Manchester United provided ‘big statement’ of improvement with win over Arsenal, claims Roy Keane

Antony scored on his debut and Marcus Rashford netted a brace as Manchester United beat Arsenal 3-1 at Old Trafford

(Manchester United via Getty Imag)

Manchester United’s 3-1 win over Arsenal was a ‘big statement’ of things to come, according to club legend Roy Keane.

Debutant Antony put Erik ten Hag’s men in front before Bukayo Saka equalised after half-time.

But a brace from Marcus Rashford sent a jubilant Old Trafford crowd home happy as the hosts secured a fourth successive Premier League win.

The victory also ends Arsenal’s 100 per cent start to the season and Keane feels it is a major step in the right direction for his former club.

Speaking on Sky Sports, he said: "It's another big statement. This is what you want Manchester United to do. They beat Liverpool a few weeks ago and we said 'can they back it up', and that's what they've done.

"You look at the table now and, all of a sudden, everyone's feeling better about themselves. The transfer market's over so there's no hassle about Ronaldo leaving. They're just getting on with it. It's very, very good."

Meanwhile, Keane’s former Manchester United teammate Gary Neville took the time to praise Arsenal’s performance in defeat.

“It’s a good day for Manchester United, but they’ve had to work hard. They’ve been made to work hard by a brilliant Arsenal performance,” he said.

“The Arsenal players will no doubt be disappointed but when they look back on this game, they’ll see that they’ve done a lot of good things.

“They just lost it in the big moments of this match and maybe, just maybe being a little too reckless too early, when they didn’t need to be with 20 minutes to go and those three subs coming on.“

The Gunners remain top of the table after winning their opening five, while United’s latest victory lifts them to fifth, one point behind Brighton and three off the Gunners.