De Gea's miraculous saves power United to extraordinary win vs. Arsenal

David De Gea's status as the Premier League's best goalkeeper has never been more certain.

The acrobatic shot-stopper produced 14 saves Saturday - many of them outstanding - as Manchester United's counter-attack eviscerated Arsenal in a wild 3-1 win at the Emirates Stadium.

Labelled the match of the season on social media, the late-afternoon contest featured a little bit of everything: devastating goals, fantastic individual plays, a red card, and some refereeing controversy.

But De Ge's heroics stole the show. No other goalkeeper in Premier League history has ever made more saves in a single game.

With an expected goal tally of 4.6, Arsenal may have deserved a better fate. The Gunners fired 33 shots in total, hitting the crossbar once.

Throughout the shelling, De Gea was the epitome of cool. He relied solely on his instincts to make the majority of his saves, as many shots arrived with little time to react.

"I told him after the match: What I saw today was the best from a goalkeeper in the world," United manager Jose Mourinho told the BBC. "You need the 'keeper to be there for you when the team needs (it)."

Arsenal went on the all-out attack after conceding two preventable goals within the first 11 minutes. Laurent Koscielny's giveaway led to Antonio Valencia's swift opener, and Shkodran Mustafi's lollygagging on the ball allowed United to pounce and Jesse Lingard to score.

United's pressing forced Arsenal into uncomfortable positions in the first half, but the visitor's intensity slowly dissipated as the host took control of possession.

When Mustafi went off with an apparent injury, manager Arsene Wenger reverted to a back-four. And off his team went.

Alexandre Lacazette gave Arsenal hopes of a comeback in the 49th minute, popping an unstoppable shot past De Gea to end his bid for a clean sheet.

United withstood round after round of shots until Alexis Sanchez's wayward backheel pass led to yet another counter-attack. Lingard bagged his second goal seconds later.

Paul Pogba was then sent off for a stamp on Hector Bellerin, and two penalty appeals were waved away by referee Andre Marriner.

It was not to be Arsenal's day.

The Red Devils held on for a sensational victory that provisionally put them within five points of Manchester City atop the Premier League table.