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JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Toni Kroos scored a wonder goal straight from a corner as Real Madrid beat Valencia 3-1 on Wednesday to reach the final of the controversial Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia. 

Kroos caught Valencia goalkeeper Jaume Domenech napping with a brilliant, instinctive strike before Isco made it two and Luka Modric added a classy third from a curling finish with the outside of his foot. 

After two superb goals, the only shame was more fans were not there to see them given the King Abdullah Sports City stadium appeared only a little more than half full. 

The official attendance was given as 40,877 out of a capacity of 62,345.

Dani Parejo scored a late Valencia penalty but Madrid advance to Sunday’s final where they will meet either Barcelona or Atletico Madrid. 

“I’m happy with the whole performance,” said Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane. 

“For the goal of Isco, because maybe he needed that, the genius of Kroos and then something that only Modric can do. But it is a semifinal, we haven’t won anything yet.”

Barca coach Ernesto Valverde had said earlier on Wednesday that he preferred the traditional format of this competition, that pitted the La Liga champions against the winners of the Copa del Rey in a match in Spain in August. 

Under those rules, Real Madrid, who finished third in the league last term and failed to reach the final of the cup would not even have qualified but they now have the chance to win their first trophy of the season, possibly against Barca in a Clasico final. 

But it is the new location that has grated most, because of the lack of consideration for Spanish fans and the implications of associating with a country that has been heavily criticised for its treatment of women and record over human rights. 

In one of the more unusual aspects of the night, a giant banner of the King and Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia were hung in the centre of the pitch during half-time. 

Long unbeaten run

Either side of the interval, Real Madrid were too strong, extending their unbeaten run to 15 matches with another performance to suggest they are La Liga’s form team ahead of the second half of the season. 

Valencia had to cope without star player Rodrigo Moreno due to a knee injury while Madrid were also without their own top scorer in Karim Benzema, who has a hamstring strain, as well as Gareth Bale, who has a throat infection.

Zidane did not rule out Bale joining up with the squad for the final but said the Welshman has not trained all week.

In their absence, Kroos stepped up with a goal of which both Benzema and Bale would have been proud. 

Madrid won the corner in the 15th minute and with Domenech out of his goal, instructing Francis Coquelin, Kroos nipped around the flag and bent the ball towards the net.

Domenech saw it coming but too late, and he could only succeed in punching the ball into the inside of his own goal.

Valencia wanted a penalty when Casemiro nudged Carlos Soler in the back and Kevin Gameiro should have done better than blast over after he did well to wriggle through. 

But Madrid were the dominant force and Isco doubled the lead before the break. Fede Valverde pulled back for Modric and while his shot was blocked, Isco fired in the follow-up. 

Luka Jovic’s struggles continued as he struck the post from close range before Modric added a final flourish, selling Gabriel Paulista with a stepover left before guiding the ball into the far corner with the outside of his right foot. 

Sergio Ramos handballed late on and Parejo scored the penalty but for Valencia, the game was already up. 

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom — Pep Guardiola warned Manchester City of Manchester United’s powers of recovery after his side outclassed their city rivals 3-1 at Old Trafford to put one foot in the League Cup final.

The holders were rampant before the break as Bernardo Silva’s wonder strike, Riyad Mahrez’s cool finish and an own goal from Andreas Pereira put City well on course for a third straight final.

United’s captain for the evening Marcus Rashford restored some pride for the hosts to reduce the deficit 20 minutes from time, but they face a huge task when the sides meet again for the semi-final, second leg on January 29.

However, Guardiola remains wary after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men recovered from losing 2-0 at home to Paris Saint-Germain in last season’s Champions League last 16 to progress.

“It’s a good result, but it is not over because it is United,” Guardiola told Sky Sports.

“Last season is a good example against PSG. Hopefully in front of our fans we can make a good game and reach the final.”

United have shown their ability to win at the Etihad already this season as they tore City apart on the counterattack to shock the Premier League champions on home soil just a month ago.

But City restored their recent dominance of this fixture with a third consecutive win at Old Trafford and a fourth in five away derbies since Guardiola took charge.

The Catalan responded to the problems United posed his side last time out by deploying an extra midfielder with both City strikers Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus left on the bench.

Guardiola’s tactical plan worked to perfection as a fluid front four of Silva, Mahrez, Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne were too fleet of foot and thought for a United defence without the injured Harry Maguire.

“I enjoyed it a lot, especially because it worked,” said Silva. “I think the first half was the perfect 45 minutes, we could even have gone to half-time winning four or five because we missed a few chances.”

The Portuguese international was back to his best and opened the floodgates by smashing a shot into the top corner from outside the box on 17 minutes.

Silva turned creator for City’s second as one pass split the United defence and Mahrez rounded David de Gea to slot into an empty net.

Five minutes later it was 3-0 as De Bruyne left Phil Jones flat on the ground before his powerful shot was parried by De Gea into the path of the unfortunate Pereira, who could only turn the ball into his own goal.

“After they scored we did not cope with that setback well enough,” admitted Solskjaer.

Only a brilliant save from De Gea to deny Silva a second and Sterling’s miss from a inviting Kyle Walker cross prevented the scoreline from becoming even more embarrassing for United before the break.

“We just did not recover from those goals until half-time when we could get into their heads a little bit and we did better second half,” added Solskjaer.

City eased up after the break and United grabbed a lifeline when they finally caught the visitors cold on the break as Mason Greenwood teed up Rashford to calmly slot into the far corner for his 17th goal of the season.

There was no late rally from the Red Devils to further cut City’s advantage, leaving Solskjaer hoping for a repeat of the miracle in Paris that landed him the United job on a permanent basis last March.

“We’ve just got to believe when we go to the Etihad and put a performance on,” said the Norwegian.

MILAN — Romelu Lukaku scored twice as Inter Milan held on to top spot in Serie A on Monday with a 3-1 win over Napoli to keep the pressure on Juventus, who earlier swept past Cagliari with Cristiano Ronaldo netting his first hat-trick in the Italian top flight.

Antonio Conte’s Inter ended their 23-year wait for a league win in Naples to stay in pole position, level on points with Juventus after 18 games, but ahead on goal difference.

Lazio are third, six points adrift, but with a game in hand, after stretching their winning run in the league to nine matches on Sunday with a 2-1 victory over Brescia. 

“It’s an important victory, winning away to Napoli is never easy,” said Conte after his 100th Serie A win as a coach but first in Naples. 

“Napoli have in recent years always been behind Juventus, while Inter was a long way back. This year we have reduced the gap.”

Inter’s three goals all came from mistakes from Napoli, runners-up the past two seasons but only eighth this term.

Lukaku broke through on 14 minutes with a powerful solo run through the Napoli defence, with goalkeeper Alex Meret fumbling the second into goal in the 33rd minute.

Polish striker Arkadiusz Milik pulled a goal back for Napoli four minutes before the break.

But Lautaro Martinez added the third after the hour mark, following another mix-up in the Napoli defence, to give Inter their first win at the Stadio San Paolo since October 1997.

“We made lots of mistakes and scored three goals on our own,” said Napoli coach Gennaro Gattuso.

“The lads are worried because they are used to challenging for the Scudetto and this year it’s like this.”

In Turin, Ronaldo struck for the fifth consecutive league game as the champions bounced back from their Italian Super Cup defeat by Lazio.

“Amazing feeling to kick off 2020 with a hat-trick and a victory,” tweeted Ronaldo, who brought his league tally to 13 goals.

Ronaldo, 34, broke the deadlock just after the interval.

The Portuguese striker added a second from the penalty spot on 67 minutes then set up substitute Gonzalo Higuain nine minutes from time, before completing his hat-trick a minute later.

Ibrahimovic overshadowed

Lukaku and Ronaldo’s goals overshadowed Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s return for AC Milan as the Swedish star came off the bench in the 55th minute in a goalless draw against Sampdoria.

The 38-year-old had not played since leaving MLS side LA Galaxy in October.

He came on for Poland striker Krzysztof Piatek to deafening applause from the San Siro crowd after rejoining the club last week.

But there was little else to cheer for the hosts who extended their winless run to three games and remain 12th in the table.

“I felt a lot of adrenaline, emotion, it brought me back nine or 10 years,” said Ibrahimovic, who was top scorer in Serie A with Milan in the 2011-12 campaign before leaving for Paris Saint-Germain.

“I wanted to get on the pitch, score a goal and then celebrate like a God in front of the Curva! But it will happen next time.”

The seven-time European champions are 13 points off Champions League qualification, a competition they have not played since the 2013-14 season.

Five-star Atalanta

Milan coach Stefano Pioli said the team were still reeling from their 5-0 defeat by Atalanta last time out.

“The disastrous defeat in Bergamo has remained within us,” said Pioli. “It is a shame not to have won. Ibra’s impact was absolutely positive.

“He immediately gave support, but the team is not yet used to his presence, we could look to him more.”

Atalanta continued their fine form, closing to within a point of fourth-placed Roma, who lost 2-0 to Torino on Sunday, with another 5-0 rout, this time of seventh-placed Parma.

Atalanta were already three goals up before the break thanks to Papu Gomez, Remo Freuler and Robin Gosens, with Josip Ilicic adding a second-half double.

LIVERPOOL — Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti is planning an immediate inquest into his side’s embarrassing FA Cup defeat against Liverpool’s youngsters.

Ancelotti’s team wasted a golden opportunity to win at Anfield for the first time since 1999 as 18-year-old Curtis Jones fired Liverpool to a 1-0 win in the third round on Sunday.

Liverpool-born Jones, 18, is a graduate of Liverpool’s youth academy and he was joined by four other raw rookies in Jurgen Klopp’s line-up.

Klopp made nine changes, fielding a starting line-up which cost £43.9 million, while Everton’s team cost in the region of £222 million.

Ancelotti had sent out a virtually full-strength team, but they wasted a host of chances in the first half before surrendering limply after the break.

Everton are without a win against Liverpool since 2010, making this a bitter first taste of the Merseyside derby for former Napoli boss Ancelotti, who is ready to discuss the tame display with his players.

“I am not used to speaking to the players after the game but I am going to speak to them about this,” Ancelotti said.

“I think in the second half we were not able to keep the right ideas on the pitch as we did in the first half, when we had the opportunity to score.”

“The fact we didn’t score in the first half affected the performance in the second half, which was not good enough.”

It was suggested to Ancelotti that Everton had a mental block when it came to games at Anfield, but he said it was a matter of losing intensity in the second half.

“The line-up of Liverpool didn’t affect our idea. It was to play a good game. We knew Liverpool would put fresh players in and the intensity could be high,” Ancelotti said.

“The defeat arrived because we were not able to keep a high intensity in the second. We lost energy and confidence.”

After a performance which former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher described as the worst derby display at Anfield in 35 years, the difficult situation Ancelotti has inherited was laid bare.

“We are going to speak all together and find a solution to try to improve the team,” Ancelotti said of potential moves in the transfer window.

Meanwhile, Klopp was delighted as his decision to rest the majority of his injury-hit squad paid rich dividends.

The runaway Premier League leaders look well set for the future judging by the youngsters’ vibrant effort and Klopp said: “I saw a sensationally good performance from a not-very-experienced team.”

“A lot of players were for the first time playing on this stage in front of this crowd and this type of opponent. It was outstanding. I loved each second of the game.”

Taking a swipe at pundits who said his selection disrespected the Cup, Klopp added: “We never take the cup for granted.

“I would love to see a few people and ask them what they thought about the line-up, and all these bad things about me and the FA Cup and no respect.”

LOS ANGELES — Terry Rozier drained the go-ahead three-pointer in overtime as the Charlotte Hornets withstood a triple-double from Dallas star Luka Doncic to beat the Mavericks 123-120 on Saturday.

Rozier’s 29 points included the trey that put Charlotte up for good with 41.9 seconds left in the extra session, as well as a driving basket to send the game to overtime.

Devonte Graham added 27 points and 13 assists for the Hornets.

Doncic set a Mavericks record with his 10th triple-double of the season, scoring 39 points with 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

But the Slovenian star missed two three-pointers and coughed up a turnover late in regulation as the Mavs — who trailed by 20 in the first half — squandered a 12-point fourth-quarter lead.

“I didn’t make great decisions,” Doncic, last season’s Rookie of the Year, admitted after the Mavs let another late-game lead get away. “Terrible decisions. I’ve got to do better.

“We could have won it, but I made terrible decisions.”

It was just one of the upsets on a day that saw the Memphis Grizzlies shock the Clippers in Los Angeles 140-114 and the Washington Wizards topple the Denver Nuggets 128-114.

Evergreen Vince Carter made NBA history in Atlanta, becoming the first player to compete in the league in four different decades in the Hawks’ 116-111 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

Carter received a standing ovation when he checked into the contest at 6:30 of the first quarter.

Drafted in 1998, Carter brought “Vinsanity” to Toronto with his high-flying exploits, earning eight All-Star appearances along with an Olympic gold medal.

The 42-year-old, who agreed to a one-year contract in August to play in his 22nd NBA season, scored three points and grabbed three rebounds on Saturday for Atlanta, who were led by the 41 points of Trae Young — the 21-year-old who was born the year Carter was drafted.

Kevin Huerter added a season-high 26 points for the struggling Hawks, who squandered a 22-point lead but battled back to secure just their eighth win of the season.

In Washington, it was the Wizards reserves who came up big in an upset of another elite team.

Led by a career-high 32 points from Ish Smith, the Washington Bench scored a combined 92 points in the win over a Nuggets team tied with Houston for second in the Western Conference.

Troy Brown chipped in 25 with 14 rebounds for the Wizards, who are 12th in the East but knocked off third-placed Miami on Monday.

“Ish was amazing tonight,” Brown said of his teammate who scored 13 points in the fourth quarter — and 23 of the Wizards’ 67 in the second half.

“It was crazy. It was ridiculous,” Brown said. “It was literally like ‘Give Ish the ball and get out the way.’”

‘Faster, quicker, tougher’

Clippers coach Doc Rivers blamed attitude, not injury absences, in his team’s loss to the lowly Grizzlies.

“They were faster, quicker, they played harder,” Rivers said. “They were clearly the tougher team. Honestly, they deserved to win the game.”

With Paul George sitting out because tightness in his left hamstring and Patrick Beverley missing a third straight game with a sore wrist, Rivers said the rest of the Clippers failed to step up.

“I just think we came to the game today, we showed up and thought we were just going to win and we got our butt kicked — and we deserved to,” Rivers said.

There were no surprises in Milwaukee, where reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 32 points and the Bucks improved their league-leading record to 32-5 with a 127-118 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

Milwaukee’s Brook Lopez blocked seven shots — thwarting Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan on both a dunk and a layup on the same possession in the third quarter as the Bucks began to pull away.

MILAN — Zlatan Ibrahimovic has vowed to kick-start struggling AC Milan’s Serie A season as their local rivals Inter Milan recommence a title battle with Juventus this weekend after the end of the winter break.

Milan play host to Sampdoria on Monday, their first game since the humiliating 5-0 goal defeat to Atalanta last month which sparked Ibrahimovic’s return.

“I’m ready and I really hope I can play,” said the 38-year-old Ibrahimovic as he returned to Milan nine years after his departure for Paris Saint-Germain.

“Things need to be improved on the pitch and that’s why I’m here. I know what I have to do, Zlatan is still here.”

Seven-time European champions Milan are 11th in the table, 14 points off the Champions League places and just seven points clear of the relegation zone.

By contrast Inter are challenging champions Juventus’ hegemony at the top of Serie A, with both sides level on 42 points after 17 games.

Antonio Conte’s Inter travel to Napoli, while Juve are at home against sixth-placed Cagliari, this season’s surprise package who are well in the hunt for Champions League football.

Inter Milan have not won at Napoli’s Stadio San Paolo since October 1997, but last season’s runners-up are eighth this term, with Gennaro Gattuso replacing Carlo Ancelotti last month.

“Inter have been strong in previous years but they have improved even more under Conte,” said Napoli defender Mario Rui.

“They will make us suffer, but we are ready.”

Juventus return to action after their Italian Super Cup defeat to Lazio against a Cagliari side that had been in impressive form before back-to-back losses.

Meanwhile red-hot Lazio, six points behind in third with a game in hand, are looking increasingly dangerous.

Simone Inzaghi’s side, who have not lost since their 1-0 defeat to Inter in late September, can push their league winning streak to nine games against relegation-threatened Brescia.

The Roman side have scored two goals or more in each of their last 11 league games since that Inter defeat, the first team to achieve that feat since the legendary “Grande Torino” side back in 1948.

One point behind Lazio in fourth are capital city rivals Roma, who host Torino amid takeover talks with US billionaire Dan Friedkin.

Fiorentina and Genoa start the calendar year with new coaches.

Giuseppe Iachini’s first game with 15th-placed Fiorentina will be at Bologna, a team they are unbeaten against in 10 games.

Bottom club Genoa have brought in reinforcements for Davide Nicola’s first game against Sassuolo.

Italy goalkeeper Mattia Perin returns from Juventus along with Swiss midfielder Valon Behrami and Bologna striker Mattia Destro.

One to watch:

As veteran Ibrahimovic prepares to start for AC Milan, fellow Swede Dejan Kulusevski, 19, returns to Parma on loan after signing a five-year deal with champions Juventus.

The promising teenager has had a breakthrough season since going on loan from Atalanta to Parma in June, scoring four goals and setting up another seven in 17 games. He will be up against his parent club this weekend.

“I’ve heard great things about Kulusevski,” said Ibrahimovic of the player who has more to Juve in a deal worth nearly 44 million euros ($49 million).

LONDON — Manchester United were in full support of the decision that led to Paul Pogba undergoing ankle surgery, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said on Friday.

The Norwegian boss appeared to suggest after the New Year’s Day defeat to Arsenal that Pogba’s “people” had recommended the surgery, raising questions over how much input the club had in the decision.

The French World Cup winner made his comeback after nearly three months out with an ankle injury in a 2-0 defeat at Watford on December 22, and also made an appearance off the bench in a 4-1 thrashing of Newcastle four days later but has since been sidelined again.

Speculation continues to surround the 26-year-old, who has been regularly linked with a move away from Old Trafford and whose agent, Mino Raiola, has been scathing about the club in comments made in the Italian media.

But Solskjaer was keen to play down any suggestion of a disagreement regarding the injury, and said: “Paul came back after a long spell out, [featured in] a few games, had a reaction, didn’t go to Burnley.

“He felt his ankle was sore, we did a scan. It’s not the same injury, it’s a different injury. Of course when you get that scan you consult your own medical people as well, like I did. He wanted a second opinion and the advice was to have it done.”

On the injury, Solskjaer added: “It’s not a major one and probably, as I said, three or four weeks.

When asked again about why he had suggested it was Pogba’s “people” behind the decision to undergo surgery, he added: “As in when you consult your surgeon and the ones you trust.

“That’s maybe my bad English — you have people you trust and you speak to. When I had my injuries, knee operations, I had my people in Norway and Sweden that I spoke to and Paul obviously has people as well that he trusts, and that’s important.”

Wolves FA Cup test

Solskjaer’s team face Wolves in the FA Cup third round at Molineux on Saturday, having been dumped out of the competition by them in the quarter-finals last season.

“They’re not going to make it easy for us,” he said.

“It’s the fourth time at Molineux since I’ve been here and we haven’t won yet. Liverpool lost there last season, City have just lost there so we have got to earn the right to win there. We’ve got to perform and go there positive.

“We want a reaction after the defeat against Arsenal, which everyone says was such a bad, bad performance. But in my mind it was a good game by two good footballing teams.”

Eighteen-year-old Mason Greenwood, who started and scored in the Boxing Day win at home to Newcastle and came off the bench at Arsenal, could be in contention.

“He’s grown a lot. He’s mentally and physically more robust which of course you expect from an 18-year-old,” Solskjaer said.

“He’s had more or less 12 months with us now and he’s grown fantastically, his confidence and performances in the top games. He’s played a lot of cup games and done well.”

Solskjaer also confirmed that reserve goalkeeper Sergio Romero would play at Molineux.

MILAN — Zlatan Ibrahimovic warned on Friday he was not back at AC Milan just to act as a mascot and immediately got off the mark for his new club by scoring in a friendly against a local lower league side.

“I’m ready, I feel more than alive, I hope to play immediately,” the 38-year-old told a press conference in Milan before scoring and setting up another in a 9-0 friendly win later in the day over fifth-division Rhodense. 

“I’m not here as a mascot. I’m looking for the last bit of adrenaline I might have. At my age you’re not looking for anything else but a challenge.

“I have not lost my passion for what I do.”

Ibrahimovic has signed a six-month contract worth 3.5 million euros ($3.9 million) with the option for an additional season, seven years after he left Milan for Paris Saint-Germain. 

Hundreds of fans waited outside the club’s Casa Milan headquarters to catch a glimpse of the returning hero who helped the fallen Italian giants win their 18th and last Serie A title in 2011.

He greeted them holding the number 21 jersey aloft, having worn the number 11 during his previous spell at the club.

“I got more requests now than when I was 28,” said Ibrahimovic, who parted company with MLS side Los Angeles Galaxy in October. 

“I wanted adrenaline and at Milan you can’t say no. It’s a club I love, in 2012 I didn’t want to leave.”

His first league game could be against Sampdoria on Monday at the San Siro.

“I want to feel the grass and the atmosphere of the stadium, if they boo the adrenaline will increase, and at the end of the game they will applaud.”

Ibrahimovic scored 56 goals in 85 appearances in his first spell at Milan, and scored more Serie A goals for the club (42) than anyone else in the last decade.

‘Make the difference’

One of the most successful clubs in the world, the seven-times European champions languish 11th in the Serie A table, 14 points away from Champions League football and just seven away from the relegation zone.

Club legend Paolo Maldini contacted the Swede after he left LA Galaxy and the calls intensified after a 5-0 loss to Atalanta, their heaviest defeat in 21 years.

“After Atalanta I got lots and lots of calls, it wasn’t a difficult decision in the end,” continued Ibrahimovic.

Ibrahimovic said that going to the United States after his career-threatening knee injury at Manchester United had refuelled his passion.

“A year ago [former AC Milan sporting director] Leonardo had looked for me, but I still didn’t feel ready to make a difference in Italy. 

“I only had one MLS championship in my legs after the injury. Now I feel alive, more than alive,” continued the Swede, who scored 53 goals in 58 games for LA Galaxy.

“Things need to be improved on the pitch and that’s why I’m here. 

“I know perfectly well that I can’t play like when I was 28 or 35, but smart players know how to manage themselves — you can run less and shoot more from 40 metres.”

Milan chief football officer Zvonimir Boban warned that the club would not just be counting on Ibrahimovic.

“We must not hide behind the broad shoulders of Zlatan Ibrahimovic,” said Boban. 

“We hope the course of the season will change and are optimistic about the effect he will have on the team, but we need results.”

LONDON — Mikel Arteta got everything he asked for in his first win as Arsenal manager with a rampant first 45 minutes from the Gunners earning a 2-0 victory over Manchester United at the Emirates.

Nicolas Pepe and Sokratis Papastathopoulos scored the goals to secure just a second win in 16 games.

Arsenal started the game three times as many points off the top four as the relegation zone, but a first home win in 87 days hauls Arteta’s men up to 10th and within four points of United in fifth.

“I am very pleased with the performance, I’m even more pleased with the result,” said Arteta after his third game in charge. “Everything I wanted to see on the pitch, I saw tonight.”

There were signs of encouragement for Arsenal in Arteta’s home debut against Chelsea on Sunday when only a late collapse saw a 1-0 lead turn into a 2-1 defeat.

However, this time the hosts saw the game through as a dismal United performance raised fresh questions over their chances of finishing in the top four.

“At the moment we are suffering to maintain that level of intensity of the first halves,” added Arteta.

“That will come, but as well I really liked the resilience they showed. I liked to see them suffer together.”

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men were again shorn of Paul Pogba, who faces another month out after an operation on a troublesome ankle injury that has kept him out for the majority of the season.

Pogba’s absence is still evident in United’s inability to create when denied the chance to counter-attack and they failed to recover after falling behind early on.

“After they scored the first goal, it seemed like they got loads of energy,” said Solskjaer.

“They were the better team. They were aggressive, they regained the ball and it was hard to get the ball off them.”

For the first time Arsenal started with all of Pepe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Mesut Ozil together in attack and Arteta’s bold choice paid dividends eight minutes in.

Pepe scored just his second Premier League goal from open play since a £72 million move from Lille when he swept home Sead Kolasinac’s cross at the back post.

The Ivorian was suddenly brimming with confidence as he twisted and turned Luke Shaw before crossing for Aubameyang to volley just over.

Lacazette then rolled Harry Maguire easily in a night to forget for the world’s most expensive defender before pulling his shot across goal.

David de Gea is another of United’s more experienced stars suffering an alarming dip in form and a poor clearance from the Spaniard offered another sight of goal to Pepe, whose long-range strike came back off the post.

Arsenal’s first half dominance was rewarded with a second goal before the half-time interval as De Gea could only palm Lacazette’s header from a corner back into the danger area and Sokratis pounced to fire into the roof of the net.

As the hosts’ energy levels dipped from a frantic first 45 minutes, United were allowed to dictate the game but did not have the guile to make their possession count.

Andreas Pereira had the best chance to give United a lifeline but fired into the side-netting from Nemanja Matic’s clever reverse pass.

“We have to be honest and admit physically we are not ready, but you have to show heart and this team is ready to change a lot of things,” said Arsenal defender David Luiz. 

LOS ANGELES — Giannis Antetokounmpo, who missed two games with a back injury, tallied 23 points and 10 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks breezed to a 123-102 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Monday.

Khris Middleton scored a team-high 25 points and Eric Bledsoe scored 15 points in his return from a leg injury for the first place Bucks, who won their third consecutive game.

Reigning NBA MVP Antetokounmpo had missed the previous two games because of back soreness, while Bledsoe had not played since December 13.

Antetokounmpo, the league’s second-leading scorer with an average of 30.5 points per game, played just 27 minutes and sat out the final five because of the one-sided margin.

“We won 30 games before January; It’s cool, but we can always do better,” Antetokounmpo said of the Bucks who have the best record in the league at 30-5. “We’ve got to keep improving because the goal is to play late in the season.”

Bulls guard Zach LaVine scored a team-high 19 points, Lauri Markkanen added 18 points and Wendell Carter finished with a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Milwaukee shot a superb 71 per cent from the field in the third quarter, putting the game out of reach by outscoring the Bulls 40-25 to increase their lead to 95-77. 

Bucks guard Wesley Matthews sat out with a bruised right thigh.

“He’s been playing through it and I think it’s at a stage where him not playing is the right move,” coach Mike Budenholzer said. “Hopefully, it’s just a short-term thing.”

Elsewhere, Jordan McRae scored 29 points as the short-handed Washington Wizards snapped the Miami Heat’s five-game winning streak with a 123-105 win.

Garrison Mathews scored 28 and Ian Mahinmi added a career-high 25 points for the Wizards.

Jimmy Butler scored 27 points, and Bam Adebayo added 14 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for the Heat, who had been riding the league’s longest win streak. 

Mathews scored 20 points in the second quarter for the Wizards who entered the game having lost nine of 11.

Washington were missing seven players due to injuries, including two-time all-star shooting guard Bradley Beal, who is out with a sore right knee. Beal leads the team in scoring (27.8 points) and assists (6.7). 

Beal had played 194 straight games before missing the past two contests. 

The Wizards also played without John Wall (foot), Davis Bertans (quad), starting centre Thomas Bryant (foot), rookie Rui Hachimura (groin), C.J. Miles (wrist) and Moritz Wagner (ankle). 

In Minneapolis, Shabazz Napier scored eight of his season-high 24 points in overtime as the Minnesota Timberwolves ended a nine-game home losing skid with a 122-115 win over the Brooklyn Nets.