Manchester United lost 0-1 to Arsenal in the Premier League as Ruben Amorim defended his side, while Roy Keane blasted United’s low standards.
United’s revamped frontline—featuring Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo—looked lively throughout, giving Amorim’s side a renewed spark in attack.
The hosts unleashed a total of 22 shots towards the Arsenal goal, with nine of these coming from Mbeumo and Cunha, as well as two from fellow new arrival Benjamin Sesko off the bench.
et for all their enterprise, David Raya stood firm with seven saves, ensuring Arteta’s men left Old Trafford with both a clean sheet and three points—helped, of course, by Altay Bayindir’s costly mistake that allowed Riccardo Calafiori to snatch the game’s only goal.
After the loss, Amorim was quick to highlight the positives, praising his players for showing greater courage and intensity than they had for much of last season.
“We clearly deserved a different result and we need to move forward to the next one.
“We were more aggressive than last year, we sprinted more, we were braver, we went one against one for the whole game and we pressed high.
“With the ball, we have quality, even when the stadium makes some sound, we continued to play the way we play. We lost fewer balls in the build-up compared to last year, when we struggled a lot.
“We need to win games but that was a completely different game to last season.”
Following Bruno Fernandes’ post-match interview, Roy Keane, Micah Richards and Daniel Sturridge discuss Manchester United’s opening-day defeat to Arsenal and whether they’ve improved
United will look to convert another positive performance into points in their next fixture when they face Fulham, live on Super Sunday, on August 24.
Keane: Expectations at Man Utd are so low
Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane offered a starkly different verdict to Amorim’s upbeat take, insisting that despite the promising cameos from United’s new signings, the bigger picture remains troubling.
“The expectations at United now are so low, that even Gary [Neville] said on commentary, everyone is OK with a 1-0 defeat. They’ve got to do better,” Keane said on Super Sunday.
Roy Keane, Daniel Sturridge and Micah Richards analyse Viktor Gyokeres and Arsenal’s performance against Man Utd
“It does worry me. Some of the new signings, there was encouragement with that. They were getting you up the pitch with a bit of power.
“Things will improve, it’s tough against Arsenal, but no goals and another defeat. There’s still problems there with Man Utd.”
Neville: Man Utd were the better team
Fellow United legend and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville was more upbeat after the defeat, as he focused on the positive performances from Cunha and Mbeumo, as well as other positives that emerged from the loss.
Speaking after the game, he said: “I thought they [United] played well, they were the better team in terms of performance.
“We know that performance isn’t enough sometimes. Arsenal have got real resilience and can grind out 1-0 victories.
“There were some positives. Mbeumo in the first half and Cunha in the second half. They showed they can handle a big game at Old Trafford, they showed they have got the quality and ability. We obviously know that from Wolves.
“This is a tough start. Arsenal are a tough team to break down. I’m not too downhearted. I thought the system worked better and the back three did better.
“Casemiro and Fernandes did well in midfield; they held their own. Throughout the match, Man United were the better team, but they have lost the game.”