London: Arsenal threw off their recent troubles to notch up a superb 2-0 win over Manchester United, giving Mikel Arteta his first victory as manager.
Arsenal looked nothing like the driftingn outfit they had been for months and returned to their trademark high-voltage style with the record new purchase Nicolas Pepe coming good at last and then defender Sokratis (42) smashing home a close-range finish.
The Gunners staved off a much-improved Manchester United in the second half but, days the usually suspect Arsenal defence held firm to record their first clean sheet at the Emirates Stadium in three months.
"At the moment we are suffering to maintain that level of intensity of the first halves," said Arteta. "That will come, but as well I really liked the resilience they showed (today). I liked to see them suffer together."
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men were again shorn of their key midfielder Paul Pogba, who faces another month out after an operation on a troublesome ankle injury that has kept him out for the majority of the season.
Pogba's absence is still evident in United's inability to create when denied the chance to counter-attack and they failed to recover after falling behind early on.
"After they scored the first goal, it seemed like they got loads of energy," said Solskjaer. "They were the better team. They were aggressive, they regained the ball and it was hard to get the ball off them."
For the first time Arsenal started with Pepe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Mesut Ozil together in attack and Arteta's bold choice paid dividends eight minutes in.
Pepe scored just his second Premier League goal from open play since a $72 million move from Lille when he swept home Sead Kolasinac's cross at the back post.
The Ivorian was suddenly brimming with confidence as he twisted and turned Luke Shaw before crossing for Aubameyang to volley just over.
Lacazette then rolled Harry Maguire easily in a night to forget for the world's most expensive defender before pulling his shot across goal.
David de Gea is another of United's more experienced stars suffering an alarming dip in form and a poor clearance from the Spaniard offered another sight of goal to Pepe, whose long-range strike came back off the post.
Arsenal's first half dominance was rewarded with a second goal before the half-time interval as De Gea could only palm Lacazette's header from a corner back into the danger area and Sokratis pounced to fire into the roof of the net.
As the hosts' energy levels dipped from a frantic first 45 minutes, United were allowed to dictate the game but did not have the guile to make their possession count.
Andreas Pereira had the best chance to give United a lifeline but fired into the side-netting from Nemanja Matic's clever reverse pass.
"We have to be honest and admit physically we are not ready, but you have to show heart and this team is ready to change a lot of things," said Arsenal defender David Luiz.
