Manchester United vs Arsenal 0-1: Premier League – as it happened

Arsenal sneak away with a 1-0 result over Manchester United at Old Trafford, courtesy off Bayindir’s error in the first half. After running close to the title the last few seasons, the Gunners get their campaign off on the right foot.

United, who showed glimpses of their potential quality, were unable to get past a rigid Arsenal defence. Mbeumo and Cunha showed plenty of promise, and will look to scale new heights as the season progresses.

We hope you enjoyed our coverage of this back-and-forth encounter, and on behalf of Patrick Keddie, this is Rohan Sharma signing off.

A winning start to the season for @Arsenal 💪 pic.twitter.com/sdVqyyx96P

— Premier League (@premierleague) August 17, 2025

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta broke down the match with Sky Sports: “Massive [to get the result]. To come here with the atmosphere and the new signings. We have to be humble about how we scored the goal, and the game is won in both boxes, which is what we did today.”

“I look at the players’ faces and they want much more. We know that we are much better than certain moments we played. I think before I came here, it was 18 or 20 years since we won at Old Trafford. But now we come here and win many times and [are] still unsatisfied. We need to be careful against a team who has the speed in the front line to threaten in that way.

“Very happy with them [Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Zubimendi], [also with] the ones that came in as well. They had a massive impact in the game. Some are still not at the highest level that they need to get to, but we will get there.”

Want even more detail? Make sure to dive into our match report, which is hot off the presses.

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim dissected the match with Sky Sports.

“I’m really proud of the guys,” he said. “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.

“Sometimes it happened last year [regarding the Arsenal goal]. 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.”

Man Utd 0-1 Arsenal

Arsenal open their 2025-26 Premier League campaign with a narrow win Manchester United at Old Trafford.

It wasn’t pretty, but they did enough to secure all three points thanks to another goal via a corner. pic.twitter.com/7UTkMpbXbn

— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) August 17, 2025

Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori spoke with Sky Sports after the match.

“Like always, we were working a lot on our set pieces, and that is what we showed today,” he said. “We have to improve if possible and keep going.

“If we want to compete at the high level, we have to be good in every position. My teammates are ready to play, and it is not easy to play every game. The confidence we have inside is going to bring up the level. Hopefully, I play a lot, but if not, there is another teammate that can play.”

Viktor Gyökeres’ Premier League debut for Arsenal saw him attempt 0 shots, create 0 chances for his teammates and complete just four passes in 60 minutes. pic.twitter.com/0P5cKCqhyq

— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) August 17, 2025

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes shared his thoughts with Sky Sports.

“It’s the first game of the season,” he said, “so we cannot speak about a step forwards. We conceded a goal from a set piece early on, but from then on, Arsenal didn’t create any chances.

“We created lots of chances and didn’t score, so we have to do better next time. We controlled the game well; we were good on the ball.

“We didn’t score, so that is the main negative of the day. When you touch the goalkeeper and he can’t jump, that makes it difficult for [Altay] Bayindir.

“They [Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo] created a lot [of opportunities], [and] they were in the right positions. We know they are dangerous, and they are a threat. We are very aware of what they can give to the team. It was a good first impression for them, but I’m pretty sure they will do much better.”

“We have a big hope for what we want to do [this season] and what we want to achieve. There are positive things to look at, like scoring goals. I really liked the reaction of the fans at the end. I really appreciate what they did. That was more a sign of hope than what we did during the game.”

First half average touch positions for all players in Man Utd vs Arsenal. pic.twitter.com/td9jCz4HTP

— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) August 17, 2025

Arsenal keeper David Raya spoke with Sky Sports after the match: “The quality wasn’t there. We weren’t at our best with the ball. Defensively we weren’t at our best, so that was a hard fight.

“We got our goal in the first half with a corner, and from there we just fought until the end. Credit to the boys for getting the clean sheet.

“We know we could have lost the game, but football is like this. Days like this is when the three points count.

“The save from Cunha was a tough one. I don’t know how I saved it to be honest, it was so close to my feet. Delighted to help the team to get the save and three points.”

With just Leeds and Everton remaining in this opening weekend, here are the updated results:

• Liverpool 4-2 Bournemouth
• Aston Villa 0-0 Newcastle
• Brighton 1-1 Fulham
• Sunderland 3-0 West Ham
• Tottenham 3-0 Burnley
• Wolves 0-4 Manchester City
• Chelsea 0-0 Crystal Palace
• Nottingham Forest 3-1 Brentford
• Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal

Arsenal can breathe a huge sigh of relief after successfully defending a narrow 1-0 lead after Calafiori’s go-ahead goal after 13 minutes.

With this result, they have now managed six straight wins over their rivals. United had 22 shots in comparison to Arsenal’s nine, and dominated possession to the tune of 62 percent, but ultimately their lack of a killer edge at the front was their undoing. Bayindir’s error probably didn’t help either, and will certainly steal the headlines.

Arsenal will be pleased with how their defence came to the fore, and continued to show how dangerous they can be from set pieces.

Full-time: Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal

Kicking off our campaign with three huge points ✊ pic.twitter.com/DHNKTWce5f

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 17, 2025

After a helter-skelter stoppage time, the referee calls time on what has been an eventful season opener for these Premier League giants.

Full time: Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal

Timber and Maguire vie for an aerial ball, with the former holding onto the latter’s shirt as he went down.

The home fans go berserk as they plead for a penalty, but a quick VAR check confirms no wrongdoing.

90+5 mins: Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal

Saka latches onto an errant ball in the box, looking to blast it by Bayindir at the near post on the right side.

De Ligt spots the threat and immediately gets in the way to deflect it for a right-side corner. Saka plays it short, with the ball sent backwards.

Lewis-Skelly is a bit casual with his first touch, and with Mbeumo getting on the ball, is forced to take him down from behind, resulting in a straight yellow.

90+2 mins: Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal

Just six more minutes for Arsenal to survive, and for United to get a late equaliser.

Are we in for a final twist to this tale?

90 mins: Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal

Their back four have been outstanding so far in this half, with United creating very little in terms of chances.

88 mins: Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal

Dorgu goes into the book after hacking down Timber by the halfway line.

Soon after, Raya is shown a yellow for dawdling over the resulting free kick.

85 mins: Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal

Saka provides the service, but overhits the attempt.

It eventually goes out for a goal kick after Timber fails to control it at the far side.

83 mins: Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal

Rice and Odegaard are stationed over the ball, with the former whipping it in.

He curls it around the wall, with the ball just clipping Dorgu on the edge as the ball almost tucks into the near post.

Rice will certainly not be taking the attempt, as he is duly replaced by Mikel Merino.

82 mins: Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal