"Terrible": Why home defeat will "rock" title favourites Arsenal

In one of the shock upsets of the 2025/26 Premier League season, league leaders Arsenal have suffered their first home defeat since May of 2025, losing to a manager-less Manchester United 3-2.

Off the back of a gutsy away win over Manchester City, the Red Devils – led by club legend and interim manager Michael Carrick – travelled to the Emirates to face an Arsenal side that have suffered just one defeat in their last 30 games.

The Gunners had control early, taking the lead via a deflection off of United defender Lisandro Martinez within half an hour.

However, just eight minutes later, Bryan Mbeumo was there to capitalise off a lacklustre pass by Martin Zubimendi, picking up the ball at the edge of the box and rounding David Raya to equalise.

United looked to attack early in the second half, with Bruno Fernandes combining with young star Patrick Dorgu to produce a world class finish from well outside the box, giving the visitors an unlikely 2-1 lead.

An 84th minute Arsenal corner spelt danger for United, as goalkeeper Senne Lammens was caught amongst bodies as the ball swung inward, allowing Spaniard Mikel Merino to tap into an empty net to equalise.

And once again just minutes later, Manchester United would regain the advantage, as substitute Matheus Cunha curled one into the bottom corner from well beyond the area to leap ahead by three goals to two with just minutes to play.

Back-to-back wins for Carrick’s United, club legend and analyst Gary Neville could not believe the events of the contest in London.

“That is not the game I thought we were going to get. It’s not the result I thought we were going to get either!” Neville told The Gary Neville Podcast.

“(I’ve) been here a lot in the last year or two, and (Arsenal) are not a team that are easy to play against. It’s always a struggle. Even Liverpool, when they played well a few weeks ago, it was 0-0.

“So, to see a game that’s ended up a little bit like a basketball game at times in the second half, and it being 3-2, that really sets the cat amongst the pigeons a little bit!”

Arsenal have remained atop the Premier League comfortably throughout the 2025/26 season, losing just two games prior to their contest with Manchester United.

That said, the league leaders’ loss leaves them just four points ahead of both Manchester City and Aston Villa with plenty of football still to play.

“You’re not going to win a league title and have it all your own way,” the eight-time Premier League champion said.

“It’s not a bed of roses; it’s never going to be a procession. You’re not going to be allowed to canter over the line at will.

“They shouldn’t be too down tonight, but that will rock them. If you were in that dressing room, that would be a pretty low place, and Mikel Arteta, his coaching staff, will go home tonight and there will be some searching.

“‘How do we pick this up, how do we reset, how do we get this right? What do we do tomorrow’, because that won’t be easy that one.

“You just got the feeling before the game that this was a giant game, just because of what Manchester United did last week, could they repeat it, could they come again?”

Although Arsenal still remains more than a game clear atop the table, recapturing their mentality following the difficult loss may prove more of a challenge than Arteta and the Gunners are familiar with.

“I think you’re just thinking about what could be happening in that Arsenal dressing room,” Neville said.

“The fans will be very down tonight, but there’s a long way to go. They have to reset and calm themselves, but they have not got a lot of experience in that dressing room of winning Premier League titles.

“When you’re winning your first, it’s the toughest. It’s always tough, and they are going to find it tough mentally.

“It means that you physically feel it a little bit more as well, but they’re going to have to get back on the bike.

“They’ve fallen over today, and it’s been a bad fall.”

Beyond regaining their mentality, Neville also found concern in their “self-inflicted” woes that came to the forefront within the game.

“I thought they played well in the first 20-25 minutes, they controlled the game as you’ve seen Arsenal do so many times.

“They didn’t let Manchester United out; all the game was down this end, but they weren’t inventive enough. They didn’t take enough risks, and they allowed United to let it swing back.

“However, at the point where Manchester United got a little bit of control, Arsenal scored a goal. But their reaction to scoring the goal was terrible.

“It was self-inflicted pain by Arsenal. It really was, in those 10-15 minutes before half time. Before that point, United hadn’t really got going. They didn’t look dangerous.

“But the way in which Arsenal reacted to their own goal going in, I think gave United real encouragement, and from the very first minute of the second half, there was only one team that was actually dominant, who were by far the better team in the second half.”

Arsenal remains at home in the Champions League this week, with aims to close out an unbeaten group stage campaign against Kairat Almaty on Thursday, whilst United have a full week of recovery before hosting Fulham next Monday.