The Red Devils' trip to north London ended in defeat as the Gunners closed the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool to seven points

Arsenal handed Ruben Amorim his first loss as Manchester United head coach with a 2-0 victory on Wednesday. The Red Devils arrived in north London on an impressive run of seven games without defeat stretching back to Ruud van Nistelrooy's time as interim manager, but that streak was snapped with authority.

Though the Gunners found it difficult to break down their stubborn visitors in the first half, they ramped up the pressure after the break and made United pay for their careless defending on set plays.

Jurrien Timber headed the hosts into the lead before William Saliba doubled their advantage shortly after, and Amorim's charges were unable to conjure up a suitable response at the other end.

GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from the Emirates Stadium…

AFPWINNER: Arsenal's set-pieces

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.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportLOSER: Man Utd's dead-ball defending

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.

Getty Images SportLOSER: Man Utd's rotating attackers

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.

AFPWINNER: Tyrell Malacia

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.