Old Rivals: Manchester United’s Double Win Against Arsenal in their First-ever Match on U.S. Soil.
On Saturday, over eighty thousand fans filled MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, for a historic friendly clash between English Premier League powerhouses, Arsenal and Manchester united. The encounter marked the first-ever meeting of the two teams on U.S. soil, adding to the excitement of the event. Following the match, an exhibition penalty shootout added to the thrill. Diaspora Messenger was honored to be part of this momentous occasion.
Before Saturday’s game, the last time the teams faced each other was on January 22, 2023, at the Emirates Stadium during a Premier League match, which ended in Arsenal’s thrilling 3-2 victory.
The highly anticipated match was part of the teams’ pre-season tour before the start of the 2023/24 EPL season on August 11.
Arsenal is returning to the U.S. for a second consecutive pre-season tour, while Manchester United last visited the U.S. in 2018. Arsenal’s manager, Mikel Arteta, was impressed by the team’s last tour and is glad that the team is back, stating, “Our U.S. tour last summer was very good preparation for the season, and we’re looking forward to once again visiting our amazing supporter in the U.S.”
Both Arsenal and Manchester United are owned by American companies, and in recent months, United fans have been calling for the Glazers to exit Old Trafford. British’s billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani have both expressed interest in buying the highly-trophied club.
New signings get opportunity to shine
Arsenal’s three summer signings, Declan Rice, Jurrien Timber, and Kai Havertz, all featured in Saturday’s game. Afterwards, Arteta expressed confidence in Jurrien’s performance, noting his quick adaptation to the team and the determination with which he played, saying, “We are really pleased with his performance and the things that we asked him to do. Obviously, he is adapting really quickly to the team, and you could see the confidence, the determination that he plays with,” Arteta said, highlight the young star’s promising potential.
United’s recent signing from Chelsea, Mason Mount, started the game before making way for Scott McTominay in the second half.
David de Gea’s replacement as United’s first choice goalkeeper, André Onana, traveled with the team to MetLife Stadium but was not on the match’s sheet for United. He joined the team in the warm-up before the game to the applause of United fans. The Cameroonian goalkeeper’s transfer price of $57.4million from Inter Milan marks him as the most expensive goalkeeper ever from Africa.
Onana is not a stranger to Erik, having played under him at Ajax and was part of Erik’s team that reached the Champions League Semifinals in the 2018/19 season. Erik is optimistic about Onana’s ability to contribute positively to the team, stating, “I think with his physical presence and also with his personality, he is so keen on winning. He is so, so eager to win trophies and he will help the team and he will help the squad to get to higher levels.”
Bruno Fernandes’s goal and the rise of Kobbie Mainoo
Shortly after the 5:08pm kickoff, there was no sign of ‘friendliness’ as both teams fiercely competed to outplay and outscore each other. When asked about United’s overtly physical approach, Arsenal’s manager acknowledged the competitive spirit that marked the game, stating, “They are here to compete and to win, as we are.”
Manchester United’s new captain, Bruno Fernandes, scored the first goal in the 30th minute, converting a pass from Kobbie Mainoo with a powerful shot from beyond the box.
Mainoo has been a constant feature in United’s pre-season tour. The central midfielder is a product of United’s youth academy and made his senior debut in the 2022/23 season with three appearances.
In February, Mainoo signed a long-term contract with United, and Erik sees him as a potential asset to the team. The manager expressed his positive views during Friday’s pre-Arsenal conference, saying, “He gets his chance because he deserves it. Because he showed it in the Under-21s and in our training. He showed a high level and now he has to show it in games. So pre-season is perfect to test him.”
Mainoo has yet to make his senior international debut, but he has earned multiple caps for England’s U-17, U-18, and U-19 teams. The midfielder’s eligibility to play for either Ghana or England adds intrigue to his future international representation.
Mainoo, whose parents hail from Ghana, is among a rising cohort of British- born players with African roots making waves in the English Premier League. Another notable talent, and a participant in the historic match on Saturday, is Arsenal’s striker, Bukayo Saka. While Saka has elected to lend his soccer skills to the Three Lions, he recently visited his parents homeland, Nigeria, much to the delight of Arsenal fans in the country.
On Saturday, Saka orchestrated one of Arsenal’s most promising attempts as he skillfully maneuvered into United’s box and delivered a well-placed pass to Martinelli in the 10th minute. Heaton deflected Martinelli’s initial shot back to the striker’s feet, but the Brazilian couldn’t find the back of the net with the rebound as he struck the ball straight at Heaton.
Mikel Arteta hates losing.
Five minutes after Fernandes’s goal, Jadon Sancho capitalized on Gabriel Magalhaes’s missed clearance to extended United’s lead.
After an exciting first half and a lackluster second, Manchester United’s 2-0 victory was followed by a penalty shootout that seemed to delight the record-breaking 8, 262 fans, marking the highest attendance for a soccer match at MetLife Stadium.
In a double win, United secured a 5-3 victory by converting all five penalties, while Arsenal’s Vieira missed the match’s only penalty, sending it over the crossbar.
Following the match, players from both teams exchanged handshakes and expressed their appreciation to their U.S. fans as they walked around the pitch.
At the post match-conference, Arteta expressed his disappointment at the loss but highlighted the critical data gained from the match, stating, “Having a tough match of this level in this context gives you a lot of information, and that’s always very positive. That information is obviously there are a lot of things we have to improve.”
The U.S. pre-season tour continues.
Arsenal will wrap their U.S. tour with a game against Barcelona at the SOFI stadium on Wednesday July 27 then head home to defend the Emirates cup against Monaco in August 2.
Manchester United has three games left. They play their last game on U.S. soil against Borussia Dortmund in Las Vegas on July 30.
The rivalry continues
Manchester United and Arsenal are set to face each other again each other again on September 3, with the Red Devils traveling to North London for the Emirates showdown. On that Sunday morning, what will be at stake won’t be just bragging rights for winning the first friendly match on U.S. soil, but rather the two teams’ endeavor to unseat Manchester City as the English Premier League champion. Both managers will be expecting nothing but a win, as Arsenal manager said after Saturday’s loss, “I hate to lose, and we all hate to lose…I don’t like losing and I don’t like the feeling that I have right now.”
Report by Musembi Ndaita/Diaspora Messenger Contributor
About the author.
Musembi Ndaita is a writer and academic based in the City of Brotherly Love. He was longlisted for the 2022 Commonwealth Prize. His non-fiction and fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in Africology, In the Sands of Time, On the Other Side of Hope, Mere Orthodoxy, and Philadelphia Stories.
Links to games photo:
Bukayo Saka: https://assets.manutd.com/AssetPicker/images/0/0/18/203/1231839/AL4I4584_BN9496aq1690072958083.jpg
Jadon Sancho
Photo source: https://www.manutd.com/en/search?q=%20arsenal%20friendly%20us&tbm=all
Kobbie Mainoo
Photo source: https://www.manutd.com/en/search?q=%20arsenal%20friendly%20us&tbm=all
Manchester United’s Double Win Against Arsenal in First-ever Match in US
