United boast the best opening day record in Premier League history. That should increase further as we take on ARSEnal tomorrow evening.

When you have the word arse in your name, you're kinda asking for it 🤷‍♂️.

🤣 You can tell I'm feeling good and that is for multiple reasons: United take on the Gunners; previews are back and they are my favourite posts to do; and that signals the return of football 🙌.

Take a breath lad. Take a breath 🧘‍♂️.

As it is preview time, let's take a look at what I think will happen in Ruben Amorim's first game of his first full season in charge.

This one is going to be box office 🍿.

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Predicted Lineup

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I think there are going to be names in that XI that is going to make us think 'Amorim wants the sack.' I've never gotten an XI of his right and I doubt that I will this time but for some reason, I believe that I am close.

Absentees will be Mazraoui and Martinez but as you can see, despite missing all of pre-season, Onana returns in goal. Arsenal will be smiling at that.

That is a risk because he hasn't played in so long and also that he's shite but I believe the manager will stick with his usual no 1 instead of using Bayindir who is 100% ready. His best game for us did come against the Gunners as well in the FA Cup match so maybe it won't be the worst idea to throw him in.

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Yes, do not scratch your eyes that is the Luke Shaw at LCB. I think Amorim has some sort of affection towards the defender similar to that of Mount which is why I think the Englishman will start. He can also provide that left-footedness that we lack without Martinez. Next to him should be no surprises in De Ligt and Yoro, who I believe will have an amazing season.

Watch my player predictions for the campaign on my TikTok.

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Wing-backs sees Dorgu on the left and Dalot on the right. You might be surprised to see the Portuguese ahead of Amad but as we are playing a strong opponent, I feel as though the manager will go more defensive.

In midfield, the pairing will obviously feature skipper Bruno but alongside Casemiro. This is one that I don't agree with as I have my reservations of this midfield. I'd rather it be Ugarte instead of the Brazilian but having not been his main CDM in pre-season, I doubt Amorim will start him tomorrow.

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The front three will feature new boys Cunha and Sesko. The Brazilian will start as the left-sided no 10 with Amad next to him. I believe that this is where Amad is best so I don't necessarily have a problem with it. No Mbeumo because I don't think he's fit enough. He looked off the pace in the final pre-season game which is why I think he'll start on the bench.

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Approach

As mentioned with that lineup, I think the manager will opt for a more conservative style. We saw this throughout last season whenever playing against the top teams and I see no reason as to why he would change that in the first match of the campaign.

Arsenal are one of the better teams in the league (unfortunately) and have strengthened even further making them stronger than they were last season.

United are also well-known to be a side that prefers to play on the counter. During pre-season, we saw this a lot more than anything possession-based. With the top teams all having more of the ball than us, this could work in our favour to hit them on the break.

We also have good pace in the side especially with someone like Sesko. The Slovenian, despite his height, is very quick and quite athletic as well. Hojlund is too but we've seen him struggle heavily against the likes of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes. Sesko will bring something different that they aren't used to which could be beneficial for Amorim.

Sesko dropping deeper at times will mean the chance for the two no 10s to run beyond him which provides another means of hurting the Gunners.

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United have to put as many balls into the box with this striker as even though Arsenal are a tall side, not many have a jump like our new no 9. He already stands at almost 2m tall and with him leaping like a salmon, chances are that he will win more aerial duels than not. This can also help in the other box given the Gunners' ability from set-pieces.

We will need to get the ball moving quick whenever we do have transitions. This is where players such as Cunha and Amad can be so deadly as in space and time, they are at their best. Cunha in particular is very good with the ball at his feet which is why we need to get it to him as early as possible.

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The midfield is the major area of concern. I feel like this is the area of the team that could be our undoing.

As I said, I don't think that the pairing of Casemiro and Bruno work. One is too slow and sluggish and the other is undisciplined in more ways than one. Arsenal have three midfielders to our two and three of the likes of Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi is much more powerful than what we have to offer.

Games are won and lost in the midfield and it could play a part in the result of this one too.

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Defensively I think we're okay with the only issue being Onana. If he can have a good game, then I believe we should be able to keep them out more often than not.

I do feel confident that our back three will be able to hold off Arsenal's new gunman Viktor Gyokeres. He will be quite the handful.

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Form

That opening day record is the strongest out of any team as in 33 matches, United have picked up 22 wins with four draws and seven losses. That gives us a win percentage of 66.7.

Our opponents sit on a measly 57.6%.

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Arsenal's record at Old Trafford isn't the greatest as well as the Gunners have won just twice in the last 18 years at the Theatre. Both came in the last five though.

However, when looking at the recent record between the sides, it is very much in Arteta's favour. His team have only lost two in the least eight league meetings. They also went on a four-game winning run between September 2023 and December 2024

Perhaps a fixture that may even itself given these records.

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Then again, when we come up against the big 6, you know what happens. Last season, we won just ONE of our 10 meetings with them. The Derby in December was that solitary victory. This put us at the bottom of the big 6 table.

We need to rectify that this campaign.

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Arsenal

The Gunners have been the 2nd best team in the league for the last three seasons. Arteta will be trying to go one better at the fourth time of asking and who's to say they won't given the business they've done?

They're still strong defensively, bought well in midfield and have found their missing piece in Amorim's former main man Gyokeres in attack. He could be a big problem.

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We know what they are all about. Very much the modern side who keeps a lot of the ball, plays thing simple, presses high and all the rest. There's also their ability from set-pieces as Arsenal have become the masters of it. Against us at The Emirates last year, both their goals came from corners. This is an area of our game that is famous for being shite.

The final match of pre-season against Fiorentina saw a couple of weaknesses exposed: poor defending from a corner and not marking the back post. Even Everton's first goal in America, they exploited the far post. Crosses in general have been a massive vulnerability over many years. Arsenal can exploit this.

The good thing about having a player like Sesko is that in training, we have a striker who is similar to that of Gyokeres in terms of ability and profile. This will give his teammates a better understanding of what we can expect from the man behind the mask. With Amorim as the manager who made the Swede, that should give us even more of an advantage in trying to stem arguably the best no 9 in football.

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Their midfield is the area that truly worries me. I don't think ours is strong enough and Arteta will look to t take advantage of hat with his three. Odegaard provides that calmness and precision with the ball while Rice is more box-to-box and Zubimendi holds things down. He and Rice can also interchange.

Should they get through Casemiro and Bruno (if it is to be them), then I see United struggling which again, suggests to me a more defensive approach from Amorim.

Arsenal don't have any injury concerns as well.

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Prediction

I think we're all hoping for a good performance from United more than anything. We don't want to be seeing what we've seen for so many years anymore.

I don't think we'll get that because there does seem to be a different feel about the club and team. There seems to be more optimism and hope for the future.

As we are at home and it is opening day, we'll have the fans on our side and new signings to showcase, I can see us getting a positive result. As Arsenal are really good though, they will cause us problems but due to a poor record at Old Trafford, I don't think they'll get the win.

2-2 is my score line.

With it being the first match and all, maybe we'll see an end-to-end game as both sides struggle to get to grips with the pace of things so soon.

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Whatever happens, I'm glad football is back 🙌. Although with our team, we may perhaps want the season to be over come the end of this match 😅.

What are your predictions for the season opener against the Gunners?

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Matheus Cunha | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)

Viktor Gyokeres | Image via Arsenal official X (@Arsenal)

Old Trafford | Photo by Colin + Meg on Unsplash