Mikel Arteta praised the character his players showed to grind out a win at Old Trafford, while admitting they fell short “in a lot of aspects.”
Riccardo Calafiori’s close-range header from a Declan Rice corner gave Arsenal an early lead, but from there the visitors struggled to establish control and spent long spells under pressure.
David Raya produced a stunning stop to deny Matheus Cunha in the first half and, inspired by their keeper, the Gunners’ backline held firm to preserve the clean sheet and secure three valuable points.
“To come in the first fixture to Old Trafford with that atmosphere, the way they are building momentum with the new signings and the excitement around it, is top,” Arteta told Sky Sports.
“I mean, it’s a great feeling. And then we have to be really humble about the way we did it.
“We really won because we put a magnificent set-piece in. And after, because of the way we reacted to mistakes. To unforced mistakes, mistakes that are very far from the standards that we normally have. We constantly reacted to that in a really positive way. And that’s the reason why we had the opportunity to win the game.
“Talking about character and spirit, that’s it. I’m not having the best day from the first action, I can make a mistake. How do I react to that? And it wasn’t one, it was many players that acted.
“There were many moments that, in open space, we should have killed them. And after they were \[attacking\] in the other way, immediately catching us on the back foot, but the way everybody tracked, the way everybody defended, it was phenomenal.”
Arsenal face a daunting start to the campaign with four of last season’s top seven on the schedule in the opening weeks. While this win eases some pressure, Arteta says his players know standards must rise.
“I just look at the players’ faces and they want much more. And we know that we are much better than certain moments the way we played.”
The victory was only Arsenal’s sixth at Old Trafford in the Premier League, all by a 1-0 scoreline. It’s a ground that has rarely been kind to the Gunners, as Arteta was quick to point out.
“I think before I came here it was 18 or 22 years without winning at Old Trafford.
“And now we come here, we won many times and still unsatisfied. And I take that as a massive compliment and as a way to build what we want to build.”
On where his side need to improve, he continued: “There’s a lot of aspects, especially the way we started the game. With duels, with 50-50 actions. With simple giveaways after winning the ball.
“We need to be very careful against a team that has the speed, the ability and the front line to threaten you that way. We need to be very careful.”
It was also a testing afternoon for summer signings Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Zubimendi. The Swede never had a sniff of goal and was jeered by home fans still smarting from his decision to reject United in favour of Arsenal. Zubimendi, signed to bring control in midfield, found the game’s frenetic tempo tough to handle.
“We need to glide them together. Some of them physically still, they are not at the highest level in the way that we need to get. But we’ll get there.”