Manchester United fell to a 1-0 defeat against Arsenal at Old Trafford on the opening weekend of the 2025-26 Premier League season. Arsenal’s Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori headed in the only goal from point-blank range after United ‘keeper Altay Bayindir weakly flapped at a Declan Rice corner under his own crossbar in the 13th minute.
United manager Ruben Amorim handed debuts to big-money summer signings Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo in attack, but it was left wing-back Patrick Dorgu who came closest to an equaliser in the first half when he hit the base of the post from just outside the box. Cunha also forced visiting goalkeeper David Raya into a couple of smart saves before the interval.
Manchester United continued to enjoy the lion’s share of the possession in the second half as they chased the game and Raya was the busier of the two ‘keepers. Mbeumo spurned a couple of chances before the other new signing, Slovenian centre-forward Benjamin Šeško, came off the bench for the final twenty-five minutes.
United continued to press and there was a potential penalty shout late on for a challenge by Saliba on Cunha, but ultimately the Arsenal defence held for and they took the three points back to London. Despite the scoreline, there were some positives to take from the United performance, but the pressure is already on and they need to start getting results sooner rather than later.