Football news - Alexis Sanchez haunts Arsenal as Manchester United extend winning run

Alexis Sanchez returned to haunt former side Arsenal as he scored the opening goal in Manchester United's 3-1 win at the Emirates on Friday night.

Sanchez partnered Romelu Lukaku in attack as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer rotated his side slightly and the Chilean - appearing at the Emirates for the first time since his move in January 2018 - opened the scoring when he curled home from an excellent pass from the Belgian with just his fifth goal in 33 matches.

Two minutes later Lukaku was the provider again as he teed up Jesse Lingard, who calmly slotted past Petr Cech in the Arsenal goal.

The Gunners got one back before the break when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang tapped in at the back post, but they couldn't find an equaliser and were punished late on as substitute Anthony Martial fired home on the counter after Cech parried a Paul Pogba shot.

The game had ten minutes added time due to a face injury suffered by Laurent Koscielny, while there were more defensive woes for Arsenal with Sokratis Papastathopoulos also going off injured in the first half.

Eight wins from eight for United now, as the Norwegian continues to underline his credentials for the full-time position.

What a difference the 45-year-old has made to this club and these players in such a short space of time. They are playing with belief and confidence, as demonstrated by Sanchez's performance who now has a goal and two assists under Solskjaer after a torrid time with Jose Mourinho.

It's not just man management where Solskjaer is excelling, tactically he got it spot on once more - United soaked up pressure and with a driving performance, they punished their hosts on the counter-attack time and time again, before killing the game off by bringing on Marcus Rashford and Martial who scored the crucial fifth goal of the contest.

For Unai Emery, there are more questions asked. His decision to bring on Mesut Ozil midway through the second half back-fired, and with the FA Cup his most realistic chance of silverware this season, there will be considerable disappointment amongst supporters at another setback. It's now five defeats in 10 for the Gunners.

Eye-brows were raised that the Belgian was recalled to the starting XI at the expense of Rashford - critics suggesting Solskjaer was simply disrespecting the FA Cup with such a 'weakened' selection. How wrong they were. The 25-year-old, making just his second start since Solskjaer was appointed, is playing with renewed venom and happy to do his bit for the team.

Deployed out on the right of the front-three for the majority of the match, he gave Sead Kolasinac a torrid time. In a performance that showed he is more than just a goalscorer, Lukaku was the standout player.