Amorim explains why he left out Onana vs Arsenal | OneFootball

The United manager defended his choice to start Altay Bayindir, despite the goalkeeper’s costly mistake that handed Calafiori the winning goal.

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Manchester United’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal raised questions before a ball was even kicked when Rúben Amorim left André Onana out of the matchday squad.

The Cameroon international had returned to training after missing pre-season with injury, but Amorim insisted the omission was based on form rather than fitness.

“No, he recovered,” Amorim told MUTV when asked if Onana was still injured. “But the other guys [Altay Bayindir and Tom Heaton] did so well during pre-season, so I need to balance that.”

Amorim instead handed Bayindir the starting spot, with Heaton on the bench. The decision immediately came under scrutiny when Bayindir failed to deal with a 13th-minute corner, allowing Riccardo Calafiori to score what proved to be the decisive goal.

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The United manager defended his goalkeeper afterwards, pointing to the physical challenge Bayindir faced inside the area. “You’re allowed to do a lot of things in the corner, we need to do the same,” Amorim said.

“When you touch that way the goalkeeper he needs to use his hands to catch the ball, not push players, or he chooses to push players and let the ball past. That is my feeling when I see the play but again, we need to do the same thing.”

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Amorim also rejected suggestions that Bayindir’s previous mistakes at set pieces should have influenced his selection decision. “He suffered a goal like this where? Against Tottenham? It was without VAR. With VAR it was a foul,” he said.

“Then in the next game against Arsenal, who saved the penalty? Who saved the game? You don’t remember the game but I remember the game and Altay was unbelievable in that game. I considered everything to put in one or another and I chose Altay… I am happy with the three goalkeepers.”

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Onana was not the only notable absence. Rasmus Højlund was also left out, with his departure is likely following the arrival of Benjamin Sesko.

“It’s an option,” Amorim said when asked if either player could return against Fulham. “We try to choose the best players for each game, so next week it’s a different life and in this week we chose this.”

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Despite dominating much of the game and forcing David Raya into several superb saves, United failed to take their chances and were punished by one lapse at a set piece.

Amorim insisted he was proud of his team’s overall display. “We were the better team but in the end we lost the game,” he said, as he dealt with a feeling Arsenal fans are all too familiar with following trips to Old Trafford. “I’m really proud of the work we put on the field and that is important moving forward.”

For Arsenal, the afternoon was another reminder that winning ugly is sometimes just as valuable as winning well. “Our standards weren’t there to be fair, but we can still come away and find a way to win the game,” said Mikel Arteta.

“The team has to find that resilience throughout the season for 10 months.”