Arsenal scored early in the game as left back Nuno Tavares tapped home from close range in the third minute after Saka's shot was parried away by David de Gea.

United threatened to equalise almost immediately when Ronaldo clipped a clever pass onto the path of Elanga but his attempted shot was cleared for corner.

There was an injury scare for Saka and Arsenal with eight minutes played and needed medical attention. Bruno Fernandes found space for United's first attempt at goal but his shot went wide.

United then hit the woodwork through Diego Dalot and soon afterwards there was a penalty shout when Cedric Soares's elbow inadvertently touched the ball but there was no review of the incident.

Nketiah thought he had scored  after an intricate attacking move by Arsenal with Saka fouled but after lengthy VAR checks for a possible offside by the England U21 international it was switched for a possible penalty. Arsenal got the verdict and Saka scored from the spot.

Barely two minutes later, Ronaldo escaped the attention of two markers to score his 100th Premier League goal.

The Gunners went close to restoring their two-goal lead after a breathtaking counter-attack which culminated in David dea Gea putting away a rasping Martin Odegaard's shot.

In the 70th minute, Granit Xhaka made it 3-1 with a long range drive few minutes after he was booked.

Saka went off injured and was replaced by Rob Holding with sixteen minutes left on the clock.