Same Old Man Utd, Or Were There Shoots of Progress in Arsenal Defeat?

If there was one factor that summed up Manchester United’s miserable 2024-25 campaign, it was their poor displays at Old Trafford. And just when they were eager to make a fresh start, the opening weekend of the 2025-26 Premier League season reminded everyone of the same issue.

Sunday’s 1-0 defeat at home to Arsenal marked their 10th Premier League loss at Old Trafford since the beginning of last season. In fact, it was also their 10th in less than a year, as the first one of 2024-25 came on 1 September 2024; the 10 league defeats before that had been spread between May 2024 and October 2021.

Eight of those home defeats have come since Ruben Amorim succeeded Erik ten Hag in November, while Sunday was the Portuguese coach’s 15th Premier League defeat in only 28 matches. That is the fastest any manager (aside from those leading newly promoted sides) has reached 15 losses since Paul Hart did so in 27 games with Portsmouth back in 2009.

Judged purely on that, the picture looks bleak. And then there’s the fact that starting a new season with another loss can quickly drain any momentum or optimism from pre-season before it even translates into real progress.

Yet, this time Old Trafford carried a different feeling. The scoreline alone didn’t capture the whole story; this was clearly one of those games, and the crowd atmosphere showed it.

The Manchester United who showed up on Sunday looked completely different from the version seen for much of last season in the league.

They were energetic, physically stronger, decisive in possession, and able to dictate the game for long periods. It’s worth noting that Arsenal’s early goal may have shaped their approach, but Mikel Arteta surely hadn’t planned for his side to see so little of the ball.

United enjoyed 60.7% of possession throughout the match; this was only the third time since 2016 that they had over 60% possession in a Premier League fixture against a traditional “big six” rival, with the other two occasions both coming against Tottenham, a team they usually perform well against.

Of course, having more of the ball only matters to a degree, but one of United’s biggest problems last season was not being able to dominate matches and still pose a threat. On Sunday, their performance had character; they played with conviction and intent, whereas in 2024-25 it often felt as though only Bruno Fernandes could rescue them.

Fernandes impressed again versus Arsenal, but instead of being forced to shoot from range, the captain acted more as a playmaker from deep. He ensured steady service to the front three, who were themselves among the main reasons for encouragement.

Matheus Cunha, above all, was nearly impossible to handle. His mix of flair, pace, and power unsettled Arsenal constantly — whether he was racing past Ben White after a smart touch, outpacing and fending off William Saliba down the flank, or twisting away inside the box to draw an excellent save from David Raya.