No Gabriel, no problem! Winners and losers as Arsenal's deadly set-pieces come up big despite Brazilian's absence while Ruben Amorim counts the cost of rotating his forwards in first Man Utd loss

As Bukayo Saka went up for Arsenal's 13th and final corner of the evening, the Clock End - home to the club's ultra-lite Ashburton Army - bounced around chanting, 'set piece again, ole ole'.

Everyone knows the Gunners rule the roost when it comes to dead balls. Their specialist coach, Nicolas Jover, is a celebrity around these parts now. He prowls Mikel Arteta's technical area whenever the team have the chance to score from one and rarely leaves a game disappointed with his work.

Arsenal, even with Martin Odegaard fit and in the groove again, created little from open play when United's main objective was to shut up shop. But the relentlessness of their menace from set-piece situations is driving teams crazy.

Midway through the first half, Andre Onana cut a frustrated figure when his angle for clearing the ball was obscured and he had to boot the ball into touch behind his goal instead. Before Timber's deadlock breaker, they could have scored two or three from corners alone. Post-match, ex-United forward Dimitar Berbatov declared Arsenal as "the new Stoke City" in reference to their days under Tony Pulis. These are the marginal gains that Arteta has preached to yield results from, and tonight they were the difference makers.

Perhaps the Clock End's jubilance at their side's domination on corners was in-part fuelled by United so blatantly trying, and subsequently failing, to prevent such events from occurring.

A fairly significant chunk of the Red Devils' warm-up was spent on defending set-pieces. Crosses came in, crosses were cleared. Amorim had identified a threat, but still felt the need to put his players through those paces on matchday right before kick-off.

That extra homework didn't pay off. United were outwitted and outmanoeuvred on nearly every delivery which pierced the penalty area. Down the final stretch of the game, Amazon Prime's TV cameras panned to a frustrated Amorim on the bench, who was rubbing his forehead with the same stress levels as an office worker heading in on a Monday off the back of a two-day hangover. He knows there's work ahead if he's to turn United around.

United, for all of the riches they boast and all of the millions they have spent, have far too many headaches trying to put the ball in the back of the net. Here, they barely laid a finger on a makeshift Arsenal backline that was there for the taking - not many teams will be so fortuitous to play them without Gabriel Magalhaes or Riccardo Calafiori.

Rasmus Hojlund is a trier, and God loves a trier, but the Red Devils could do with him being a bit more than that too. Even when wrestling and grappling with Saliba, it felt like the Dane was always going to be the player hitting the deck and losing the ball.

Amorim later threw on Joshua Zirkzee, Marcus Rashford and Antony - the last of whom was sarcastically cheered onto the pitch by home supporters - in search of a solution, but found none. Maybe that's a chemistry issue in this new system, maybe it's a sign that the club have blown too much money on attacking duds. United's links to Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres, someone who combines end product with physical brutishness, make more sense by the day.

Good news, United fans - Tyrell Malacia might actually still be a good player despite his lengthy lay-off. The left-back, who has only recently returned after a year-and-a-half on the treatment table, was handed the unenviable task of trying to pin down Saka during his 45 minutes from the start. When the line-ups were announced, you feared for the Dutchman and the task he had ahead.

Yet Malacia stood tall in that battle. Not many defenders can proudly proclaim they slowed Saka down without kicking lumps out of him and tugging him to the ground, but he did. When Diogo Dalot switched to the left in the second half, the Gunners winger had a little more freedom to get down the outside and weave infield.

Luke Shaw will spend the next few weeks nursing a new injury, and Malacia's comeback has come at an opportune time for United.

You never want to write off young players, and a spirit as likeable as Gabriel Martinelli is one worth rooting for, but there is mounting evidence he might never reach his 2022-23 levels again in this Arsenal team.

The Brazilian winger still has that electric pace about his game, only now his unpredictability works against him. There are sometimes instances where, despite their being acres of space ahead of him, even he doesn't know what's going to happen next.

Saka's penchant to play to feet rather than race in behind means Martinelli is the out-ball over the top. Defences still leave themselves vulnerable to his speed and quickness; it's just been a while since he's taken advantage of that.

There are only a couple of areas in which Arsenal could realistically upgrade their starting XI, and as the weeks go on, it feels like Martinelli's spot is up for grabs.

Once the full-time whistle was sounded at Anfield on Sunday, the world was ready to anoint Liverpool as champions elect after seemingly dethroning Manchester City.

Fast-forward three days, and the title race may well be back on. The Reds were denied a win at Newcastle on Wednesday by a last-minute goal from Fabian Schar in a 3-3 draw. City and second-placed Chelsea were also triumphant, but Arsenal - widely viewed as Liverpool's most likely challengers - will be the team feeling most emboldened after these results.

The gap from Arsenal to Liverpool is now seven points, which is still sizeable but not insurmountable. At the end of a tricky and testing festive schedule for the Merseysiders, we'll know for sure of their title credentials. Arteta's men, on the other hand, are still more of a known quantity. It would be a surprise if they weren't in that race come May.