Arsenal began their Premier League campaign with a narrow 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford, grinding out three points in a performance that tested their resilience.
Riccardo Calafiori made the decisive impact in the 13th minute, powering home a superb header to hand the Gunners an early lead. The Italian’s goal ultimately proved the match winner, though the visitors were forced to withstand heavy pressure for much of the contest.
Patrick Dorgu rattled the woodwork with a long-range strike on the half-hour mark, while debutant Matheus Cunha looked lively for United. The £62.5 million signing from Wolves twice tested David Raya, firing from distance before drawing a sharp save from close range. Bryan Mbeumo also added attacking threat as the hosts pressed for a leveller.
Raya The Difference For Arsenal
United dominated large spells before and after the break, forcing Arsenal deeper into their own half. Raya produced another crucial save to deny Bruno Fernandes’ free-kick just before the hour mark, keeping the slender lead intact. Declan Rice attempted to relieve pressure with a long-range effort that sailed over, but it was the hosts who continued to create the better chances.
By full-time, United had registered 20 shots to Arsenal’s limited attempts, but the Gunners held firm to claim the points. Raya reflected on the win in his post-match interview with SkySports: “Defensively we weren’t at our best, so that was a hard fight. We got our goal in the first half with a corner and from there we just fought until the end, credit to the boys for getting the clean sheet.”
Signs Of Champions Or Cause For Concern?
It was not a vintage display from Arsenal, but grinding out results in difficult circumstances is often the hallmark of title contenders. Concerns remain about defensive vulnerability and the lack of goals from open play, but the opening-day victory ensures momentum going into a tough run of fixtures. With Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and Newcastle on the horizon, tightening up at the back will be crucial.
What do you think Gooners, was this the gritty win of champions or a warning sign of issues to come?
Liam Harding
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A win is a win.
Im glad we have started our campaign with 3 points.
That’s the main thing.
Just because Liverpool, City and Spurs won big, doesn’t mean we are required to that in our first match.
It may take a while before we see our best form
Let’s focus on our next match
I’m happy with a Win
Thanks Calafiori and rest of the boys
I’m with you Stephanie – a win is a win! 3 points in our pockets ❤️🤍⚽😍
This might not be a Man Utd of last season and I suspect not many will walk away with easy points at Old Trafford this season.
Its either we have got a hard fought victory against a strong opponent or struggled for victory against an easy opponent. I think its the former. Time will tell.
What a thrilling match it was! Arsenal’s narrow 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford was a testament to the team’s resilience and determination. Riccardo Calafiori’s superb header in the 13th minute set the tone for the rest of the game, and despite Manchester United’s relentless pressure, the Gunners held firm to claim all three points.
David Raya was instrumental in securing the win for Arsenal, making crucial saves to deny Bruno Fernandes’ free-kick and Matheus Cunha’s close-range effort. His performance was a masterclass in goalkeeping, and it’s clear that he’s a vital part of Arsenal’s lineup. On the other hand, Calafiori’s goal showcased his impressive aerial ability and clinical finishing, making him a valuable asset to the team.
The win marks a strong start to the season for Arsenal, and it’s exciting to see the team adapt to new tactics and player combinations. While Manchester United dominated possession and created numerous chances, Arsenal’s defense held firm, and their counter-attacks posed a significant threat to the hosts. With this win, Arsenal proves they’re a force to be reckoned with in the Premier League this season.
Did you write that first paragraph -Famochi ?
Felt like a suns newspaper headline in 1988.
A couple of Points amused me that was all.
Dan Kit, you’re having a laugh! ‘Felt like a Sun newspaper headline in 1988’ – that’s a good one! I was just pening my thoughts to make it flow better, didn’t mean to channel the Sun’s style. Glad I could bring a smile to your face, though. You picked up on the tone nicely!
Meanwhile, how may I submit an article on J.A
Since am a newbie…😎😃
You don’t drink with a bloke called David, do you? 😂
Welcome anyway.
There is a link below the article.
Shows how far we have come. To win AT old trafford and talk about our concerns. So often in the past Arsenal teams have gone there and played the ground/club and not the team.
Not at our best, slow start to the season, but hey, we won.
Maybe we can turn some of those 14 draws last year into wins this year. Only 4 losses last year like Liverpool, but our 14 draws to their 9 was the big difference.
We have depth, whether for injuries, competition, or tactical change, turning draws into wins will be the difference this year imho.
Yeah, uh, bit of a shaky start. That high defensive line again opened up way too much space for the likes of Mbeumo and Dorgu. Raya saved our blushes multiple times.
These narrow wins against teams we could easily draw against are definitely going to be key, yep. Most of those points last season were unexpectedly dropped against low-blocking, game-killing mid-table teams. Yet in contrast, we have the best record in the league against the high quality teams, like the so-called “top 6”. Similar story in the Champions League.
Points from anywhere is the goal, but especially taking 3 points off better teams can only help the cause.
👍Bergkampfwagen & Durand. We are now unbeaten in our last 21 games against the other big six. This looked like an extension of the preseason for both clubs but – One nil to the Arsenal 🥳🥳
If you saw the way we played last season and knew what the problems were, then there are causes for concern after our performance today.
Yeah we won, which is the important thing. And kudos to our defense for that.
Surely, the expectation is that we improve, which is imperative at this point. And I sincerely hope we do.
We don’t need Kudos he can stay at spuds and we certainly don’t need him in our defence!
United played better than I thought they could, but then players like to put a shift in on debut and home debut and first home match of season, so they stretched us and we proved tough and got momentum now. Martinelli was disappointing, he went missing. But Ode looked like Ode of old.
Excited about the Leeds game already.
Ha. I see what you did there…
United have a much, much better attack than last year, and that was really where they stood out. I have to say I did laugh out loud a little when Sesko lamely nodded out for a corner though… given the debate we’ve all been having the last months about Gyokeres vs Sesko on heading ability.
In contrast, we allowed them way too much space at times. Cunha dribbling right through the middle past our midfield and defenders was a bit shocking, to be honest. Luckily he didn’t have his shooting boots on. Mbeumo looked sharp. That sort of thing needs to be shut down far better, or we will struggle against the faster teams.
I’m considering it a good practice game against a team I love to see lose 🙂
I’m with you.. Way too early to determine anything from the first tete-a-tete – but happy to have the full 3 in our pocket ❤️🤍⚽
I’m with you. It was a marker laid down today, clean sheet at home of that attack. And it’s momentum and belief. 💛
How many winnings did we get away to Manchester United while playing good football or dominating them…. Let just take the win and move on… It’s arrogance to think we can always dominate another big team away from home… I’m not sure anyone will prefer we dominate or play better but lose the match at the end… Is that not what the complaint was last season…
I remember the Wenger days we used to dominate then and end up loosing, Junking. What matters is the win and three points.
So much needs to be improved on, am okay with keep winning and improving.
@Junking well said 👍
It was a game to forget really. But we managed to get the much needed win at a difficult ground.
Let’s be real though we need to be as equally efficient in attack as we are in defense to mount a title challenge, never mind winning it. Hopefully things change for the better as soon as next game.
Lastly, our recruitment team should do the needful already, both incoming and outgoings. We obviously need to sort things out in that department as well.
Yes, it a tough opponent in a difficult ground. But at times our performance was not on the level of a championship contender. I won’t be surpised if we finish behind both City and Lpool.
I think Liverpool, Manc and Spuds all had very easy matches to open up with, and if anything we have learnt Liverpool have a goal conceding problem. And although Liverpool have time left in window to save their season, they look hopelessly lacking depth at centrebacks, holding midfield and front three and will be sweating on top players staying fit to maintain top 4 challenge.
And we have a goal creating problem?
Spot on, based on today’s games, both Arsenal and Chelsea did not strike me as potential winners. It was the poorest I had seen us play in a long while !, I don’t believe we dominated play in any 5 mins spell
@ThaGunna what are you still complaining about? Do you think OT is a walk in the park for any team. And they added a new players what do you expect? I don’t care about any performance I will take that 3point any day. I think you prefer performance than results we have done before we don’t want that again. Man u can keep the performance to themselves let me go back to north London with the result (3point) that’s most important.
@Anton but you will be surprise if we win the league 😃😃😃 maybe you should support pool or city.
I did not enjoy the game. We were awful. We were very lucky. Our tactics were poor. Our team played way below standard. We were very slow in the build up. We had NO shots at goal in the second half. Utd had a better shape, better tactics, better in and out of possession. It was a tad embarrassing after all the money we have spent. Rigid tactare killing us. 3 points and hope that a miracle can happen and we can get better. I am not sure. We looked like the end of the season not the start. It was all stale and disjointed. I am pleased I didn’t pay to watch that!!!!! Oh I did.
Rigid tactics are killing us.
@Reggie but if the team play very fine and lose you will enjoy it 😃😃😃 the team did the most important thing going back to north London with result (3point) go and check the league table now. Arsenal -3point. Man u-0point. League table don’t show performance, it only shows results.
I always acknowledge the 3 points are the goal and we got them. But lets not paper over the crack, for the future. The football was horrible and lacking any cohesion at all. Not what I want to sse. I have always said, Arteta ball is horrible to watch and we are not and do not get the best out of our players. If we did, we would be champions at least once maybe twice, that the big picture. When we play to our potential we should kill teams, the tactics allow us not too.
Not remotely close to being our best performance, but being the first game of the season, away at a raucous Old Trafford, players not yet 100% fit, new players still bedding in & trying to build some chemistry with the rest of the team, i’d readily take the three points.
We’ll get better as the weeks progress and that would be quite a sight.
Playing poorly and still picking up the full 3 points is a welcome development.
Kudos to Raya and the entire defense line, once again.
Trust me, this is not a result to be scoffed at, in a season where the margin for error is going to be very slim..
One down, 37 more to go.
Onwards and Upwards!
COYG 💪
1-0 to the Arsenal, but a tough watch at times.
This was never going to be easy, we may have actually played them at the right time. We saw a resolute display and while it wasn’t inspiring, it was comforting to see the depth in the squad as we changed out through the game, l think that bodes well for the season.
Despite the win, I am sorry to say, it was the worst performance from an Arsenal side for a very long time. 9 out of 11 players were the same players used last year. So where has our sublime combination play gone? Playing in that way, we played today, we are going to win nothing. The win was not deserved. Many things have to change. We need to sign a creative class CAM player. Odegaard was poor in 80% of the game.
He wasn’t much better in the other 20%
Arsenal were atrocious today. It was beyond shocking. I could not understand how odegard remained on the pitch today. He was utterly useless as a creative outlet ( eze was outstanding against Chelsea today.. just saying!).. Gabriel and martinelli were a bag of nerves at the back and wing respectively. Gyokeres will improve. He will not be bullied. Hope arteta twick his rigid formation . Too much space between zubi and rice , it was astonishing. We better get our rhythm up for the likes of Liverpool and mancity will show no mercy
In all honesty, we were poor on the day and were fortunate to take the 3 points.Room for considerable improvement individually and collectively.In the matches i watched at the weekend two players stood out with exceptional performances,namely Reijnders of Man City, who cost only 35m and young Josh Acheampong who is a product of the Chelsea Academy.Eze of Palace was a mixture of highs and lows and on at least two occasions he made bad errors of judgement when better options were available which could well have produced goals.
Remarkable comments.. you would think some were written by bitter Man Utd fans !!
To give one example. We will win nothing playing like that. Well we just did WIN the game !!
Man Utd had something to prove and new boys wanting to make a good impression first game of the season…considering our very average record at Man Utd ( I think only our 6th PL win there ) and that we are still getting our players match fit and to play a new system with Gyo I think we should all be happy with 3 points
Next game Leeds at Home.. if we play poorly against them fair enough but to read some of the comments after we won 1-0 away at OT is strange but not surprising considering the authors .
I’m happy with the result and the performance as I’m still hurting from when I was there when we lost 8-2 !
Not all wins are going to be pretty. 3 points in the bag is all that matters.
COYG
Arteta said in his post match that we had issues picking out the right pass on several occasions and I agree. This is the type of game that fits Gyokares down to a tee which I believe is the reason he started, but our ability to thread the right ball with the right measure of pass to the right option breaking forward was shockingly poor. It could have easily been a 3-1 end score either way. We might need Eze after all for additional composure and creativity, but I’m not having a knee jerk reaction and saying the entire team was terrible. It’s a rejuvenated Man Utd at Old trafford, I’ll take the lucky 3 points and only start worrying if i don’t see progress in our ball-playing ability and team work after the first 4 matches.
Raya aside it was a really dodgy performance, at times getting dominated by that absolutely pants United side, sure they’ve added a bit of quality but they still have plenty of dross and yet they blew loads of chances while I’m struggling to think of any decent chances Arsenal created, it was shockingly poor, we won’t be winning anything playing football like that, a quality team would have hammered us playing like that today, we got lucky.
I’m waiting to watch it on catch up but listened on the radio. It seems that they did blow loads of chances as you say and miraculously we took one. It goes that way sometimes and thank goodness it did today
Perhaps we will some game but we will certainly win no titles, if we are playing like today. It was a poor performance. IMO I am very dissapointed.
Ugly win, but an opening day at OT is always hard and not many teams would’ve gotten the three points honestly. That said, there are some major red flags we need to look at. A dip back into the transfer market is vital. We lack a midfield spark, and LW continues to be totally dead. Saka was poor today too but we all know he’ll come with the goods. Martinelli & co…. it’s been a struggle for several years now.
Good to get an ugly win. Really hope Gyokeres is just rusty. Liverpool are going to be potent if they get Isak and Slot can get them to gel.
We still got a long way to go, saka was abysmal, Ode out of touch and lost too many balls, Gyo lacked service and lost most duels. Massive improvement is needed if we are to sustain a title challenge. The positive is getting the 3 points in a difficult ground and on to the next one…….
Trying to be less negative, but it’s not easy here!!
This team has regressed in every department except goalkeeping. Saliba is a shadow of himself, Odegaard has always been overhyped and just runs without production, Saka and Martinelli are a shadow of the players they used to be. Yesterday are wingers were marked out and the coach didn’t do anything to show that he has any tactical knowledge. As long as we are using inverted wingers and Odegaard as our 10 Gyokeres will never show his potential because he will be starved of service.
With Arteta all players have regressed which is a major concern. He is lucky with the support he gets from the owners. Still first game but careful analysis will show that despite finishing second the past seasons the team general and individual performance have been going down.
But the thing is Manchester united best performance couldn’t beat Arsenal worst performance, defensively Raya,Saliba, Gabriel Calafiuri and White did well,Saka and Odegaard were our worst players Gyokeres was targeted much of the time so Arsenal should have switched play faster to the wings which actually was function less.
What are the complaints and grumbling about? Is it that we didn’t play well and yet won or is it that we played well and lost. I have failed to get the argument. Most members on here always talk of winning ugly, and when it happens they complain! This is a paradox! What has upset many of us is the fact that our rivals won convincingly, but then we forget to ask who were their opponents and at what ground? Would it be wise to go gung-ho at OT? How many teams go there and do that? Even in their worst of moments, Man U are still capable of hurting anyone at their home ground. Recent experience has shown that. Here is Arsenal, on the opening day of the season, winning at OT and some people are complaining! Incredulous! Is that arrogance or poor appreciation of situations? Some of us have a sense of entitlement which is a very negative sentiment. Why should we imagine that Man U is there for the taking after they strengthened their squad? Let us get real and appreciate our three points on the opening day. It might prove to be the decisive factor in our season.
Well said David…especially re the entitlement piece.
Frankly soem Arsenal fans are not happy unless they’re moaning!
When we win convincingly the same people.never show up on threads
Most just turn up on match days only to criticise during play.
How many times, especially in the last 12 years, have we gone to Old Trafford with the better players; in the better form; play the better football on the day; and yet still lose!
As history has taught us, performance is completely irrelevant in this fixture…it’s all about the result.
Interesting take aways from the game:
1 – We were terrible on the day, yet won, clean sheet, and Raya didn’t have a lot to do. Sign of a quality team.
2 – Early subs from Arteta, and the right ones! He finally has depth, and looks like he’ll use it.
3 – No more horse shoe! That slow, ponderous build-up play was gone today, moving the ball back to front very directly, which opened the space. The players didn’t take advantage of it, but tactically it worked.
4 – Gyokeres stayed upfront. We often see our strikers come deep off the ball to help out, but it was noticeably how high he stayed. That is clearly more suited to his game, and allowed us to play more direct.
5 – More proof that we still need a better attacker on the LW. More of the same from Martinelli, and although we didn’t really get to see much of Madueke on the ball, we was very poor off it. Upgrade still needed.
A win is a win and it’s the three points that are important in the end. There are also “only” 37 games left.
It certainly didn’t go to script regarding performance though. There were many forecasts of easy Arsenal wins (3:1, 4:0 etc) here in the preceding few days. Just before kick-off, Utd were described in a post as a “rabble”. Some rabble as it turned out.
It could have ended as a draw (or, possibly, even worse) and it says something that Raya was Man of the Match. One stat from the BBC website: Utd had more shots yesterday than in any league game against Arsenal since 2011, when they scored 8 goals in the total humiliation of Wenger’s side.
Did anyone notice Rice seemed unfit? at times I would even notice/ suspect a limp. Has to be the reason our midfield struggled. Defensively and character, phew! we arose to the occasion. However, that was a hard one to watch, hope the boss twitches a thing or two, and we reinstate our passing identity and brand..
Didn’t see the game, but I have the general drift from reading all the posts
My 2 Bob’s worth is that Utd haven’t been feared for a while. and as a result of the last 2 seasons 8th & 15th, there is an expectation that they will be average this time
Since Arteta arrived in 2019/20 Utd have finished 2nd once, 3rd twice and 6th. Not fantastic lately but with domestic trophies won. My point is that 15th was almost certainly a blip and it was Amorim’s first few months in charge. He has a decent reputation so one would expect that with new players he should at the very least bring them back to European football
We are fed the line there are no easy games in the premier league. If, as I understand it, Utd were classed as very unlucky, they still didn’t manage to score so they couldn’t win. I was at the Utd fa cup tie in January when they frustrated us and won on penalties. We didn’t score so we couldn’t win either. It’s football
Well that’s 1 game down with another 37 to go. While I’m not impressed with the performance from an attacking stand point, toothless if I’m honest.
The defensive side of the team showed everything they’ll need if that’s how they perform in some games. Although I did at times think our defending was a bit keystone cops at times.
And as for our goal, while set piece’s have their place and it’s a good route for scoring goals. I for one hope we don’t become known as the set piece specialists, which is or has already been bestowed upon us.
Over all not the best start regarding performance, but a wins a win. Hopefully with another full-weeks training, they will pose more of an attacking threat come our first home game against Leeds. 👍
I understand this was the first game but the service to Gyokeres was nonexistent and if we don’t change soon it will be a waste of money. I also thought the ref was a bit shy penalizing Man Utd on several harsh incidents
Yok was drifting out into space left, that blind alley for him out there, soon doubled up on and going nowhere, not good. It’s Yok trying to fit in to Ars system not system tweaking for Yok.
Where was Martinelli? Why wasn’t he in team for this one?
What’s wrong with you people? Ode was our best player out there! He was like Ode of Old – retention, distribution, carrying, link up play, getting shots away.
Man Utd were actually very good, and we got the cleanie and the points. I’m proper impressed with that and more convinced of our year now than anytime this year.
Do you seriously think pattern of play and match stats would be same with Man U one up so long? A couple on counter didn’t happen this time – largely due to Utd so up for it – to shut up the always moaning Minnie’s but that only makes the performance securing scoreline and points more impressive not less impressive!
Wolves and Burnley likely bottom 3 with depleted Bournemouth not far off – that what’s messing with your thinking.
I suddenly feel relaxed about it. that was a marker laid down, meaning now let’s see both sides bat on the strip before there’s any crowing or moaning.
A win is a win…. 3 points on the board.
I’ll be interested to see how the other “big” teams fare at Old Trafford. Never an easy place to go.
It’ll be hard for any team to get in to a rhythm whenever any attempt at a 50/50 ball ends up with a Utd player on the ground and the crowd roaring for a free kick.
Have to say, Utd looked a lot better with their new signings. Cunha and Mbuemo definitely put in a shift. Unfortunately for them it just wasn’t good enough.
Good thing is, we don’t have to go back there this season (barring a possible cup draw), but the other teams do.
Man Utd battled and battled but didn’t get a single point and finally went home empty handed. This sums up the whole story.