Arsenal took a huge step towards qualifying for the Champions League by beating Manchester United.
The Gunners followed up their victory over Chelsea to climb above Tottenham into fourth place and ramp up the pressure on Spurs ahead of their game at Brentford later.
The result surely ends any hopes United had of finishing fourth. They are six points behind Arsenal having placed a game more.
Arsenal flew out of the blocks and were ahead after just three minutes when a shot from Saka was tipped away by David de Gea but only to Tavares to tap in his first Arsenal goal.
Bukayo Saka made it 2-0 from the penalty spot on 31 minutes but United pulled a goal back immediately when Cristiano Ronaldo scored from a Nemanja Matic cross.
Bruno Fernandes missed a penalty in the second half before Granit Xhaka hit a blistering shot past De Gea from 25 yards to seal victory for Arsenal at the end of a breathless game at Emirates Stadium.
Commenting on the match, Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick said: “I think we showed an improved performance but in the end a disappointing result.
“I think we bounced back well from the early goal and had numerous chances in both halves to score more goals.
“I thought the weak part of our performance today was we didn’t defend well inside and around our box. I felt there were three very unlucky VAR decisions.
“For me the Arsenal third was clearly offside.
“The second of Cristiano was not offside. We were not very happy with the VAR decisions today. An improved display but a disappointing result.”
The Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta called the victory over ‘Red Devils’, a big surprise.
“A big performance in a game I think had everything.
“Moments where we showed really quality, a game where we had to suffer, a game where there were moments where we were a bit lost and lacking energy, a game where we were really efficient in the boxes, a game where we had luck when we needed it.
“Overall I am extremely happy.” Arteta concluded.