Manchester United 0 Arsenal 1

United made an electric start to the new term, surging forwards in waves through Bryan Mbeumo on the right, Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu on the left and Mason Mount and Matheus Cunha through the middle.

But it was the Gunners who took the lead, courtesy of a point-blank-range header from Riccardo Calafiori, after Altay Bayindir directed a Declan Rice corner towards his own back post under pressure from William Saliba.

The Reds asked plenty of questions in the second half, through the likes of Mbeumo and substitute Amad in particular, but, despite deserving something from the game on balance, we couldn't breach the Gunners' defence on the day.

FIRST HALF - BEHIND AT THE BREAK

The sun was beaming down on M16 as the players stepped on the hallowed turf for the first time in a competitive fixture this term, many fans already suitably warmed up having stopped at our new pop-up pub installed behind the Stretford End.

There was a considered pause in the building atmosphere just ahead of kick-off, as we marked the tragic passing of brothers Andre Silva and Diogo Jota over the summer, observed impeccably by all parties inside Old Trafford.

The Reds then broke out into a chorus of 'United Road' and Ruben Amorim's charges duly responded by racing out of the blocks, Mbeumo haring down the right flank on a couple of occasions and testing David Raya in the early moments.

Mount notionally started as one of the head coach's dual no.10s, but was, in practice, rotating with Cunha at times and even, at one stage, sprinted back to stop a Bukayo Saka-led attack with a perfect interception.

United, with the buoyant Old Trafford crowd behind us, started the game the dominant side over the first 10 minutes, but were hit with a sucker punch minutes later when a Rice corner was palmed towards the far post by Bayindir under pressure from Saliba, the goal confirmed on the line by the head of full-back Calafiori. Bayindir protested he had been fouled but the on-field decision was not overturned.

That defensive lapse was sandwiched by intense attacking pressure from the Reds in the first half, Casmiro finding Mbeumo on the right from a deep position on a number of occasions, and the Cameroon international linking well with fellow new man Cunha to fire multiple shots at Raya.

Perhaps the best effort of the half from a United point of view, however, came from Dorgu, who found himself in acres of space on the left-hand side and didn't stumble over the invitation, racing forward and clattering a powerful effort against Raya's far post from outside the box.

Calafiori's goal was the only real danger posed to Bayindir's goal in the first half, so the Reds would be right to feel aggrieved heading back into the tunnel a goal down, but the header was indeed the only thing separating the two as referee Simon Hooper's half-time whistle sounded.

SECOND HALF - PRESSURE DOESN'T PAY OFF

It was a lower octane start to the second period once Mbeumo got us back under way, but the Reds soon roared back into the energetic unit we'd witnessed before the break.

The alarm was sounded once again for the Gunners with 10 minutes of the half played, after Bruno Fernandes plucked a Bayindir ball out of the sky and sent Mbeumo through the middle. The former Brentford man locked horns with Gabriel as the pair raced to meet the ball, but the defender was first to it, amid shouts of a foul from Mbeumo and his colleagues, waved away by Hooper.

Mikel Arteta's side posed a greater attacking threat with around an hour played, but Matthijs de Ligt was seemingly everywhere to defuse potential fires, first muscling Saka of the ball as he attempted to enter the box from the right, before popping up on the left to thwart Kai Havertz minutes later.

United's attacking impetus had been quelled slightly by a period of Arsenal possession around this point, but the Old Trafford crowd erupted back into life when the Reds' latest signing, Benjamin Sesko, stepped up to the white line to replace Mount for his debut; providing a first look at him in a red shirt.

Mbeumo was right in the thick of it again as the Reds worked hard to find an equaliser, attempting an overhead kick from a Fernandes delivery from the right, and later almost beating Raya with his head courtesy of a Dorgu ball from the left, parried well by the keeper.

Amad, having replaced Dalot not long after the restart, injected new life into the right side, bamboozling both Noni Madueke and Myles Lewis-Skelly at various points. On one such occasion, he entered the box after rounding Madueke and finding Sesko in the centre, but the striker was swarmed before he could get it out of his feet.

There were late shouts for a penalty as Cunha was brought down by Saliba, as he tried a neat flick in the six-yard box, but it was once again waved away by Hooper, a signal perhaps that the chips just weren't going to fall for the Reds on this occasion, added to when Harry Maguire's close-range header was held by Raya in stoppage time.

United dominated the ball, had double the visitors' attempts on goal and ultimately deserved something for our efforts, but all that wasn't enough to avoid a narrow opening-day defeat.

MATCH DETAILS

United: Bayindir; Yoro, De Ligt, Shaw (Maguire 80); Dalot (Amad 55), Casemiro (Ugarte 65), Fernandes (c), Dorgu; Mbeumo, Mount (Sesko 65); Cunha.

Subs not used: Heaton, Fredricson, Heaven, Mainoo, Zirkzee. 

Booking: Dorgu.

Arsenal: Raya; White (Timber 71), Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori (Lewis-Skelly 72); Zubimendi, Rice (Merino 83), Odegaard; Saka, Gyokeres (Havertz 60), Martinelli (Madueke 60).

Subs not used: Arrizabalaga, Mosquera, Nwaneri, Trossard.

Goal: Calafiori 13.

Bookings: Calafiori, Raya, Timber, Lewis-Skelly.