Unless Manchester United can defend a corner, they will not turn one. Until Ruben Amorim’s big decisions succeed, the verdicts on his reign may be unflattering. A new season brought an improved United in various respects, but a third win at Old Trafford for Arsenal under Mikel Arteta. A club that once clinched a Premier League title on United turf can hope the road to another began with the same scoreline and at the same venue. “A big, big result,” said Arteta.
But Arsenal were given a helping hand by Altay Bayindir and, indirectly, Amorim. The Turkey international’s lame punch allowed Riccardo Calafiori to head in from a yard. If Viktor Gyokeres, the debutant striker, was supposed to be the final piece in Arteta’s jigsaw, there was something typical of his teams in that the goal came from the left-back.
The manner of the goal was familiar for both clubs. The Arsenal fans’ first chorus of the season of “set-piece FC” came after 13 minutes. If the same tag is attached to United, it would be a criticism. They conceded from a corner in last week’s friendly against Fiorentina. They let in 15 Premier League goals from set-pieces last season, the majority after Amorim’s appointment and his assistant Carlos Fernandes took charge of dead-ball situations. Bayindir was beaten directly from a corner by Tottenham’s Son Heung Min in the Carabao Cup in December. This was only slightly less embarrassing.
But it was a story of three goalkeepers. David Raya was terrific, with excellent saves from United’s new forwards Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo the pick of seven stops, and a reassuring presence. Arteta got his own goalkeeping decision very right two years ago, ruthlessly replacing Aaron Ramsdale with Raya. The Spaniard’s quest for a third consecutive golden glove began well. Arsenal could thank two goalkeepers for their three points.
Meanwhile, Andre Onana was a spectator. Injured, he had missed United’s friendlies. Fit again, Amorim decided to omit him, arguing afterwards: “It’s not the case of dropping Onana. It’s not putting Andre Onana in [after] just one week without seeing the game, without time, with training.”
Yet before kick-off, his explanation was that he wanted to reward Bayindir for his performances in pre-season. Whether logical or a leftfield choice, that backfired in his first display of the actual campaign. United could argue that William Saliba fouled Mason Mount as Declan Rice’s corner came in, yet Bayindir’s attempt to deal with it was feeble. Amorim was defensive and touchy. “I’m saying that you choose to push a player or to get the ball in that moment,” he said. “So he chooses to get the ball, but he’s getting pushed. He cannot defend it himself.”
He harked back eight months to say that, had VAR been used in the Carabao Cup, Son’s goal against Bayindir would have been disallowed. He looked back to Bayindir’s last encounter with Arsenal, to his triumphant FA Cup tie in January. “Who saved the penalty? Who saved the game?” he barked. “Bayindir was unbelievable in that game. So I consider everything.” What he won’t consider, he suggested, is buying at the back, even if Gianluigi Donnarumma is available. “I’m happy with the three goalkeepers,” he said. Onana’s omission, on a day when Rasmus Hojlund did not make the matchday squad, had suggested an exit for both. Amorim implied the Cameroonian was only out for the game, not for good.
Wronged or a wrong choice, Bayindir’s reunion with Arsenal came at a cost. His problems were ill-timed when Amorim’s team were looking for a new script for a new season. In some respects, United progressed. “We proved today that we can win any game in the Premier League, especially against a great team like Arsenal, and we were the better team,” Amorim said. United had possession and pressure, far more shots and touches in the penalty area and a higher xG. They took the game to Arsenal and had encouraging debuts from Mbeumo, who was their best player, and Cunha. They still lost. After nine league defeats at Old Trafford last season, they have one already.
“We created some chances but we didn’t score so that is the main negative of the day,” said Bruno Fernandes. That was despite the £200m upgrade to the forward line. But Benjamin Sesko was held in reserve, his bow coming as a substitute. It meant there was no direct comparison with Viktor Gyokeres, the two men who comprised Arsenal’s striking shortlist, with the Swede going off before the Slovenian came on.
Gyokeres’ was a relatively quiet debut. He scored 65 goals for Amorim at Sporting CP and didn’t even have a shot against the Portuguese’s United. In contrast, his £65m signing was terrific. Mbeumo was indefatigable and electric, making speedy bursts in the inside-right channel. Encouragingly for United, his new colleagues kept finding him. Annoyingly for them, his former Brentford teammate Raya parried his downward header, just as he had when Cunha almost scored from an acute angle. “The save from Cunha was a tough one,” said Raya. “I don’t know how I saved it.”
Raya was only beaten when Patrick Dorgu whistled a low shot against the far post. He was required, in part, because United’s new signings gave Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes a tough afternoon. “Defensively, we weren’t at our best, so that was a hard fight,” said Raya. Arteta added: “You know when you are not at your standards, which today we weren’t, we can still come away and find a way to win the game.”
It is a habit United must envy. Fifteenth last season, they find themselves 15th now. If the table is largely meaningless, if performances can count for more than results at this time of the season, United got the performance, Arsenal the result. And it was Arteta who looked the happier with that.
