When the opening weekend of a Premier League season rolls around, there will always be excitable knee-jerk reactions to the first round of games.<\/p>\n
Teams and their players are often rashly written off after a disappointing start or hyped as the real deal, though these early assessments do not always reflect how the season pans out.<\/p>\n
This was particularly the case with Arsenal\u2019s unconvincing 1-0 away win against Ruben Amorim\u2019s supposedly resurgent Manchester United<\/a> side at Old Trafford in August.<\/p>\n At the time, there were the same old fears about Arsenal <\/a>being held back by Mikel Arteta\u2019s defensive mindset. Meanwhile, despite losing, Man Utd were widely praised for their positive performance that was tipped to indicate a much-improved season under Amorim.<\/p>\n This has since been proven wrong on both counts, with Sunday\u2019s reverse fixture pitting runaway Premier League leaders Arsenal against a Man Utd side with renewed optimism under a new interim head coach after Amorim ultimately failed to turn things around.<\/p>\n So, ahead of Sunday\u2019s match at the Emirates, we have revisited Matt Stead\u2019s conclusions from the August fixture (he was right to be pessimistic about Man Utd) <\/a>and detail ten main takeaways that have since been debunked and\/or proven\u2026<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Man Utd\u2019s \u2018false dawn\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018Manchester United have trampled over too many green shoots of promise they have only just planted to engender much faith in this latest long-term plan. Their modern history contains more false dawns than a Vicar of Dibley convention. Do this against Fulham and Burnley before the international break and we\u2019ll start believing this might be different.\u2019<\/p>\n Credit to Stead for shoehorning a great Vicar of Dibley bit into his dissection of one of Man Utd\u2019s many false dawns, with good performances against top sides before losses against your Grimsby Towns, Brentfords and Evertons a hallmark of Amorim\u2019s reign and other managers before him.<\/p>\n We don\u2019t need to go into what followed the Arsenal defeat right here, but those who naively felt Man Utd had turned a corner here were badly wrong, with this club now renowned for delivering letdown after letdown.<\/p>\n Michael Carrick\u2019s side will probably replicate the levels reached against Man City when they face Arsenal, but don\u2019t be shocked if\/when they lose against Fulham in their next game.<\/p>\n READ:\u00a0Paul Scholes should \u2018f**king grow up\u2019 as shock four-man Manchester United midfielder shortlist \u2018revealed\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 1-0 to the Arsenal and \u2018three points being the most important thing\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018Liverpool and Manchester City can make their four-goal statements before Arsenal stumble over their words, but the final message was all the same.\u2019<\/p>\n Arsenal were far from convincing in their 2025\/26 opener, but their unrelenting reliability and defensive resiliance has given them a huge advantage over their title rivals,<\/a> especially considering there\u2019s been a significant drop off from Manchester City and Liverpool.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Viktor Gyokeres is a flop<\/p>\n \u2018A shiny penny to whomever is first to ask whether Arsenal are better without him.\u2019<\/p>\n Stead was pretty forgiving of Gyokeres\u2019 first of many non-performances in a big game for Arsenal this season as he was far from 100% for the Man Utd match.<\/p>\n Still, early signs of his ineffectiveness in the Premier League and in this Arsenal side were evident against Man Utd and have been laid bare in the months since. His stunning goal in midweek does little to gloss over the fact that he has been a huge disappointment and has not been the No.9 solution he was meant to be\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n And Kai Havertz (or Gabriel Jesus) being better<\/p>\n \u2018Arsenal naturally looked smoother and more coherent when he came on but the difference in sharpness, technical levels and decision making against what came before with Gyokeres was clear.\u2019<\/p>\n As this season has developed, it has looked increasingly inevitable that Kai Havertz will eventually replace Gyokeres in Arsenal\u2019s starting XI. And in actuality, the Swedish international\u2019s situation is worse as he could realistically find himself third in the pecking order behind Havertz and Gabriel Jesus following the Brazilian\u2019s unexpected resurgence.<\/p>\n READ: Every Premier League club\u2019s revelation of the season features Calafiori and The New Mbappe<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Man Utd\u2019s \u2018policy signings\u2019 looking the business<\/p>\n \u2018It turns out spending \u00a3200m on a completely new frontline while loaning out all the previous composite parts can rejuvenate it.\u2019<\/p>\n Man Utd\u2019s performance against Arsenal may have proved a false dawn en route to Amorim\u2019s long-overdue demise, but there are at least some positives for the club following a summer transfer window that was largely positive across the board.<\/p>\n Before the Arsenal game, Man Utd had already completed their \u00a3200m attacking overhaul, and there were positive early signs from Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and, less so, Benjamin Sesko. They have further cemented themselves as integral players over recent months, but they need some help\u2026<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018Glaring problems\u2019 still to fix for Man Utd<\/p>\n \u2018It is not worth contemplating how much needs to be spent fumigating and then rectifying their other glaring problem positions\u2026\u00a0Brighton are going to extract a comical amount of money from skint Sir Jim next summer for Carlos Baleba. Whether this midfield can hang on for long enough is unknown.\u2019<\/p>\n While Liverpool attempted to fix all of their problems in a single window, Man Utd did not have the financial means to do so without Champions League football and opted to push back their plans for a midfield rebuild to this year.<\/p>\n This has seemed a mistake, but Amorim\u2019s exit and the return of Kobbie Mainoo ease their issues in this department. Still, as Stead mentions,\u00a0 a marquee signing in Baleba\u2019s mould is a must to fill the void left by Casemiro, with a four-man shortlist revealed.<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018Pointless\u2019 Man Utd signings<\/p>\n \u2018The goalkeeper situation is untenable\u2026 Investing hundreds of millions on forwards is pointless [without a new No.1].\u2019<\/p>\n Any chance of Alter Bayindir having a prolonged stint as No.1 following Andre Onana\u2019s exit ended against Arsenal, with the stand-in proving a regen of his flaky predecessor.<\/p>\n Bayindir would have likely cost Man Utd as many points as Onana, so Man Utd could not afford to not sign a new No.1 goalkeeper in the final days of the summer window. INEOS acknowledged this and landed Senne Lammens, who performed better than anyone could have anticipated as a brilliant fix for one of his side\u2019s biggest issues. It\u2019s ridiculous to suggest Emi Martinez could replace him.<\/a><\/p>\n