{"id":46004,"date":"2025-08-18T07:07:34","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T07:07:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/?p=46004"},"modified":"2025-08-18T07:07:35","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T07:07:35","slug":"premier-league-manchester-united-0-1-arsenal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/2025\/08\/18\/premier-league-manchester-united-0-1-arsenal\/","title":{"rendered":"Premier League: Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Blazing sunshine and a busy new marquee serving craft ale behind the Stretford End:\u00a0Manchester United\u00a0began in a shiny new world and finished in the gloom of another defeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First look at Altay Bayindir\u2019s howler that handed Riccardo Calafiori an easy header. But then zoom out and you see this: a crisis at No 1 for United that features Ruben Amorim going all summer not fancying Andr\u00e9 Onana and still turning up for the season opener without a high-end replacement. Result: Bayindir\u2019s ricket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The head coach defended preferring Bayindir to Tom Heaton when reminded how the Turk allowed a similar goal \u2013 straight in from a Son Heung-min corner \u2013 last season in the 4-3 Carabao Cup defeat at Spurs. He denied, too, dropping Onana as he had not \u201ctrained\u201d enough after injury and stated contentment with his trio of keepers. The 40-year-old has to say this of course yet Onana and Bayindir have a record of goal-costing errors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Altay<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal failed to fire throughout \u2013 Viktor Gy\u00f6keres\u2019s 60-minute debut was a non-event \u2013 but they did not need to with United so dismal at both ends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Towards the close Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo tripped over Arsenal players in a hectic scramble to cancel out Calafiori\u2019s strike: a snapshot of United\u2019s chronic toothlessness. Moments later, a better Mbeumo headed effort drew a good save from David Raya. There were further goalmouth scrambles but no United player could stick the ball in the net.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a middling contest, Amorim\u2019s team had to do what the visiting left\u2011back did \u2013 with this 13th-minute goal a disaster for United and a joy for him. Declan Rice arrowed a corner in from the left, a clownish Bayindir merely palmed the ball on and Calafiori nodded home a ball already heading in. \u201cOne\u2011nil to the Arsenal\u201d came the ecstatic taunt from the faithful. At the time, United complained that Bayindir was caught in a melee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Afterwards, Bruno Fernandes said: \u201cWhen you touch the goalkeeper and he can\u2019t jump, that makes it difficult for Bayindir. We know in the Premier League<\/a> they don\u2019t give much. Even if they had a meeting with us saying that they will whistle more if players block and don\u2019t look at the ball but it is more of [them] saying [this].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as suspect as the goalkeeping was the XI sent out that could be marked \u201ccurio\u201d, with Amorim preferring Casemiro to Manuel Ugarte in midfield and Mason Mount the nominal No 9 (no squad place for Rasmus H\u00f8jlund), though Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Matheus<\/a>
Matheus Cunha made an early impression up front alongside another Manchester United new signing, Bryan Mbeumo.Photograph: Dave Thompson\/AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The new boys began fast \u2013 Mbeumo barged over Mart\u00edn Zubimendi (also on debut), Cunha ran in, howled for his twin-10 to pass, he did, but Arsenal escaped. Mikel Arteta, who issued a trademark moan at Mbeumo\u2019s challenge, had to watch as Mbeumo again motored along his right corridor but the shot was a pea-roller into Raya\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this juncture, United were fast and furious, even when defending. From a Fernandes corner Arsenal broke and Mount hared back to help out. Then, after Calafiori\u2019s winner, United were back in counterattack mode. A proposition of serial moments but none of the patterns Amorim (surely) craves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patrick Dorgu hit a post. The livewire Cunha wriggled in a left zone and turned and forced a Raya reflex save. Zubimendi\u2019s foul on Fernandes had the latter hitting the wall to the right of the area. A scintillating Cunha run took him from halfway through a thicket of opponents and clear but the effort was scuffed. Mbeumo\u2019s cute layoff was followed by a 25\u2011yard Cunha shot straight at Raya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet without Bayindir\u2019s howler Arteta would have had the harder half-time chat as his team were no smooth unit, tapping the ball about, manoeuvring those in red like Subbuteo pieces. Rice and Zubimendi exerted scant control in central areas and Gy\u00f6keres laboured and suffered from his teammates\u2019 creation deficit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

United, brighter in this department, saw Mount fluff their latest attempt, so Amorim had to do something \u2013 be patient (in hope) or make a change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He chose the latter. Diallo (another surprising exclusion) entered for the average Diogo Dalot and the Ivorian impressed \u2013 one more Amorim team selection puzzler. Benjamin Sesko, continually warming up, watched as Fernandes flipped in a dead-ball from the left corner flag and Raya rose and punched away \u2013 as Bayindir fatally failed to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To boos Gy\u00f6keres was hooked on the hour for Kai Havertz. The derision came from spurned suitors after the Swede chose north London not south Manchester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But jeers became cheers as Sesko was given a 25-minute debut \u2013 for the anonymous Mount. Ugarte, too, was introduced, for Casemiro. Immediately, a tangle with Noni Madueke, another visiting substitute, was the midfield bite United lacked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amorim\u2019s men were lacking all over the park. A tight win for Arsenal. One more chastening day for the Portuguese\u2019s project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fernandes was left clutching straws. \u201cI really liked the reaction of the fans at the end. That was more a sign of hope than what we did during the game.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amorim was more pithy. \u201cWe need to win more than last season,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

theguardian <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Blazing sunshine and a busy new marquee serving craft ale behind the Stretford End:\u00a0Manchester United\u00a0began in a shiny new world and finished in the gloom of another defeat. First look at Altay Bayindir\u2019s howler that handed Riccardo Calafiori an easy header. But then zoom out and you see this: a crisis at No 1 for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":46005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_post_source_name":"","_post_source_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3295],"tags":[7477,12374,12098,5722,285,11183,7452,8496,8908,8440,7467,6083,10319,6287,9026,3530,7470,6159,5247,11638,803,12378,2416,11294,7263,9676,3684,11252,115,9833,12309,10481,4807,12187,7964,10691,5911,13256,267,11093,8045,11612,11259,6424,1935,5818,7333,7419,11494,6348,10943,36,594,7898],"class_list":["post-46004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-sport","tag-amad","tag-amad-diallo","tag-amorim","tag-anonymous","tag-arsenal","tag-boys","tag-bruno-fernandes","tag-carabao-cup","tag-coach","tag-crisis","tag-dalot","tag-dead","tag-declan-rice","tag-diogo","tag-fans","tag-fast-and-furious","tag-fernandes","tag-fire","tag-football","tag-forced","tag-goalkeeper","tag-gyokeres","tag-h","tag-injury","tag-kai","tag-kai-havertz","tag-london","tag-manchester","tag-manchester-united","tag-meeting","tag-men","tag-midfield","tag-mikel-arteta","tag-n","tag-north","tag-onana","tag-patrick","tag-players","tag-premier-league","tag-reminded","tag-rice","tag-ruben-amorim","tag-shot","tag-son-heung-min","tag-spurs","tag-strike","tag-summer","tag-the-game","tag-ugarte","tag-us","tag-watch","tag-world","tag-who","tag-xi"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46004"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46004\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46006,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46004\/revisions\/46006"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}