Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has shared an honest verdict of his side’s 1-0 defeat at the hands of Arsenal.
United beaten by Arsenal
United welcomed Arsenal to Old Trafford for their 2025/26 Premier League opener.
Heading into the game, there was an air of optimism about the team’s prospects, following an unbeaten pre-season run and the additions of Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cuha and Benjamin Sesko.
United got off to a good start, playing aggressively and dominating possession. However, it was the visitors, against the run of play, who took the lead.
Riccardo Calafiori headed in a Declan Rice corner kick after some pitiful goalkeeping from Altay Bayindir, who failed to get a strong hand to the ball.
The Red Devils pushed hard for an equaliser and created a number of goalscoring opportunities but it was not to be.
The Gunners managed to hold on for all three points while condemning United to their first league loss of the new campaign.
However, Amorim has insisted that his players deserved more after the effort they put in.
Amorim’s remarks on the game
Amorim told Sky Sports [as quoted by BBC], “I’m really proud of the guys. They were really brave in everything they did during the game.”
“Congratulations for the performance. We deserved a different result and we need to move forward to the next one.”
“We were more aggressive than last year. We went one against one all the game and we pressed high. We had quality with the ball. Even when the stadium made some sounds, we continued to play the way we play.”
“You always feel in the game they can do something not just with the ball but without the ball. I am proud of the game we played. We lost and have things to work on.”
“We need to win games but that was completely different to last season.”
Asked about Arsenal’s goal, Amorim answered, “Sometimes it happened last year. It’s not playing the ball. I understand we want goals but when you are touching the goalkeeper.”
“Sometimes you are pushing and you don’t have more hands to go for the ball. We need to be stronger. We are not changing the rules, we have to adapt to the rules. Today I think we are the better team.”
“We have players to win any game of the Premier League. We need to focus and forget about the noise. It doesn’t matter who is playing, we want to win games.”
United are back in action next Sunday when they travel to Craven Cottage to face Marco Silva’s Fulham.
Featured image Michael Regan via Getty Images
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Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
