Manchester United vs. Arsenal Live Blog: Play-by-Play Analysis and Reaction

It's early in the season, but Arsenal is already in danger of falling out of the English Premier League title race.

The Gunners travel to Old Trafford to face defending champion Manchester United, and fortunately for us, this fixture usually provides plenty of fireworks.

Join me at 11 a.m. ET for live commentary.

Full time: Manchester United 8, Arsenal 2

It's embarrassing for Arsenal, but if we're being honest with ourselves, we didn't really expected Arsenal to win this match — did we? The score is definitely a shock, as any 8-2 game is, but Arsenal would have done well to grab even a point.

The good news for Arsenal is that it scored its first two goals of the season. The bad news is that it could have been even worse. Park shot over the bar in stoppage time, and United missed a few chances.

What's worse is that Arsene Wenger never did anything to give his team a chance. He never changed his tactics and, in the bigger picture, he has refused for years to strengthen the roster. Wenger has done more than perhaps any other manager for Arsenal, but right now it looks like his days might be numbered in North London.

For United, it's three wins from three matches. For Arsenal it's one point from three matches. The conventional wisdom says Arsenal is already eight points behind United in the title race, but that's probably being generous to Arsenal. Unless they change something soon, the Gunners are a mid-table team at best. And if things get worse, they could actually face a relegation battle.

90th +2: Goal 8-2 United

Ashley Young scores a firecracker from the edge of the box.

86th: The teams are playing out the final few minutes. Marouane Chamakh has come on for Arsenal, and he looks as useless as ever. Francis Jeffers, anyone?

81st: Goal 7-2

Rooney converts a penalty and completes his hat-trick. This is ridiculous. Arsenal needs to do something, anything, to limit the damage, or it could be 10-2 by full-time.

77th: Jenkinson earns a second yellow card for a poor challenge on Chicharito, who — surprise, surprise — was running free behind the Arsenal defense. Jenkinson becomes the third Arsenal player to be sent off in three Premiership games this season. And what's worse, Rooney has another free kick.

In his early days, Wenger had a reputation for allowing his players to run wild. This is a bit different, but it'll only add ammunition for his critics.

74th: Goal 6-2

Van Persie scores for Arsenal. For some reason, he's wide open in the United box. He's never going to miss from there. This really does look like a training match.

72nd: The commentators keep gushing about Manchester United's performance, but I would argue that this scoreline has as much to do with Arsenal as United. Arsenal is playing very poorly today, and the squad is embarrassingly thin. For years Arsene Wenger has relied on being thrifty in the transfer market, and while that's produced some good football on the cheap, it's coming back to haunt the Gunners today.

Like I said, though, Arsenal lost 6-1 at Manchester United in 2001, then won the double in 2002. At the moment, that looks impossible.

70th: Goal 6-1 United

Rooney nearly completes the hat-trick with a chip past Szczney. But Park, who just came on as a sub, scores a couple seconds later.

This is embarrassing for Arsenal.

67th: Goal 5-1 United.

Nani stands alone on the edge of the Arsenal box, receives a pass from Rooney, and chips the keeper for a goal. This is training-ground stuff.

The commentators keep referring to United's 6-1 win over Arsenal at Old Trafford in February 2001, and it's starting to look inevitable that we'll see the same scoreline today. The only good news for Arsenal is that the Gunners won the double the next year. All they need is another Giovanni van Bronckhorst, right?

64th: Goal 4-1 Manchester United

United wins another free kick just outside Arsenal's box. Rooney scores again, easily fooling Arsenal with a simple, simple shot. What's wrong with Arsenal's defense?

61st: Young and Nani both have chances to score another for United but can't connect.

Alex Oxlade Chamberlain comes on for Arsenal. Gunners fans have been excited about this youngster. Let's see how he fares.

59th: Cleverley and Chicharito combine on the edge of the Arsenal box. Cleverley has a great chance but his shot is poor. That's how fast United can turn things around.

This game has really come to life in the second half. 

56th: Arshavin breaks through on the left wing but shoots wide from a tight angle. He really should have put his shot on target, but it's more encouraging news for Arsenal. 

54th: De Gea saves well from a van Persie effort. Better from Arsenal.

52nd: Arsenal struggles mightily to clear a United corner. Vermaelen can't come back soon enough.

50th: Slow start to the second half so far. United is knocking the ball around and waiting for Arsenal's defense to make a mistake. Arsenal's defense is still playing too high, and United is still making runs behind them.

Halftime: 3-1 Manchester United

United has been worth every bit of its lead, and Arsenal can count itself a bit fortunate to have gotten a goal right before halftime. Arsenal looked clueless for much of the half, and United was happy to take advantage.

United is playing well, but more than that, Arsenal looks like a bottom-half side. There's too much space in the midfield. The defense is playing too high. There are too few ideas in the attacking third. In short, Arsenal looks like Bolton or Blackburn — one of the unglamorous sides Arsene Wenger has been so eager to criticize for the past decade and a half. Now Arsenal can't seem to play its preferred style of soccer, and it looks like it has no chance to come back against United.

45th +3: Goal Arsenal 3-1

Walcott runs onto Rosicky's pass deep in the box and shoots through the legs of De Gea. That came from nowhere, and it looked like De Gea and the United defense fell asleep.

Arsenal has some hope, but only some.

41st: Goal - 3-0 Manchester United

Jenkinson gives away a free kick at the edge of Arsenal's box, and he gets a yellow card for it. Rooney scores with a curling shot to the near post. Nice shot, but that was too easy.

37th: Arshavin shoots way over, to the delight of the Old Trafford crowd. That's all Arsenal can generate now: hopeful long-distance shots.

35th: Welbeck pulls up with what's clearly a hamstring issue. He probably won't be able to continue. He played well in his 35 minutes. His constant runs stretched Arsenal's defense, and he took his chance well.

Chicharito comes on to replace him.

31st: A chance for Arsenal. Arshavin shoots low from long distance. De Gea saves van Persie's rebound shot. De Gea is having a nice game.

On the other end, Welbeck heads wide after a nice counter-attack and cross from Rooney. United is running rampant here. Arsenal looks like a bottom-half team.

28th: Goal - 2-0 Manchester United

Ashley Young curls one in from way outside the box. That was pretty. That looked like Thierry Henry in his prime. Beautiful.

United is in full control. Arsenal is in trouble, and not just today.

27th: Penalty saved

Van Persie shoots low and to his left. De Gea saves easily. Poor effort from van Persie. He might be feeling the added pressure.

Arsenal still hasn't scored in the new Premiership season.

26th: Penalty - Arsenal

Walcott earns a penalty out of nowhere. He falls down under the challenge of Jonathan Evans. That's a soft penalty.

24th: Smalling shoots just wide from the right channel inside the box. He should have scored. Replays showed he was offside, though. United is dominating now.

22nd: Goal 1-0 Manchester United

Anderson scoops the ball over the top for Welbeck, who shrugs off the shoulder challenges of a few Arsenal defenders and heads home for a goal. Welbeck showed determination there, but that was poor defending.

18th: Arsenal enjoys a nice, long spell of possession. They kick it around outside the United box for a while before Rosicky earns a corner with a deflected shot. The corner amounts to nothing.

13th: The TV commentator just said Arsenal has collected 13 points from its last 13 Premiership games. I knew last year ended badly, and I knew this season has started poorly, but I didn't realize it was that bad. That's relegation form.

10th: Referee Howard Webb waves off United's penalty appeal. Young drew contact in the box, but it was legal shoulder-to-shoulder stuff. Webb got that one right.

Arsenal can't get in the game. United is running straight at Arsenal's defense and playing through balls behind them. Vermaelen's absence is being felt. The midfield belongs to United, which is bullying Arsenal's inexperienced players and taking advantage of all the open space.

It could be a long day for Arsenal.

7th: Danny Welbeck runs onto a ball from Young inside the Arsenal box …

… and shoots way wide. He should have done a little better with that. Chicharito would have.

3rd minute: United wastes an early chance as Cleverley shoots wide from just outside the Arsenal box.

Arsenal, meanwhile, looks unlike Arsenal in more than one way. More than half of the starting players are unknowns, and the Gunners are wearing their new, goofy blue away kit. Ick.

Lineups:

Manchester United: De Gea, Evans, Jones, Evra, Smalling, Anderson, Cleverley, Young, Nani, Rooney, Welbeck

Arsenal: Szczesny, Koscielny, Djourou, Traore, Jenkinson, Ramsey, Coquelin, Rosicky, Arshavin, Walcott, van Persie

Thoughts: This is the Premier League, right? Both teams look like they're fielding squads for the Carling Cup. After two games, Arsenal is already missing a bunch of players. Gervinho is suspended, and Vermaelen is injured. And where are Cesc and Nasri? Just joking …

For Man U, Alex Ferguson has left a bunch of experience on the bench. Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs, Dimitar Berbatov, Ji-Sung Park, Fabio and Chicharito are all riding the bench. As for the starting lineup, it's not the seven-defender squad that beat Arsenal last year, but it's nearly just as odd.

By the way, United has won six of the last seven meetings between the teams. All-time at Manchester United, the hosts hold a 59-17-25 edge.