Ten Man Utd 0-1 Arsenal conclusions revisited as Gyokeres, Fernandes, Mbeumo fates predicted

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·25 gennaio 2026

Ten Man Utd 0-1 Arsenal conclusions revisited as Gyokeres, Fernandes, Mbeumo fates predicted

When the opening weekend of a Premier League season rolls around, there will always be excitable knee-jerk reactions to the first round of games.

Teams and their players are often rashly written off after a disappointing start or hyped as the real deal, though these early assessments do not always reflect how the season pans out.

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This was particularly the case with Arsenal’s unconvincing 1-0 away win against Ruben Amorim’s supposedly resurgent Manchester United side at Old Trafford in August.

At the time, there were the same old fears about Arsenal being held back by Mikel Arteta’s defensive mindset. Meanwhile, despite losing, Man Utd were widely praised for their positive performance that was tipped to indicate a much-improved season under Amorim.

This has since been proven wrong on both counts, with Sunday’s reverse fixture pitting runaway Premier League leaders Arsenal against a Man Utd side with renewed optimism under a new interim head coach after Amorim ultimately failed to turn things around.

So, ahead of Sunday’s match at the Emirates, we have revisited Matt Stead’s conclusions from the August fixture (he was right to be pessimistic about Man Utd) and detail ten main takeaways that have since been debunked and/or proven…

Man Utd’s ‘false dawn’

‘Manchester United have trampled over too many green shoots of promise they have only just planted to engender much faith in this latest long-term plan. Their modern history contains more false dawns than a Vicar of Dibley convention. Do this against Fulham and Burnley before the international break and we’ll start believing this might be different.’

Credit to Stead for shoehorning a great Vicar of Dibley bit into his dissection of one of Man Utd’s many false dawns, with good performances against top sides before losses against your Grimsby Towns, Brentfords and Evertons a hallmark of Amorim’s reign and other managers before him.

We don’t need to go into what followed the Arsenal defeat right here, but those who naively felt Man Utd had turned a corner here were badly wrong, with this club now renowned for delivering letdown after letdown.

Michael Carrick’s side will probably replicate the levels reached against Man City when they face Arsenal, but don’t be shocked if/when they lose against Fulham in their next game.

1-0 to the Arsenal and ‘three points being the most important thing’

‘Liverpool and Manchester City can make their four-goal statements before Arsenal stumble over their words, but the final message was all the same.’

Arsenal were far from convincing in their 2025/26 opener, but their unrelenting reliability and defensive resiliance has given them a huge advantage over their title rivals, especially considering there’s been a significant drop off from Manchester City and Liverpool.

Viktor Gyokeres is a flop

‘A shiny penny to whomever is first to ask whether Arsenal are better without him.’

Stead was pretty forgiving of Gyokeres’ first of many non-performances in a big game for Arsenal this season as he was far from 100% for the Man Utd match.

Still, early signs of his ineffectiveness in the Premier League and in this Arsenal side were evident against Man Utd and have been laid bare in the months since. His stunning goal in midweek does little to gloss over the fact that he has been a huge disappointment and has not been the No.9 solution he was meant to be…

And Kai Havertz (or Gabriel Jesus) being better

‘Arsenal naturally looked smoother and more coherent when he came on but the difference in sharpness, technical levels and decision making against what came before with Gyokeres was clear.’

As this season has developed, it has looked increasingly inevitable that Kai Havertz will eventually replace Gyokeres in Arsenal’s starting XI. And in actuality, the Swedish international’s situation is worse as he could realistically find himself third in the pecking order behind Havertz and Gabriel Jesus following the Brazilian’s unexpected resurgence.

Man Utd’s ‘policy signings’ looking the business

‘It turns out spending £200m on a completely new frontline while loaning out all the previous composite parts can rejuvenate it.’

Man Utd’s performance against Arsenal may have proved a false dawn en route to Amorim’s long-overdue demise, but there are at least some positives for the club following a summer transfer window that was largely positive across the board.

Before the Arsenal game, Man Utd had already completed their £200m attacking overhaul, and there were positive early signs from Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and, less so, Benjamin Sesko. They have further cemented themselves as integral players over recent months, but they need some help…

‘Glaring problems’ still to fix for Man Utd

‘It is not worth contemplating how much needs to be spent fumigating and then rectifying their other glaring problem positions… Brighton are going to extract a comical amount of money from skint Sir Jim next summer for Carlos Baleba. Whether this midfield can hang on for long enough is unknown.’

While Liverpool attempted to fix all of their problems in a single window, Man Utd did not have the financial means to do so without Champions League football and opted to push back their plans for a midfield rebuild to this year.

This has seemed a mistake, but Amorim’s exit and the return of Kobbie Mainoo ease their issues in this department. Still, as Stead mentions, a marquee signing in Baleba’s mould is a must to fill the void left by Casemiro, with a four-man shortlist revealed.

‘Pointless’ Man Utd signings

‘The goalkeeper situation is untenable… Investing hundreds of millions on forwards is pointless [without a new No.1].’

Any chance of Alter Bayindir having a prolonged stint as No.1 following Andre Onana’s exit ended against Arsenal, with the stand-in proving a regen of his flaky predecessor.

Bayindir would have likely cost Man Utd as many points as Onana, so Man Utd could not afford to not sign a new No.1 goalkeeper in the final days of the summer window. INEOS acknowledged this and landed Senne Lammens, who performed better than anyone could have anticipated as a brilliant fix for one of his side’s biggest issues. It’s ridiculous to suggest Emi Martinez could replace him.

Arteta ‘nails a ruthless decision’

‘The way Raya has transitioned to becoming a genuinely brilliant keeper is not spoken of often enough, nor how Arteta absolutely nailed such a ruthless decision.’

Lammens has been superb this season, but he still has a long way to go to match the standards of Arsenal standout Raya, who continues to make Arteta feel smug after upgrading Aaron Ramsdale.

And what Arteta’s next ‘brutal call’ should be

‘That sort of brutal, cutthroat call really might need to be made on Arsenal’s left wing at some point… Arsenal could charge a sizeable rent based on the room for improvement in that position; it really could hold them back.’

At this stage, it’s hard to pick a fault with this Arsenal side as they are littered with quality options in every position. However, if they have a weak spot, it is on the left flank.

Stead’s dismay was directed at Gabriel Martinelli, who Arsenal really need to cash in on this year to cut their losses, as his development has plateaued to the point where he is the weakest of Arteta’s wingers.

Leandro Trossard’s return to form has been welcome this season, but he has a limited shelf life, so Stead’s point still stands and Arsenal’s next big-money signing should be a left-winger capable of having a similar output as Bukayo Saka on the right.

Man Utd should have sold Bruno Fernandes

‘Where the captain fits on this ship is unknown as the issues in slotting him into this system persist… Maybe £100m in exchange for a brilliant but incongruous 30-year-old wasn’t the worst deal.’

The biggest thing Stead arguably got ‘wrong’ was his point about Fernandes, who re-established himself as an indispensable player against Man City in his preferred role as a lynchpin of Man Utd’s attack. He remains their only world-class player and Carrick (and eventually his successor) needs to build around the club captain rather than move him on to fund signings.