Manchester United lost their first game of the 2025/2026 Premier League season at Old Trafford against Arsenal, despite showing some positive signs and confirming to their fans that they are ready to be more decisive and more competitive than last season.
Manchester United showed great discipline and willingness to score, win duels, and take the game to their opponents.
It was clear that the Red Devils’ players were driven to win.
Their attitude on the pitch was different from the last few seasons, as they knew that Manchester United created more chances, had more possession, and shot more on goal than their opponent.
The signs are there that Manchester United have a greater chance of reaching a better position than last season by the end of the current campaign, especially if they keep playing with the same desire and, more importantly, if they become more intelligent in the attacking phase and fix some of the issues that prevent them from scoring.
Acquiring the experience of knowing how to score goals even when not playing very well is something that Manchester United need to learn, as opposed to Arsenal, who knew how to win in a complicated away match despite not touching the ball a lot compared to their opponent, with just a 38% possession rate.
At the same time, it is true that Manchester United lost the game and conceded a goal that could have been avoided if the Red Devils had studied Arsenal’s set-piece strategies better and marked their players more tightly, but that does not take away from them the fact that they looked different, more organised and more dangerous in the attacking phase.
That said, some weaknesses and tactical errors should be tackled as we move forward, given that Man United will have to make the necessary collective adjustments and correct individual mistakes in order to start winning points in the upcoming fixtures and be even more dangerous than in their initial game.
This tactical analysis of the Manchester United vs Arsenal match will focus mainly on Manchester United’s attacking performance under Ruben Amorim tactics.
A section will explore the impact of Mbeumo-Cunha on the team’s attacking system and the limits of this duo.
It would be unfair to fully judge the impact of Benjamin Šeško in this game since he was subbed on in the 65th minute to play only 30 minutes overall.
The second section of the Manchester United analysis will study the underutilization of effective wing-based attacking transitions.
But first, let’s begin by introducing both teams’ formations and lineups.
Manchester United Vs Arsenal Lineups
Ruben Amorim started the initial match of the season using the 3-4-2-1 formation on paper, with Altay Bayındır as a goalkeeper.
Based on his three goalkeepers’ current form, he left André Onana out of the squad list as a tactical choice.
In defence, Amorim relied on Luke Shaw, Matthijs de Ligt, and Leny Yoro as the three centre-backs, with Diogo Dalot and Patrick Dorgu as wing-backs, who were heavily relied on for both the defensive and attacking phases.
Both players were valuable, especially during the attacking transition.
They made things easier for the ball holder and provided multiple passing options.
Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes formed the midfield duo, with Bryan Mbeumo and Mason Mount being the two advanced playmakers on paper.
In fact, both Mbeumo and Mount exchanged positions recurrently, with Mbeumo leaning towards the right wing so often and Mount leaning towards the left wing at times and playing as a central advanced playmaker at other times.
This flexible attacking positioning was enhanced by Matheus Cunha’s role as a false nine.
He retreats most of the time to midfield and leans towards both wings, which makes it a bit more complicated to mark him.
On the other hand, Mikel Arteta started the match according to the 4-3-3 formation with David Raya as a goalkeeper, Ben White as a right-back, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães as centre-backs and Riccardo Calafiori as a left-back.
The midfield was formed of the Spanish Martín Zubimendi, Declan Rice and Martin Ødegaard, who had more freedom to advance and act like an advanced playmaker when needed.
Upfront, Arteta used Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli as wingers alongside the new Swedish striker, Viktor Gyökeres.
Manchester United Vs Arsenal Formations
The Mbeumo-Cunha Impact & Possible Improvements
Both Mbeumo and Cunha positively impacted the game against Arsenal in their first official match in Manchester United colours, as both were very active and involved in most of their team’s attacking actions.
More importantly, Mbeumo and Cunha added more dynamism, discipline, and danger to their team’s first line of attack.
They were characterised by explosiveness, reliable dribbling and penetration abilities, and a hunger for goals that was noticeable in this match.
Despite failing to help their team equalise or take the lead, it is important to look at what they added to Manchester United’s attacking system and build on fixing their individual errors and Amorim’s tactical mistakes.
The following examples will help narrow down the areas for improvement for both players and the team as a whole while highlighting what was positive in this match.
Amorim studied Arsenal’s system well and relied heavily on attacking transitions to punish Arteta’s continuous reliance on a high defensive block.
Calafiori and White advanced a lot and joined the midfield at times.
Amorim used quick and explosive players like Dorgu and Mbeumo perfectly.
He instructed both players to advance and make themselves unmarked as soon as the team won the ball back in defence, which would help Fernandes or Mount find a passing option on one of the wings.
Amorim exploited his opponent’s tactical choices by exploiting the space on one of the wings during the attacking transitions.
Bryan Mbeumo Off-The-Ball Movement
In this regard, Mbeumo was exceptional in freeing himself from marking and allowing his teammates to provide him with passes in space.
This example highlights Mbeumo’s quick acceleration to avoid Calafiori’s marking and find the time to get to Mount’s through pass on time.
Furthermore, Mbeumo’s exceptional physical strength and ability to protect the ball make him capable of resisting any disturbance and winning most of the duels he gets involved in, which represents an upgrade for Manchester United regarding this aspect if we compare him to Amad Diallo or even to Antony.
As mentioned above, Manchester United found a lot of space at the back of Arsenal’s defensive line, mainly thanks to their efficient attacking transitions based on Dorgu and Mbeumo’s movements, which provided passing options on both wings.
However, although Dorgu created a lot of danger on this occasion by hitting the post with his powerful shot, what preceded the shooting attempt requires some attention.
In reality, Dorgu opted for shooting mainly because he found no better options inside or near the box.
Matheus Cunha Positional Errors
This takes us to focusing on Cunha’s movements and his lack of awareness of the striker’s role in similar actions.
Cunha stood behind Arsenal’s players and asked for the ball when he should have made the forward move.
He attacked the space behind the defensive line to receive a cross or a pass in a suitable goalscoring position.
Cunha was indeed given the freedom to retreat and act like a false nine during the game; nevertheless, it is not really understandable to wait for a pass at the edge of the box instead of attacking the space when you are the team’s striker, knowing that players like Mount and Fernandes should be the ones who wait in that area like Fernandes did in this action.
Fixing such positional errors would be fundamental for Amorim to make his team more organised and more dangerous in attack; otherwise, Cunha can be dropped to a midfield position with Šeško starting as a striker more regularly if Cunha cannot make the needed striker movements inside the box, especially without the ball.
At the same time, Cunha showed that he can offer a different kind of attacking contribution, thanks to his penetration skills and ability to beat his opponents in one-on-one situations, like in the action that took place in the 32nd minute of the first half, when Cunha was able to penetrate through Arsenal’s whole defence and create a crucial goalscoring opportunity for himself.
Matheus Cunha Penetration Skills
This was one of the remarkable attacking actions of the match as it highlighted Cunha’s dribbling talent and confirmed that he can be very dangerous, especially when having the ball in midfield, and less so when moving without the ball near the box.
That’s why what happened in this match suggests that Cunha would be more appropriate for an advanced playmaker role rather than a main striker role.
Cunha made a similar penetration attempt inside the box soon after and was close to scoring, but his finishing was not on point.
It was not as dangerous as needed during the action that preceded it, which highlights a finishing issue that prevented Manchester United from scoring despite shooting 19 times as opposed to nine shots for Arsenal.
Matheus Cunha Finishing
Failing to shoot with power towards one of the difficult angles while focusing only on the curve, making the shot central despite having the time needed to focus on making his shot much more dangerous, represents another issue that needs to be fixed in order to make Manchester United more concrete on goal.
That said, the action itself highlights the interchangeability of positions between Mbeumo and Cunha, especially during counterattacks.
This example shows how Mbeumo became the “target man” who provided a perfect backwards pass to Cunha, allowing him to finish freely.
This was one of the actions to work on repeating in the future, but with more efficiency in terms of finishing.
The Lack Of Exploitation Of The Effective Wing-Based Attacking Transitions
As mentioned above, Manchester United were excellent in terms of attacking transitions in this match, especially during the first half when they created numerous chances but failed to convert them into goals.
Apart from Raya’s crucial saves, other factors made it more difficult for Amorim’s team to score.
Manchester United Lack Of Attacking Support Inside The Box
One of the most notable reasons is the lack of attacking support for these quick attacking transitions and the very late arrival of Cunha and Fernandes to the final third and to the box.
The following example perfectly showcases how Mbeumo was obliged to opt for the solo attempt because he had no support and no passing options near him, with Cunha failing to advance as quickly as needed.
It is true that Mbeumo was very active and efficient thanks to his movements with and without the ball, as he was also close to scoring on multiple occasions, including his powerful header that was saved miraculously by Raya in the second half.
Bryan Mbeumo Final Pass Decision-Making
However, some of Mbeumo’s decisions, especially regarding final passes, could have been different and more dangerous.
On some occasions, Mbeumo could have alternated his dribbling methods and avoided cutting inside like usual.
Having a proper striker who moves correctly without the ball and attacks the empty space should have encouraged Mbeumo to cross the ball to him directly instead of opting for cutting inside in a crowded area.
In this case, a cross could have created an assist for Šeško, who was making the right movement inside the box while escaping from marking.
Furthermore, Šeško was disappointed when his header, his single goal-scoring opportunity in the game, went off target.
However, we cannot really put the blame on Šeško for the lack of concretisation of the team’s dangerous counterattacks, mainly because he was subbed on late and only had one chance, despite making the right movements without the ball to receive better passes.
Therefore, finding the needed chemistry between Mbeumo, Šeško, Mount, Cunha, Fernandes, and the rest will be crucial for Manchester United to become much more decisive upfront.
They need to move better without the ball and focus more on providing the best possible final pass at the appropriate timing.
At the same time, individual finishing training should be obligatory for most attacking players.
Manchester United will have to miss fewer chances in the future if they plan on capitalising on their created chances.
Conclusion
Manchester United lost their first game of the season, but they played better and showed some very positive signs, which they should work on confirming for the rest of the season by improving what went wrong.
Working on finishing and final passes and making the right tactical attacking adjustments will be necessary to become more dangerous and crucial upfront, with Šeško deserving a starting spot as a striker and Cunha retreating to an attacking midfield position.
