Ruben Amorim: Manchester United have players to win 'any game' in Premier League despite Arsenal defeat | OneFootball

Red Devils were undone by a first-half set piece

Ruben Amorim believes that he has the players to win “any game” in the Premier League despite his Manchester United side falling to a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on the opening weekend of the season.

New signings Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo were threats throughout while star strikers Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko both made their bows in their new colours, with Gyokeres starting for Arsenal and Sesko stepping off the United bench.

Neither could really make an impact in the final third, with this game more about the quality of defending on show than the quality in attacking moments.

While Amorim was disappointed at the result, he praised his side’s performance and argued that the Red Devils were unfortunate to be on the wrong side of the scoreline.

“We have players to win any game in the Premier League,” the Portuguese head coach told Sky Sports.

“We need to focus and forget about the noise. We are fighting for the places, that is a good thing, but we are playing as a team, it doesn't matter who is playing, we want to win games.

“I'm really proud of the guys, they were really brave in everything they did during the game. Congratulations for the performance, not because we lost at home. I think we deserved, clearly, a different result. We need to move forward to the next one.

“We were more aggressive than last year. We sprinted more. We were more brave, we went one against one throughout the game and we pressed high. With the ball, we had quality.

“We lost fewer balls in the buildup compared to last year as we struggled a lot. And then the small things that we talk about, in the beginning of this season, are players like Cunha and Mbeumo, who, in one moment, can elevate the stadium. So I think the most important thing was that we were not boring.”

Amorim lauded his two new attacking midfielders, who were the hosts’ brightest sparks in their manager’s 3-4-2-1 system.

“You always feel in the game that they can do something and they can push the team, not just with the ball, but without the ball, they press really well,” he said.

The United head coach bemoaned his side’s misfortune at the nature of the decisive goal, with goalkeeper Altay Bayindir penned in by Arsenal centre-back William Saliba, denying the Turkish international the chance to punch clear, and it allowed Calafiori an easy finish on the goal-line to open the scoring.

“[The goal was m]ore or less the thing that happened sometimes last year,” Amorim continued.

“For me, it's not playing the ball. It’s protecting the guys that are attacking. I understand that we want goals, but when you touch the goalkeeper in that way, it's hard, especially to lose with a goal like this.

“It’s hard to be stronger when you have to push to go for the ball. Sometimes you are pushing and then you don't have more hands to go for the ball. We need to be stronger in those moments, but especially we need to do the same thing on the opposite side.

“So we are not changing the rules. We have to adapt to the rules. And today it's hard to accept because I think we were the better team.

United captain Bruno Fernandes, who was fielded in a deeper midfield position alongside Casemiro to accommodate both Cunha and Mbeumo in the front three, agreed with his manager, thinking that the goal should have been disallowed for a foul on Bayindir.

“We know that they are very good from set pieces,” Fernandes said of Arsenal.

“When you touch the goalkeeper when he wants to jump and clear the ball it’s very difficult, and Altay couldn’t keep the ball out. Altay was saying that when he went for the ball, he got a touch.

“In the Premier League, they don’t give much in those situations. They had a meeting with us saying that if players are blocking and not looking at the ball, they will whistle more, but that is more of a saying and not really [implemented] in the game.”

United travel to Fulham in their next Premier League encounter before they head home to face Burnley ahead of the September international break. When they return, they take on Man City at the Etihad Stadium.