Midfield
CM – Martin Zubimendi – 5/10 – it wasn’t the best debut from the Spaniard who seemed to be playing a bit too far ahead of the defence, whilst also failing to dictate play in the middle of the park.
CM – Declan Rice – 6/10 – it was the midfielder’s delivery from the corner that led to Arsenal’s winner, but he didn’t really offer much more than that.
AM – Martin Odegaard – 5/10 – while he did make some neat passes to start counter-attacks, his influence in the final third was lacking. The Norwegian didn’t find the space he was hoping for despite United having one less man in midfield.
Forwards
RW – Bukayo Saka -4/10 – Luke Shaw and Patrick Dorgu doubled up on him, and he couldn’t get the better of the pair. His best moment came late on when he had a goal-bound effort blocked.
CF – Viktor Gyokeres – 4/10 – it was a very disappointing debut from the Swedish international. He passed the ball 9 times, and only 4 of them found a teammate.
On top of that, Gyokeres didn’t create a single chance or have a shot on goal
LW – Gabriel Martinelli – 4/10 – the Brazilian had a couple of tame shots but that was it.
Substitutes
Kai Havertz – 6/10 – did a lot more in his 30 minutes on the pitch than Gyokeres did in an hour.
Noni Madueke – 5/10 – the summer signing was not particularly impressive after replacing Martinelli on the left. His work rate was found wanting.
Jurrien Timber – 7/10 – got himself involved in plenty of defensive duels and won most of them.
Myles Lewis-Skelly- 5/10 – the left-back got booked for a tackle on Mbeumo in injury time.
Mikel Merino – N/A – came on too late to make much of an impact on the game.
Read more about the Arsenal First Team Squad for 2025/26 here
