The word of the summer in Arsenal circles has been ‘direct’ with the signings of Viktor Gyokeres and Noni Madueke hinting at a desire to go from back to front in fewer passes. Mikel Arteta’s team have been associated with control over the last few seasons and their dominance of territory has at times verged into sterile possession against deep defences.

All the reaction to the Premier League weekend as Arsenal open their campaign with a 1-0 win at Manchester United.

Arsenal have started the 2025-26 Premier League season with a win, beating Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford. Riccardo Calafiori scored the only goal of the game, nodding home in the 13th minute after Altay Bayindir made a mess of Declan Rice ’s inswinging corner.

Arsenal started their Premier League campaign with a 1-0 win at Manchester United on Sunday, capitalizing on a defensive error during a game in which both sides failed to generate a lot of quality attacking chances.

Arsenal win away at Manchester United despite not being near their best - a sign of champions or cause for concern?

This was the weekend when the Premier League’s 2025-26 campaign began with wins for the usual title-challenging suspects — that will be Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal — and saw Sunderland make a raucous return to the top flight with an emphatic 3-0 victory over West Ham United.