After Sunday’s 3–1 loss to Manchester United, Arsenal can console itself with the thought that the performance was largely good and that it remains top of the Premier League, but for Mikel Arteta’s side, this was a first defeat of the season and—perhaps more worryingly—a sixth defeat in its last seven away games against other members of the Big Six.
A fourth straight win for Manchester United, meanwhile, has lifted it to fifth, just three points behind Arsenal and, more significantly, indicated there is a spirit and resolve about the side that seemed wholly lacking just four weeks ago.