...United thriller sets Reds up for derby

sure that his old nemesis Pep Guardiola doesn’t turn the Premier League race into a procession.

Mourinho’s team had a blistering start that saw them score twice inside the first 11 minutes.

Arsenal captain Laurent Koscielny’s poor attempt to find Sead Kolasinac with a square pass led to United’s first goal.

Valencia read the script perfectly and he fed Pogba before taking the Frenchman’s return pass to ram an angled low drive through Petr Cech’s legs.

United went further ahead, seven minutes later, with another goal that began with a mistake, this time by Shkodran Mustafi.

He had his pocket picked by Lingard as he dithered.

And the United midfielder found Romelu Lukaku before continuing a charge into the home box to collect Pogba’s flick and beat Cech with a clinical low shot that bounced in off the post.

Mustafi injured himself trying to retrieve the situation and was replaced by Alex Iwobi.

But Arsenal came storming back.

Lacazette, miraculously recovered from a hamstring strain that forced him off against Huddersfield in midweek, failed to get a clean contact on Granit Xhaka’s knockdown and David De Gea saved.

Then Mesut Ozil’s clipped free-kick was headed away from the top corner by Ashley Young. The Gunners should have been back in it when Lacazette’s shot flew off the body of De Gea and struck the bar.

And Xhaka wastefully fired wide from the follow-up.

De Gea had to save smartly from both Bellerin and Kolasinac.

And he excelled again to prevent Lukaku nudging the ball into his own net.

But Arsenal were back in it when Lacazette scored his eighth goal of the season, four minutes after the break.

Alexis Sanchez’s clipped pass was chested down by Aaron Ramsey and the Frenchman took his time to beat De Gea as United defenders appealed in vain for offside.

United were on the rack, but Lingard broke to fire in a shot that looped up off Cech’s hands and bounced against the post before Pogba’s follow-up was blocked by Nacho Monreal. The thrills and spills continued, with De Gea producing an astonishing double save to thwart Lacazette and Sanchez.

But Lingard struck again in the 63rd minute when he led a lightning break through the middle and then smuggled himself in at the far post to stroke home Pogba’s cross.

Pogba went from class to crass 11 minutes later when he overball ran the and went careering into Bellerin. Referee Andre Marriner was right to produce a red card. And Pogba could be in even more trouble after applauding the decision as he trooped of the pitch.