3 takeaways from Arsenal's humbling of Manchester United: The Gunners' ceiling is high

Rejoice, North London.

In a game Arsenal already put out of reach by the time Manchester United woke up, the Gunners produced a 3-0 victory over the Red Devils by tallying three goals in the first 20 minutes.

It was simply a dominant showing, one that'll fuel plenty of talk over the upcoming international break.

Here are three takeaways from the joyous occasion for Arsenal:

Arsenal is capable of so much

The fixture's opening 20 minutes served as an illustration of just how explosive Arsenal can be when everything is clicking. Not only did the Gunners score three times in that span and find the back of the net twice within 74 seconds, they suffocated United, refusing to allow it to settle and taking a two-goal lead before the Red Devils even tasted possession.

Related: Twitter reacts to Arsenal scoring twice in 74 seconds against Manchester United

It was arguably the most dominant stint of football from any Premier League side this season. Arsenal looked like a legitimate title contender and, in fact, may have the highest ceiling of any club in the top flight.

But the question remains: why can't Arsene Wenger's side play like that all the time?

Anyone who has followed Arsenal, even for just this season, is aware the club's start to the match wasn't an accurate reflection of its campaign and is probably already dreading a brutal performance at Vicarage Road in two weeks.

Bastian Schweinsteiger shouldn't have started

It's hard to think of another game in which Bastian Schweinsteiger looked so average.

If there was any indication that the 2014 World Cup winner's career is on the down, this was it.

Schweinsteiger looked like something of a headless chicken for chunks of the contest, giving the ball away when he had it - most notably when Theo Walcott sprinted 30 yards to steal the ball - and failing to win it back while in a defensive position, as Alexis Sanchez and Santi Cazorla took him out of the equation with relative ease.

Louis van Gaal's decision to start Schweinsteiger over Morgan Schneiderlin was questionable at best and criminal at worst.

Playing in a 4-2-3-1 formation, the German midfielder - who inevitably struggles in high-tempo fixtures because of his age - couldn't keep up. Asking him to play in a deep role and to press was a suicidal move on Van Gaal's part.

Ashley Young isn't a full-back

If Van Gaal's decision to start Schweinsteiger seemed puzzling, the Dutch manager's use of Ashley Young was a million times more puzzling.

Positioned at left-back in place of the injured Luke Shaw, Young - who normally plays as an attacking winger - helped pave the way for all three of Arsenal's goals, looking like a bystander each and every time the ball flew past David De Gea.

It's tough to pinpoint why Van Gaal thought it would be a good idea to use Young as a left-back, but the explanation likely lies in Antonio Valencia's display against VfL Wolfsburg in the Champions League on Tuesday.

In that match, Van Gaal did what everyone expected after Shaw's leg snapped in two places, putting Valencia at right-back and moving Matteo Darmian to left-back. However, the Ecuadorian was directly responsible for Wolfsburg's goal, failing to join his teammates in an offside trap.

As a result, it seems fair to assume Valencia was relegated to the bench and Van Gaal afforded the opportunity to Young.