Late Marouane Fellaini header consigns Wenger to Old Trafford defeat

Marouane Fellaini headed a last-gasp winner for Manchester United as Arsene Wenger's final visit to Old Trafford as Arsenal manager ended in a 2-1 defeat.

The Belgian came off the bench to confirm qualification for next season's Champions League for the Red Devils after Henrikh Mkhitaryan thought he had rescued a draw against his former club by cancelling out Paul Pogba's first-half opener.

In truth, it was harsh on a young Gunners side who had fought valiantly for a point, with the likes of Greek debutant Konstantinos Mavropanos and Ainsley Maitland-Niles impressing as Wenger made eight changes to his line-up ahead of Thursday's Europa League semi-final, second leg at Atletico Madrid.

The Frenchman was given an excellent reception before the match, with his old rival Sir Alex Ferguson presenting him with a gift on the pitch, but his day ended on a sour note and his team have now lost all six of their Premier League away matches in 2018.

United move five points clear of Liverpool in third, and have three games to sew up second place before their FA Cup final with Chelsea, while Arsenal - who still look likely to finish sixth - will focus all of their energy on the make-or-break trip to Atletico.

Another Old Trafford defeat to sign off with, but Europe was always Wenger's focus. Wenger has gone through the full spectrum of emotions at Old Trafford, from clinching the title in 2002 to suffering humiliation when the Gunners were crushed 8-2 in 2011.

The nature of this late, late defeat will sting in the short-term, but the fixture hasn't had the same intensity as the late 90s/early noughties for some time, and Arsenal's focus has been on the Europa League for most of what will go down as the Frenchman's worst ever domestic campaign.

All of his eggs are in the European basket, but Wenger will know his rested charges will have to produce something extra special if they are to reach the final in Lyon. Who knows, he could yet gamble and give some of these young players that impressed at Old Trafford the opportunity to keep his hopes of signing off with a trophy alive.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Arsenal). Unlucky to be on the losing side. One of a number of Arsenal youngsters who impressed, particularly in the first half. Faded as the game wore on, but his display along with a number of others, will be a real positive for whoever takes over from Wenger leading into next season.

MAN UTD: De Gea 6, Valencia 6, Lindelof 6, Smalling 6, Young 7, Herrera 7, Matic 7, Pogba 7, Lingard 7, Sanchez 7, Lukaku 6. Subs: Rashford 6, Martial 6, Fellaini 7.

ARSENAL: Ospina 7, Bellerin 7, Chambers 7, Mavropanos 8, Kolasinac 6, Xhaka 6, Maitland-Niles 8, Nelson 7, Iwobi 6, Mkhitaryan 7, Aubameyang 6. Subs: Monreal 6, Welbeck 6, Willock 6.

16' - GOAL! Man Utd 1-0 Arsenal. Pogba gives United the lead with a simple tap-in after Sanchez's header from Lukaku's clever cross from the right had come back off the post via Bellerin.

20' - ARSENAL CHANCE! A super Arsenal move down the right ends with Mkhitaryan rifling a low shot just wide of the far post after Maitland-Niles had touched it back into his path via a lovely flick.

35' - ARSENAL CHANCE! Bellerin marauds to the right byline by Aubameyang's free header is tame and straight at De Gea.

51' - GOAL! Man Utd 1-1 Arsenal. Mkhitaryan marks his Old Trafford return with a low 20-yard drive into the far corner. All square!

89' - MAN UTD CHANCE! Goal... - NO! Fellaini nods Martial's cross against the post and sees it rebound off Rashford and into the net. However, the youngster was offside.

90+1' - GOAL! Man Utd 2-1 Arsenal. This time it counts. Fellaini guides Young's left-wing cross into the far corner. Heartbreak for Wenger and Arsenal.

The average age of Arsenal's starting XI (24y 67d) was their youngest for a Premier League game since August 2011, which was also at Old Trafford against Manchester United (24y 65d) when they lost 8-2.

Pogba has been directly involved in four goals in his last four Premier League games (3 goals, 1 assist); as many as in his previous 12 games in the competition.

United claimed their first league double over Arsenal since 2011-12 and have not lost to the Gunners at home in 11 league outings.

Arsenal lost six successive top-flight away matches for the first time since a run of seven in a row from October 1965 to January 1966.

The Gunners have now reached double figures for away league defeats in a 38-game season for the first time since 1989-90.