Altay Bayindir was defended by his head coach, Ruben Amorim, after the goalkeeper’s flap at a corner proved decisive in **Manchester United**’s narrow defeat to Arsenal in their Premier League opener.
The Turkish goalkeeper was not strong enough when trying to punch clear a 13th-minute corner as William Saliba, the Arsenal centre-back, put him under pressure. **Riccardo Calafiori**was able to nod the ball home at the far post for what proved to be the winning goal.
United were otherwise the more productive side as new signings Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbuemo revitalised their attack, but they could not find a way to beat David Raya despite registering 22 shots on goal.
Amorim, who opted to start Bayindir ahead of Andre Onana after the Cameroonian had missed pre-season due to a hamstring injury, said the goalkeeper chose to attack the ball rather than wrestle with the opposition player.
“You’re allowed to do a lot of things in the corner, we need to do the same,” Amorim said when asked if he was disappointed with the goal. “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.
Getty: Michael Regan
*“It is the rules, it is allowed and we need to do the same thing. No, (I’m not saying he should have acted differently) I am saying you choose to push a player or to get the ball, he chose to get the ball but he didn’t push so he cannot defend it. That is my feeling when I see the play but again, we need to do the same thing.*”
Bayindir conceded directly from a corner by Son Heung-min when United lost 4-3 in the Carabao Cup to Tottenham Hotspur last season, but Amorim rejected criticism of the 27-year-old’s presence when asked if he had considered starting third-choice Tom Heaton against set-piece specialists Arsenal, who have now scored 31 goals from corners since the start of the 2023/24 league season.
“*He suffered a goal like this where? Against Tottenham? It was without VAR. With VAR it was a foul,*” Amorim 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.*”
The home team were unable to recover from the early setback and could not find a way past Arsenal’s goalkeeper despite having plenty of chances. Raya denied Cunha on three occasions whilst Patrick Dorgu struck the woodwork.
Getty: Stuart McFarlane
“We were the better team but in the end we lost the game,” Amorim said. “I’m really proud of the work we put on the field and that is important moving forward.”
'We found a way to see out win'
Arsenal’s difficult start sees them host Leeds United, Nottingham Forest and Manchester City and visit Liverpool and Newcastle United in their next five fixtures and so a victory here was important to set a positive mood at the outset.
It was the team’s organisation and game management that saw them through and Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal head coach, said that being able to secure a positive result despite not creating that many chances is a vital skillset.
“*We did very well to take the set-piece and then there’s the mistakes, some of them unnecessary, some of them unusual, but the way every single player reacted gave us an opportunity to win the game,*” Arteta said.
“*That gives you momentum and confidence, two very important things. Our standards weren’t there to be fair, but we can still come away and find a way to win the game. The team has to find that resilience throughout the season for 10 months.*”