It was an occasion when Manchester United demonstrated a remorseless edge in front of goal and yet could count the goalkeeper, David de Gea, as their most influential player. And it was one in which the joy of a first Premier League away win over a big six rival under José Mourinho was undercut by a senseless red card for Paul Pogba.

What a mixed bag it was for the France midfielder. He had set up Antonio Valencia’s opening goal and strutted about the Emirates as though he owned the place. But on 74 minutes he lunged at Héctor Bellerín and planted his studs into the Arsenal defender’s leg. It drew the inevitable censure and the kicker is that Pogba will be suspended for next Sunday’s Manchester derby.

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Arsenal played a full part in a richly entertaining spectacle and they will wonder how they emerged with nothing. There were two principle reasons: the re-emergence of their defensive frailties, and De Gea. Arsenal rained 33 shots at the Spaniard’s goal, with 15 of them on target, but their only reward was Alexandre Lacazette’s close-range finish early in the second half to make it 2-1.

At that point, Arsenal looked set fair for the equaliser. But De Gea, who had made a string of excellent first-half saves, kept his best until last. His double stop to keep out Lacazette and Alexis Sánchez drew a sharp intake of breath. He finished with 14 saves, equalling a Premier League record. Is there even a question about his current pre-eminence in English football?

Jesse Lingard promptly added his second and United’s third on the counterattack and it was impossible to ignore the contrast in the attacking statistics. The visitors’ three goals came from four shots on target.

Arsenal had entered on a roll, their confidence pepped by the derby victory over Tottenham Hotspur and a feeling that they had located their groove – particularly on home turf. Theirs was a performance of vim and vigour but no team can offer such presents and expect to emerge unscathed.

The first was gift-wrapped by Laurent Koscielny. His floated cross-field pass for Sead Kolasinac was intercepted by Valencia and he moved it on to Pogba. Everyone in red was drawn to the midfielder – an illustration of the fear factor that has built around him – and, when he popped it back to Valencia, the defender had the time and space to shoot low through Petr Cech’s legs.

United had scored only once in seven previous away games under Mourinho against big six clubs but here they were two up after 11 minutes. This time, Shkodran Mustafi was the Arsenal villain. Receiving possession as the last defender, he dawdled and was robbed by Lingard. The ball broke to Romelu Lukaku, who found Anthony Martial and his wonderful flick ushered in Lingard, who guided a first-time finish inside the far corner.

To add to their problem, Mustafi felt Lingard’s challenge and was forced off. “I don’t know what he has,” Arsène Wenger said waspishly when asked about Mustafi. “I don’t know what is wrong with him at all.”

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Wenger sent on Alex Iwobi, switched to 4-2-3-1 and almost immediately the flow of the game changed. It was a minor miracle how Arsenal did not score before the interval but De Gea refused to be beaten. Two of his first-half saves stood out. He managed to smuggle Lacazette’s close-range shot up and on to the crossbar – Granit Xhaka curled the rebound inches wide – while he pawed the ball away from the line after Sánchez’s free-kick had ricocheted off Lukaku.

Arsenal did not get the breaks but the crowd stayed with them and their belief did not drop. Eventually they got their reward when Aaron Ramsey touched back Mesut Özil’s cross and as United stopped and prayed for a flag, Lacazette shot past De Gea. Game on.

The outstanding Lingard hit a post on the break in the 52nd minute but it was Arsenal who looked the likelier scorer of the next goal. De Gea had other ideas. He had saved smartly from Iwobi before he threw out a hand to deny Lacazette and followed up by saving with his feet from Sánchez.

United’s third was another horror show for Arsenal and, once again, Koscielny was implicated. He seemed to have Pogba under control only to be tricked and out-muscled by him on the touchline. Pogba crossed, Lingard tapped in.

Pogba would feel the red mist descend and there was still time for the referee, Andre Marriner, to wave away strong penalty appeals from the Arsenal substitute, Danny Welbeck, and Lacazette. Mourinho raged when Marriner chose only to caution Koscielny rather than dismiss him for a last-man foul on Lukaku. It was the game of the season, so far. When the dust settled, it was United who could smile.