While the new season started with a revived sense of optimism, it only took the Manchester United supporters 13 minutes to witness traumatic flashbacks from last season, as Altay Bayindir committed a costly blunder on an Arsenal corner kick.
The Red Devils showed promising scenes in the early going, as they dominated possession and launched attacks led by summer signings Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo.
However, the United faithful were given a swift wake-up call when Bayindir failed to properly deal with a corner kick, resulting in the opening goal in favour of the Gunners.
Altay Bayindir fails to deal with Arsenal corner kick
The corner was delivered by Declan Rice straight to the mouth of the goal. While this was supposed to be the goalkeeper’s ball, Bayindir was outmuscled by William Saliba, forcing the Turkish international to fluff the save, allowing Riccardo Calafiori to pounce on the rebound and score with the simplest of tap-ins.
The Athletic journalist Laurie Whitwell described Bayindir’s effort as ‘abysmal’, noting how the Man Utd goalkeeper was easily beaten to the ball by the Arsenal defender, which brought back memories of the goal he conceded against Tottenham Hotspur last season in the Carabao Cup from a direct Son Heung-min corner.
“Bright start by United undone by another abysmally defended corner. Bayindir showing no strength, gets outmuscled by Saliba to palm ball backwards + is only saved from an own goal by Calafiori nodding in on line. Shades of Spurs last season in Carabao.”
Bright start by #MUFC undone by another abysmally defended corner. Bayindir showing no strength, gets outmuscled by Saliba to palm ball backwards + is only saved from an own goal by Calafiori nodding in on line. Shades of Spurs last season in Carabao.
— Laurie Whitwell (@lauriewhitwell) August 17, 2025
Ruben Amorim could have started Andre Onana
Interestingly, Andre Onana had recovered from injury and was expected to start, but Ruben Amorim decided to keep him on the bench.
The Portuguese manager was asked ahead of the contest about this particular choice. The Man Utd boss confirmed that the Cameroonian is healthy one more, but he simply opted to reward the players who did well in pre-season, including Bayindir.
While Onana is no stranger to howlers, one might wonder if Amorim has already regretted his choice as he watches his team trail against Arsenal on the opening day of the season.
