Manchester United 3-2 Arsenal: Five Talking Points From Old Trafford

Marcus Rashford scored twice on his Premier League debut to give injury-hit Manchester United a 3-2 win over Arsenal and dent the Gunners' title hopes in the process.

The teenager, who scored a brace against Midtjylland just three days earlier, continued his dream start to life at Old Trafford by netting twice in three first-half minutes before Danny Welbeck pulled a goal back for Arsenal shortly before half-time.

Rashford then set up Ander Herrera for a deflected third goal in the 65th minute, and the Gunners were unable to find an equaliser after Mesut Ozil struck their second just a few minutes later. From Rashford's impact to Arsenal's title chances, here are the main talking points from the game…

Even Rashford's most ardent believers could not have imagined such a stunning impact from the 18-year-old. After a dream double on his debut against Midtjylland on Thursday night, the local lad's Roy of the Rovers story continued as he marked his first Premier League appearance with two more goals and the assist for Herrera's deflected third.

Rashford brought a sense of anticipation whenever he touched the ball, and his electric pace caused Arsenal problems from the off. He was inches away from winning a penalty when he was brought down by Gabriel Paulista just outside the box in the 13th minute, and Sky Sports pundit Thierry Henry was purring over his composure in front of goal. "Rashford can sense there's going to be danger and he's there," he said. "Calm, composed, goal."

The youngster came through United's youth ranks as a winger, but he showed a striker's instincts to rifle home Gabriel's miscued clearance for the first goal, and he was in the right place at the right time again to head in Jesse Lingard's cross just minutes later. When he was substituted in the 80th minute, it was to a rapturous ovation. Old Trafford has a new hero.

In the build-up to the game, Arsene Wenger rejected suggestions that his side have become serial chokers in the title race. "The psychological situation is completely different today than it was in 2010," he said. "All the players are focused and want to win and have great solidarity. It's down to showing how good we are."

After yet another big-game defeat in which they fell well short of their potential, however, Arsenal find themselves in a grimly familiar situation. The Gunners were let down by defensive mistakes by Gabriel and Laurent Koscielny at crucial moments, but they looked vulnerable throughout, with Nacho Monreal's early miss setting the tone for another afternoon of falling short.

Welbeck and Ozil's goals gave Arsenal hope, but when the time came to push for an equaliser they looked completely shorn of belief. "There was nothing there," said former Arsenal midfielder David Platt in the Sky Sports studio. "There was no energy, no enthusiasm, and no willingness to work hard either in possession or out of possession. They didn't deserve anything out of this game."

Manchester United are currently without 12 first-team players. The injury crisis has left Van Gaal with few options when it comes to team selection, but Rashford was not the only young player to make his mark on the occasion and ease the pressure on his beleaguered manager.

Twenty-two-year-old Guillermo Varela and Jesse Lingard, 23, combined in the build-up to each of the teenager's goals, and there were debuts from the bench for 20-year-old James Weir and teenager Timothy Fosu-Mensah - two players who do not even have their own Wikipedia entries.

Memphis Depay also produced one of his best performances of the season on the left-hand side of their attack, and the United XI that finished the game only featured two players over the age of 26. For Wenger, a man who takes such pride in nurturing young talent, it made the defeat all the more difficult to swallow.

Arsenal were collectively poor at Old Trafford, but what of Theo Walcott's struggles? The England man has scored just once in his last 14 appearances for the Gunners, and Wenger's decision to start him ahead of Olivier Giroud was made to look foolish as he drifted through the game without making any impact whatsoever.

Walcott only had four touches of the ball in the opening 25 minutes, and by the time he was hauled off just after the hour mark, he had only touched it 17 times. Only six of his nine attempted passes found a team-mate, he failed to muster a single shot at goal, and he only won one of his four duels.

His only meaningful contribution, in fact, was losing possession deep in his own half in the build-up to United's opening goal. Walcott's lack of goals is a concern for Arsenal and England at a crucial stage of the season, but his all-round struggles are even more worrying. The 26-year-old is not the only Gunner misfiring at the moment, but he was a passenger at Old Trafford - and it's becoming a recurrent theme.

The defeat leaves Arsenal five points behind leaders Leicester, with Tottenham's win over Swansea compounding their miserable afternoon and further denting their title hopes. In the Sky Sports studio, Graeme Souness pulled no punches on the Gunners, using the words "weak", "insipid" and "pussy-footed" to sum up the their performance.

Henry, meanwhile, refused to rule them out completely, but he was also downbeat on their prospects. "That wasn't a performance of a team that wants to be champions," he said. "As an Arsenal fan you were thinking, can you show me that you can be champions? Today, they didn't reassure me on anything. The only thing that's good is that they're still in the title race."

As for United, they are now just three points behind rivals Manchester City in fourth place, and Souness feels a Champions League finish is not beyond them. "If Man Utd get any momentum going, they will get into the top four," he said. "This will encourage them greatly. Man Utd deserved to win the game today. They were better up front and they were better at the back. Everything in between didn't matter."

Credit: Skysports.com