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, lets 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 Cunhas 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 char
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