MANCHESTER — Manchester United will be happier with the performance but Arsenal will be delighted with the result, as an end-to-end game played out at Old Trafford.
MORE — Recap, analysis as Arsenal beat Manchester United
Both Ruben Amorim and Mikel Arteta were hoping for a big win to kick-start their new campaign, and Arteta got it. But Amorim will perhaps go home the happier of the two managers given how well his new-look team played.
MORE — Player ratings | Ruben Amorim reaction to loss
Here’s what we learned from an intriguing Manchester United vs Arsenal clash at Old Trafford.
WATCH — Manchester United v Arsenal full match replay
Manchester United impress but miss finishing touch
Aside from a howler from back up goalkeeper Altay Bayindir, this was so much better from United. This is what we expected under Ruben Amorim. Direct play. Wide players dazzling. Fluid movement between the lines. It all worked so well. Until the final moment. Matheus Cunha had a superb game but isn’t a number nine. He will do wonderfully when he moves back slightly deeper to no. 10 underneath Benjamin Sesko. The plan was clearly to ping the ball towards Bryan Mbeumo early and often. It worked. Mbeumo is a menace and is already a fans favorite. Sesko had just under 30 minutes off the bench and his presence opened up space for others and given time the trio of Sesko, Cunha and Mbeumo will click. But it will take time. The main thing for United is they finally look like a cohesive team. They will sort out their goalkeeper situation, find the right balance in midfield and their new star trio up front will gel and create more chances. Even after a defeat the vibes, they are good.
Unfit Gyokeres struggles on debut
Heckled by United’s fans throughout because he chose to join Arsenal instead of them (a backhanded compliment if there was ever one...), it was a tough Premier League debut for Viktor Gyokeres. In the first half he was isolated and drilled a ball out of bounds. That was about it. He looked sluggish and given he’s hardly had a preseason as he was locked in a dispute with Sporting Lisbon over his future, that was understandable. Kai Havertz was readying himself to come on pretty early in the second half so it was obvious Arteta had already had a word with him about that. The expectation levels are high for Gyokeres. Both externally and internally. This was far from a debut to remember. No Arsenal player has scored 20+ Premier League goals in a single season since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in 2019-20 and Arsenal need Gyokeres to do that if they’re going to win the title this season. No pressure, Viktor...
Squad strength much better for Man United, Arsenal
When you sit down and look at the benches for both teams, you can see they are much stronger than last season. United had Sesko, Ugarte, Maguire, Mainoo, Zirkzee and Amad Diallo to call on. Arsenal had Havertz, Madueke, Nwaneri, Lewis-Skelly, Timber, Merino and Trossard to bring on. That is a lot of talent in reserve and points to a busy summer of early spending paying off. Of course, United and Arsenal are both looking to add more players in the final few weeks of the window and there will be departures. But the overall feeling is one of optimism and improvement and that they’ve taken a step forward with the level, and depth of their squads. Let’s see how that feeling changes as United head to Fulham, host Burnley, head to Man City and then host Chelsea in their next four. Arsenal host Leeds, travel to Liverpool then have back-to-back home games against Nottingham Forest and Manchester City. The levels of spending in the Premier league have gone off the charts this summer and both of these teams have spent a lot to try and get ahead of the competition. For now, it seems like they have.
