John Terry was delighted to celebrate Arsenal’s demise following a damaging 3-2 defeat against Manchester United which ensures a Chelsea Premier League record remains in tact for another season.
The Gunners’ title bid has been built on a formidable defence which started the season by conceding just three goals in the opening 10 games of the campaign.
Such steeliness led many pundits to predict that the likes of William Saliba, David Raya and Gabriel Magalhaes could keep enough clean sheets to end the campaign letting in fewer than the 15 goals Chelsea’s mean machine shipped in the 2004/05 season.
The Arsenal rearguard has, however, looked less certain in recent weeks and any hope of eclipsing Jose Mourinho’s first Premier League title-wining side went up in smoke when Patrick Dorgu smashed United ahead early in the second half.
‘The record is safe for another year,’ Terry wrote on Sunday night.
In a video, he added: ‘January the 25th, 2026 and the record is safe. Man United 2, Arsenal 1. Still 25 minutes to go but the record is safe for another season. So Petr Cech, Paolo Ferrera, Ricky Carvalho, William Gallas, it’s time to celebrate with a bottle or a glass of red wine.
‘I’m going for the bottle for celebration tonight. But guys let me know your thoughts. Can this record of 15 goals conceded in one season ever be beaten? I’m saying no.
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‘I have to say I was a little bit worried the way Arsenal started the season and how well they started but it’s only January and the record has already gone and it’s safe for another year.
‘I still get frustrated today, it could have been sub 10.’
Of more significance, Arsenal’s lead at the top now stands at just four points following wins for Manchester City and Aston Villa over the course of another topsy turvy weekend.
Mikel Arteta now faces a tough task to lift a group of players who appear to be losing momentum at the wrong point in a season that has, up to this point, promised so much.
Metro at the Match: Arsenal 2-3 Manchester United
Metro’s Tom Olver breaks down the winners and losers from Arsenal's 3-2 defeat to Manchester United at the Emirates.
Gabriel Jesus stutters in centre-forward audition
Given the nod over Viktor Gyokeres after an impressive brace against Inter Milan in midweek, Gabriel Jesus will no doubt have been itching to nail down his spot as Mikel Arteta's first-choice centre-forward.
But with the Gunners utterly dominant in the early exchanges, Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard combined to provide the main threat from out wide - with the Brazilian a largely peripheral figure through the middle, in stark contrast with Bryan Mbeumo at the other end of the pitch.
It was more of the same from Jesus as the second half wore on and Mikel Arteta had seen enough by the 58th minute, with his side stumbling in search of an equaliser after a spirited fightback from the visitors.
A huge opportunity missed for the former Manchester City attacker as United threw a cat amongst the pigeons in this year's title race. It leaves Arteta with a tough call to make up front ahead of Arsenal's return to top-flightaction at Leeds next weekend.
A rare moment to forget for Martin Zubimendi
Martin Zubimendi helped gift United a route back into the game with a horrible lapse in concentration at a crucial stage in the contest before half-time.
Arsenal's usually metronomic summer signing has hardly put a foot wrong since joining from Real Sociedad and the Spaniard could scarcely believe what he had done as Mbeumo latched onto his misplaced pass before calmly rounding David Raya and stroking the ball home.
An unwanted collector's item for Zubimendi and a moment he will not want to repeat any time soon.
Even ignoring his blunder, there was a distinct lack of creativity and urgency from Zubimendi when the hosts badly needed someone to stand up and take the game by the scruff of the neck.
Arsenal match ratings: Raya 7, Timber 7, Saliba 5, Gabriel 5, Hincapie 6, Zubimendi 4, Rice 7, Odegaard 6, Saka 6, Trossard 6, Jesus 4. Subs: White 4, Merino 7, Eze 5, Madueke 5, Gyokeres 4.
A mixed day for Martinez
Martinez has endured surely his toughest period yet as a United player and things went bad to worse for the diminutive centre-back on the half-hour mark at the Emirates.
After being on the end of some scathing criticism from Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt, the Argentine will have been desperate to build on his encouraging display against Manchester City.
But another of United's Class of '92 was left less than impressed as Martinez - put under pressure from Jurrien Timber - directed the ball into his own net to open the scoring for Arsenal. 'He should deal with it,' said Gary Neville on Sky Sports.
Martinez did, though, show great resilience to keep his chin up to help keep the likes of Saka, Trossard and Jesus quiet alongside a near-faultless Harry Maguire at the heart of Michael Carrick's defence.
Bryan Mbeumo the big-game competitor
Bryan Mbeumo further showed himself to be perhaps United's most shrewd piece of summer transfer business with just the latest in a long line of eye-catching performances for the club.
He more than deserved his first-half goal, helping force a rare misplaced pass from Zubimendi with some relentless pressing through the middle. The subsequent finish had all the coolness and confidence of a player well and truly at the peak of his powers.
It's no coincidence that United's resurgence under Michael Carrick has coincided with Mbeumo's welcome return from the Africa Cup of Nations.
The £71million spent on Mbeumo will prove to be a steal if the Cameroon international continues in the same vein over the coming weeks and months, adding to his already impressive scoring tally.
Carrick won't mind Mbeumo's animated reaction to being substituted for Matheus Cunha in the 68th minute. It's exactly that kind of character and personality that the club have badly lacked for so long in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.
Patrick Dorgu comes of age
Michael Carrick was full of praise for Patrick Dorgu's 'immense' performance after a dream derby day for United - and the Dane picked up where he left off this weekend.
It's fair to say the youngster has had an up-down start to his United career since becoming the first signing of Ruben Amorim's turbulent reign. But his talent has always been undoubted - it's just that he is now beginning to showcase that ability on a far more consistent basis.
His 50th-minute wonder strike - which Neville branded 'the goal of a lifetime' - was the standout moment of quality... that's until Cunha provided some serious competition with his stunning effort to win it in the closing stages.
Such a shame that a suspected hamstring injury cut short Dorgu's showing with ten minutes remaining in the capital. Carrick will be praying it's not as bad as it appeared and he is able to make a speedy return to the fold.
Man Utd player ratings: Lammens 7, Dalot 6, Maguire 8, Martinez 6, Shaw 6, Casemiro 6, Mainoo 6, Amad 5, Fernandes 7, Dorgu 8, Mbeumo 8. Subs: Cunha 8, Sesko 5, Mazraoui 5.
‘You have to give credit to Manchester United,’ said Arteta after a first home defeat since April. ‘We gave them a goal which is unusual and painful, then they two brilliant moments with incredible goals. We were not at our best.
‘In the first 30 minutes we were in total control, scoring a goal, but after that so many times we gave the ball away in important areas. We started to lose control and dominance and it became a chaotic game.
‘The players deserve a lot of praise for the consistency. When we lose a game I take the responsibility and I have to protect the players.
‘We just gave it away. If you want to win you have to go through these moments and you can’t expect to win every game, that’s unrealistic.
‘The margins are extremely small and we made them even smaller. Now we have to react and see what we are made of.
‘The first game is the Champions League [against Kairat on Wednesday]. Today we were not at our level and we paid the price.’
