Football writer Alex Keble analyses Arsenal's 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.
There can’t have been many years in Manchester United’s Premier League history when the club felt optimistic following an opening-day defeat.
But this was not an ordinary opening-day match. A stretched, stuttering and frankly low-quality 1-0 victory for Arsenal at Old Trafford showed there is plenty of rustiness still in the legs, for the visitors at least.
Man Utd were by far the better side. They held 61 per cent possession, took more than twice as many shots as their opponent (22-9), and but for some epic last-ditch defending from Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba, not to mention two outstanding saves from David Raya, would have won this match.
If they had, then headlines around the world would declare this the beginning of the Ruben Amorim revolution: a display of attacking intensity and a new-found tactical directness to start the long road to recovery.
We shouldn’t let results dictate the narrative too much, and one classic Arsenal set-piece ought not to discolour an impressive 90 minutes from Amorim’s side.
United's new style impressive in parts thanks to new signings
What most jumped out from Man Utd’s set-up was the frequency with which Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount pumped longer passes forward, hoping to release the wing-backs or Bryan Mbeumo as often as possible.
As well as long no-look passes over the top, United’s players frequently attempted to beat players with a dribble, carry the ball forward and try to stretch the game.
Key: Green - successful pass, yellow - chance created, red - failed pass
It was closer to what we saw from Amorim at Sporting, who welded together intricate possession football with sudden rapid breaks from a three-pronged attack.
Mbeumo’s runs and Matheus Cunha’s carrying was a big part of that. They had nine shots between them while Cunha completed four dribbles, more than anyone else on the pitch.
“Players like Cunha and Mbeumo in one moment can elevate the stadium,” Amorim told Sky Sports after the match. “The most important thing: we were not boring.”
That was certainly true. Thanks largely to the contribution of the new signings, they managed 22 shots against Arsenal, the second-most allowed by the Gunners in a Premier League match since the start of 2022/23.
It was also the most United have had against Arsenal in the competition since their legendary 8-2 win in August 2011.
In this, a glint of light for United fans, especially with Benjamin Sesko to come.
Far too often United got into the final third in wide areas, only to find the box completely empty.
Once the new No 9 is integrated (and Sesko understandably struggled, coming on against a low Arsenal block), maybe they will turn a more piercing, vertical attacking style into goals – and wins.
However, it isn’t guaranteed this more urgent strategy will work long term, given how often Arsenal discovered a wide-open central midfield whenever they counter-attacked back the other way.
If the Gunners’ passing wasn’t so off (more on that below), Amorim might have been punished for indulging in such a direct, end-to-end approach. As Arteta told Sky Sports after the match: “There were many moments in open play we should have killed them."
Signings contribute to Arsenal’s raggedness
Arteta knows his team got away with this one. “We need to be humble about the way we did it,” he told Sky Sports, before praising “the way we reacted to mistakes – mistakes that are very far from the standard we normally have.”
He will also be pleased that, by winning, some of the spotlight has been taken off Viktor Gyokeres.
Gyokeres managed zero shots, created zero chances and completed just four passes. It was the first time since he left Coventry City that he failed to get a shot away.
You might say he was anonymous, but that wouldn’t be entirely accurate, because Gyokeres was conspicuous by how his movement on the last line changed Arsenal’s build-up play.
Like Man Utd, Arsenal were more direct than we are used to seeing them.
That was partly because of Gyokeres’ movement, which encouraged Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka to try to force things rather than recycle and gain some control.
Control is what Arteta has craved. Rarely, if ever, have Arsenal had less control in the Arteta era.
Their 75 per cent pass completion was Arsenal’s lowest figure in a Premier League match since a 2-2 draw with Manchester City in September 2024, when they played the second half with 10 men.
It isn’t controversial to say nobody thought Casemiro and Fernandes could have disrupted the visitors’ flow in midfield to that extent.
Gyokeres had a negative impact here, but so too did the other new signing, Martin Zubimendi.
He looked nervous throughout, often turning down the chance for a slightly risky forward pass in favour of a sideways ball that allowed Man Utd to put on the squeeze.
So tentative was his performance, the vast majority of his touches were in the Arsenal half.
Arrow: direction of play
With time, Zubimendi will settle into his new surroundings and Arsenal will look like their usual selves again.
But on the opening weekend, only Man Utd’s new signings improved their team’s tactical performance.
Arsenal’s made them notably worse.