Emmanuel Petit has hailed Bryan Mbeumo as a “bargain” buy for Manchester United after he fired the Red Devils to a 3-2 win at the Emirates on Sunday evening. Superb Summer Signing INEOS prioritised a move for Mbeumo over the summer after the 26-year-old speedster produced the best campaign of his career for Brentford last year. 20 goals and eight assists in the Premier League would be a strong return at a ‘big six’ club for any striker; for midtable Brentford, it made Mbeumo one of the division’s most potent forwards, particularly given he was often deployed on the wing. United, by comparison, struggled for goals in the club’s worst campaign in the Premier League era, with the senior striking partnership of Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee combining for just seven goals between them. It makes sense, therefore, why United targeted Mbeumo, who signalled his desire to complete a switch to Old Trafford, despite interest from Arsenal, Newcastle and, in particular, Tottenham Hotspur – with Bees boss Thomas Frank having just taken charge of the Lilywhites. A £71 million deal (£65m + £6m in add-ons) was eventually struck after weeks of protracted negotiations with Brentford, with Mbeumo adopting the No. 19 shirt in Ruben Amorim’s squad. And while Amorim has since departed the club after a complete breakdown in his relationship with United’s hierarchy, the Cameroon international remains his – and INEOS’s – best signing from the summer. He is United’s top scorer with nine goals, despite missing the past month while on duty for the Africa Cup of Nations. But it is the pivotal nature of these strikes that is even more impressive, with Mbeumo becoming the first signing since Robin van Persie to score against Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City in his debut season with the Red Devils. Mbeumo is the man for the big occasion at a club where, too often, new recruits have wilted under the pressure of the moment. It is this decisiveness which leads Petit to cast an envious eye towards Old Trafford. A Clinical Forward As relayed by GOAL, the Arsenal legend believes Mbeumo is the one player the Gunners “should sign to help fire them” to the title this year, with Mikel Arteta’s squad needing a more clinical forward. “Yesterday I saw exactly what I thought about this player against Arsenal, it’s Mbeumo. I think in terms of movement, he’s very intelligent. He’s got this flair in front of the goal. He’s very good in terms of assists as well,” Petit states. “I love his work rate. I love his behaviour on the pitch, technically, mentally as well. But more importantly, I like his movement, the link with his players all the time. He brings something different up front. He’s not that physical, but in the meantime he puts everything he has on the pitch. But I love him because he’s very intelligent. “When I saw Manchester United buy him in the last transfer market, I thought, this is a good bargain.” Mbeumo has been deployed as a false nine in the last two games under Michael Carrick, scoring both of his side’s opening goals to help propel them onto memorable back-to-back victories. His all-round play has been strong, with an unrelenting work ethic off the ball and deadly pace in behind. Despite being 5’7, Arsenal’s monstrous centre-back pairing of William Saliba and Gabriel struggled all evening with the Cameroonian, who showed outstanding composure to slot his goal past David Raya. PlayerBryan Mbeumo Goals1 Expected goals (xG)0.21 Assists0 Expected assists (xA)0.01 Total shots2 Expected goals on target (xGOT)0.18 Shots on target1 Shots blocked0 Touches22 Unsuccessful touches1 Dribbles (successful)0 (0) Possession lost7 Total carrying distance73.9 m Carries7 Progressive carries1 Total progression19.5 m Progressive carrying distance30.8 m Longest progressive carry30.6 m Key passes2 Crosses (accurate)0 (0) Accurate passes7/12 (58%) Passes in opposition half (acc.)3/7 (43%) Passes in own half (acc.)4/5 (80%) Tackles (won)1 (0) Interceptions0 Clearances2 Blocked shots1 Recoveries2 Ground duels (won)4 (1) Aerial duels (won)4 (0) Dribbled past2 It is little wonder why an Arsenal icon would love to add a reliable source of goals to a side whose main weakness is the absence of a ruthless forward. Featured image Alex Pantling via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Darragh Fox Darragh is an editor for The Peoples Person who spent three years learning about the Cold War at the University of Sheffield slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about. Amad’s first touch should be officially recognised as the eighth wonder of the world.
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