Riccardo Calafiori's early header proved decisive as Arsenal battled to a 1-0 win over Manchester United in their 2025/26 Premier League opener at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Arsenal's mastery of corners continued as they scored (below) from their first of the new campaign just 13 minutes in, with Calafiori aided by some suspect goalkeeping from Altay Bayindir.
The Gunners were anything but free flowing for much of the contest, with United debutants Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo taking the fight to Mikel Arteta's team.
However, they were each denied by fabulous saves from David Raya as Arsenal held out for three hard-earned points, joining potential title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City in winning their first match.
How the match unfolded
United started brightly but Arsenal struck from their first set-piece opportunity, with Calafiori nodding in from beneath the crossbar following Bayindir's weak attempt to punch Declan Rice's delivery away.
The hosts almost levelled on the half-hour mark, but Patrick Dorgu's drive from the left corner of the area hit a post before bouncing to safety.
United ended the first half on top but they were unable to beat Raya, who got down brilliantly to turn Cunha's shot away after a bustling run from the Brazilian.
Opportunities were scarce after half-time until Mbeumo sent an ambitious overhead kick wide in the 69th minute, shortly after Amorim introduced Benjamin Sesko for his Premier League debut.
United's best chance to equalise came from a floated Dorgu cross in the 74th minute, but Raya scrambled across his line to repel Mbeumo's downward header.
Rice saw a free-kick deflect into the side netting but Arsenal spent the final stages desperately defending their lead, with a heroic William Saliba block helping them inch over the line.
United debutants impress but goalkeeping issues costly
If any Premier League club needs to build some positive momentum in the early weeks of 2025/26, it is United.
Last season, they earned fewer points and scored fewer goals than in any other Premier League campaign. New attackers Cunha, Mbeumo and Sesko bettered United's goalscoring returns as a trio, netting a combined 48 goals in league matches for their previous clubs last season.
While Sesko only got 31 minutes off the bench after just a week in training with his new team-mates, Cunha and Mbeumo showed enough to suggest United's attacking output should be far better this season.
Mbeumo registered the first shot on target and then tested Raya with that strong header in the second half, while Cunha's influence grew as the game went on.
The former Wolverhampton Wanderers man had supporters out of their seats with several powerful runs at the heart of the Arsenal defence, while Raya's 38th-minute save from his left-footed strike was arguably the best stop of the opening weekend.
However, United were ultimately made to pay for conceding a soft goal the first time they were truly tested.
Amorim confirmed before kick-off that Bayindir's inclusion was a tactical decision after Andre Onana recovered from a hamstring injury, but the stand-in did not cover himself in glory when pinned back on his line.
Amorim will be desperate for his team to cut out the errors at Fulham next weekend, with Sesko surely primed for his first start.
Arsenal win ugly
Arteta may not be under the same immediate pressure as Amorim, but after three consecutive runners-up finishes and a busy transfer window, there is an expectation that Arsenal at least mount a sustained challenge for the title in 2025/26.
No Arsenal player managed double figures for goals in the Premier League last season and much of the excitement around the Gunners has been in relation to their big-money acquisition of Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting.
But even with a new man up top, Arteta will continue to preach the importance of set-pieces, and their physical edge was obvious when Rice swung in the corner that resulted in Bayindir gifting Calafiori an early finish.
Yet at times last season, Arsenal lacked invention in open play as Liverpool eased to the title, and with neither Martin Odegaard nor Bukayo Saka able to impose themselves in the final third here, Gyokeres failed to attempt a shot before being withdrawn on the hour mark.
It was attack versus defence at times in the second half as United huffed and puffed, but Arteta has the league's most dependable backline at his disposal, and Saliba's last-ditch challenge on Cunha in the 89th minute exemplified their defensive resolve.
Arteta will know more is needed in attack, but his team have a solid foundation to build on ahead of hosting Leeds United next Saturday.
Club reports
Man Utd report | Arsenal report
What the managers said
Ruben Amorim: "It was a very good performance. I'm really proud of the players but, in the end, we lost the game. But again, for me, you can win and you can lose in the end, but I am proud of what they did, my players. It's a good feeling. At the same time, it's really hard to lose a game like this.”
Mikel Arteta: "I think we've done some very good things in the game, and some things that are not our standards , but I'm so pleased about the way we reacted to that. We reacted to mistakes on the day, and from places that are unusual to see, but that gave us the chance to win the game today."
Next fixtures
Key facts
Manchester United have now lost their opening Premier League home match in three of the last six seasons (W3), having only lost their first match at Old Trafford in two of their first 28 campaigns in the competition (W21 D5).
Arsenal have won two of their last three Premier League away fixtures against United (D1), after only winning once across their previous 16 league visits to Old Trafford (D5 L10).
All six of Arsenal’s away victories against United in the Premier League have come by the same 1-0 scoreline, the most away wins one side has over another in the competition with 100 per cent coming by the same score.
Arsenal have scored 31 goals via corners in the Premier League since the beginning of the 2023/24 campaign, at least 11 more than any other team (Liverpool – 20). In the same period, Man Utd have conceded the most goals from corners in the competition, with 23.