Manchester United slipped to defeat in their opening Premier League game of the season against Arsenal to get Ruben Amorim off to a bad start – but it could have been avoided
They spent £200m on the attack but if Jim Ratcliffe and Co don’t find another lump of cash to buy a keeper at the back then there will be no improvement in results.
Manchester United’s performance here was better and might give head coach Ruben Amorim hope that they won’t be as terrible as they were last season. It has been a while since United were dominant against one of the Premier League big boys.
But for all the good play they didn’t score. New buys Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko – who was brought on for his debut in the second half – drew a blank. That will happen against the best teams and especially one as defensively resolute as Arsenal.
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But what is unforgivable is gifting goals to the opposition and Altay Bayindir did just that. The Turkish shot stopper was picked ahead of Andre Onana – who was left out of the squad despite being fit – but he flapped at the 13th-minute corner which led to the Gunners’ winner.
It’s not the first time he has shown weakness at set-pieces. He conceded a similar goal against Tottenham in the Carabao Cup last season. So there’s evidence it is an issue yet United have not sorted it this summer.
It is quite clear that after two seasons at the club Onana is not good enough to be the No.1 at Old Trafford. Was Amorim sending a message to his bosses here by leaving him out and playing his deputy, who is somehow worse?
If so it was a costly one because it backfired as United got their Premier League season off to a losing start in a campaign Amorim needed them to hit the ground running to keep the pressure off. Obviously United needed to bolster their front line given the fact they scored just 44 league goals last season – the lowest tally outside of the relegated three.
But games against their biggest rivals are going to be won by moments and Bayindir could only slap the ball down to Riccardo Calafiori for the decisive one of this game. He should have been clearing out William Saliba as he backed into him but instead he was bullied by the Gunners’ centre-half.
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United haven’t been shy boasting about their sporting structure and earning plaudits for beating rivals like Newcastle to signings. Yet they’ve not thought it was a good idea to bring in a new goalkeeper before the start of the season?
That’s a worrying blind spot if you’re a United supporter. They still have two weeks to sort it out before the window closes but the clock is ticking and they might fall further behind if Bayindir or Onana make any more messes in the next fortnight.
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