A bizarre own goal from defender Kieran Gibbs, who had clattered into goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, which forced him off with a hip problem, on 56 minutes turned the momentum for United, with captain Wayne Rooney clipping home a late second on the break.

Although Olivier Giroud, back from three months out with a broken foot, reduced the deficit with a 20-yard drive in stoppage-time, there was to be no grandstand finale to prevent Arsenal slipping to a second straight Premier League defeat.

While the Gunners are down in eighth, United moved up to fourth place.

Smalling feels the Red Devils have what it takes to stay there.

“Given the manager and the players we have got, we should be playing better than we are, with more points,” the England defender said.

“But we have a good base now with an away win and now we can go back to Old Trafford and build on that.

“We showed a lot of character, we did not play that well and we will go through the video to see what we could have done better.

“We have two home games coming up, and we need six points, then we can have a look at where we are in the table.”

Asked whether a place in the top four was a realistic target, Smalling replied: “That is always a minimum for this club.”

United’s makeshift backline had been depleted even further after England left-back Luke Shaw limped off with what could prove to be a serious ankle injury, having left the stadium in a protective boot and using crutches.

Smalling, though, believes inexperienced defenders Paddy McNair and Tyler Blackett deserve credit for helping to keep the likes of former United forward Danny Welbeck, Alexis Sanchez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain at bay.

“A lot of our shape was about making sure we were compact, being able to deal with their attack which can sometimes be through three or four players,” said Smalling, who turned 25 on Saturday.

“We had to make sure we were always talking, leading each other along, because if you switch off for any moment, they can nick it, so we just had to deal with each threat that they can bring.”

Arsenal captain Mikel Arteta was left perplexed as to why his side had been unable to convert such a dominant first-half display into a positive result.

“We will have to analyse what we did wrong to lose the game, but if we played 10 times like this against Man United, then we would win nine and draw one,” the Spaniard said.

“The atmosphere the fans created was one of the best we have had here this season.

“They have seen both the quality and the determination which the team played with, so we say sorry, we tried our best, but it was not our day – (next time, the team) just have to put the ball in the net.”

There were, though, signs of a growing discontent in some sections of the Emirates Stadium crowd.

Manchester United substitute Darren Fletcher was involved in a heated exchange with fans behind the opposition bench following the opening goal, when objects were reportedly thrown at the visitors as they celebrated.

A few Arsenal fans, meanwhile, held up A4-sized placards calling for Wenger’s dismissal, which were quickly confiscated by club stewards.

As well as Szczesny’s injury, midfielder Wilshere – who on another day could have been sent off for putting his head into the chest of Marouane Fellaini – is also a doubt for Wednesday night’s Champions League tie against Borussia Dortmund, having been taken off in the second half after turning his ankle.