing and did much better, but we got the three points. The missed penalty helped us.

‘It’s not the first time we score and concede straight away, we did it twice against Chelsea [in the 4-2 win on Tuesday].

‘So, we have to be more clever and have a strong mentality for the five minutes after we score.’

The result has moved Arsenal up to fourth place and significantly boosted their chances of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

However, they could drop back to fifth, albeit only on goal difference, if Tottenham beat Brentford in Saturday’s evening kick-off.

United’s interim-manager Ralf Rangnick meanwhile says that his side’s top four aspirations