Nasri double for Arsenal sinks champions Posted on November 8th
LONDON, England (CNN) — Samir Nasri scored twice as Arsenal survived a spirited late rally to inflict a 2-1 defeat on Premier League champions Manchester United on Saturday.
Nasri (left) and Cesc Fabregas celebrate at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
The France international midfielder struck in the 22nd and 48th minutes at Emirates Stadium to lift the Gunners over Man United into third place in the standings.
Arsenal held on during six minutes of injury time after Rafael da Silva pulled one back for United in the 90th.
In the late kickoff, Liverpool went back to the top with a 3-0 home win over West Bromwich Albion.
Robbie Keane scored twice, his first league goals since joining Liverpool, and Alvaro Arbeloa curled in the third goal in the 90th minute to complete a convincing win.
“It’s nice, it’s been a while coming, but I don’t get down about these things,” Keane told Sky Sports News.
“Robbie Keane is hopefully back to his best, it’s been a bit stop-start, but I’m getting better and better.”
Chelsea, who now trail Liverpool by three points, play at Blackburn on Sunday.
Arsenal went into their crunch match off the back of a disappointing 0-0 draw with Fenerbahce in the Champions League.
Arsene Wenger’s men had also lost 2-1 at Stoke at the weekend and held 4-4 by north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in their previous two Premier League games to cast doubt on their title credentials.
“I knew today that it was a big game for the future of the team … to keep in the race and knowing you can win big games is vital,” Wenger told Associated Press.
“It was a very important result. I couldn’t imagine what would have happened if we had lost today.”
The frenetic action in a pulsating early kickoff saw Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo miss cast-iron chances for United while Arsenal also carved out a number of good openings as the visitors pressed for a goal.
United manager Alex Ferguson, who was celebrating 22 years in charge at Old Trafford, said it had been a superb match.
“It was fantasy football, it was like playground stuff — you attack, we attack — and they got the goals that mattered,” Ferguson said.
“Sometimes you just have to hold your hands up and say, ‘If you’re going to get beaten, just make sure it’s someone who’s going to play football,’ and Arsenal played good football at times.”
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Rooney had three chances to put United ahead, the best at point-blank range when found by Ronado, but Arsenal also created openings in the early exchanges, Niklas Bendtner twice heading over from good positions.
Arsenal made the breakthrough when Cesc Fabregas crossed from the left and Dimitar Berbatov’s headed clearance fell to Nasri, whose shot deflected off United right back Gary Neville to beat goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.
Three minutes after halftime, Arsenal strung together 15 passes — including an inspired run by Theo Walcott on the left — to rip through United, and Nasri completed the move after receiving a pass from Fabregas to shoot over a sliding Nemanja Vidic into the top corner.
Ronaldo — searching for his 100th United goal — squandered a glorious chance to bring United back to 2-1 a minute after Nasri’s second.
With only Manuel Almunia to beat from a tight angle, the Portugal winger dragged the ball wide.
Almunia was forced off injured to be replaced by Lukasz Fabianski, but the stand-in could do little to prevent United’s 90th minute goal.
Teenager Rafael, on for Gary Neville, chested down a clearance on the edge of the area and volleyed left footed into the corner of his net.
Six minutes of injury time saw some nervy moments for Arsenal but they held on for a deserved three points.
In other games on Saturday, Everton scored three late goals to beat struggling West Ham 3-1, while Bolton grabbed a vital 1-0 away win at Hull.
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