Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has praised his side’s resilience during their opening day victory against Manchester United, but conceded the performance was not up to their “standards” and insisted the side must “improve” moving forward.
Old Trafford saw another fascinating encounter between the two rivals on Sunday afternoon, with the Gunners coming out on top after Riccardo Calafiori headed in from close range.
Manchester United were vastly improved: Matheus Cunha’s ball-carrying and threat on the transition were undeniable, Bryan Mbeumo added quality to the attack and could have grabbed a debut goal, and the defence ushered by Matthijs de Ligt looked relatively comfortable.
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Arsenal, though, looked resilient and Martin Odegaard was back to his best, but Arteta’s side had to be patient.
Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard had a great game for the visitors
|REUTERS
But it was the same old story for the Red Devils: the goalkeeper. While Andre Onana was dropped and not injured, as boss Ruben Amorim confirmed ahead of kick-off, he was replaced by Altay Bayindir but to no avail.
Once again for Arteta’s side, it's a set piece that proved to be the difference. A wicked delivery from Declan Rice caused chaos and, with Bayindir struggling, Caliafori was able to head home from close range.
United kicked on from there and were the more dangerous of the two teams but remained somewhat toothless.
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Riccardo Calafiori headed in from close range after a set piece caused chaos at the back from Manchester United
|REUTERS
And while United looked improved, Arsenal were far from their best and still managed to scalp the Red Devils at their home ground.
Arteta insisted after the game that his Arsenal side must improve moving forward, but did not play down the magnitude of the victory, particularly on the opening day of the season.
"It's a big win for the first game of the season coming to Old Trafford," the 43-year-old boss said afterwards. "You have the sense that they [Man United] want to build this momentum, this new energy with the new signings that they had, and to come here and get away with a win, it's a massive result.
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"I think we've done some very good things in the game, and some things that are not our standards, but I'm so pleased about the way we reacted to that.
“We reacted to mistakes on the day, and from places that are unusual to see, but that gave us the chance to win the game today.
"I think we have to be humble in the way we did it, but at the end recognise that it's really tough. I want to see how many teams come here and win the game.
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Mikel Arteta spoke after the game, praising the result but insisting his side 'must improve'
|Arsenal
“To win on the first day, I think we have to come away happy with the result, and understand that we have to improve in many areas still."
The victory means the Gunners are now unbeaten on their travels to Old Trafford in three years, while continuing United’s miserable run of failing to win consecutive home games.
But it’s not all doom and gloom for United. They caused Arsenal, and particularly the centre-back pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba, headaches.
Big-money strikers Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko both saw substantial minutes, although neither were on the field at the same time.
Both forwards remained on the periphery of the game, with fellow new signings Mbuemo and Cunha shining for United and Odegaard equally as bright for Arsenal.
United travel to Fulham in next Sunday’s late fixture, after the Cottagers nicked a late winner at Brighton earlier in the weekend.
Arsenal host newly promoted Leeds United at the Emirates on Saturday evening, who return to Elland Road in the Premier League on Monday evening against Everton.