Bayindir started over both Heaton and Onana in Man Utd’s loss against Arsenal
Ruben Amorim has hit back at suggestions he should have picked Tom Heaton over Altay Bayindir as the Manchester United’s mistake cost them in the 1-0 defeat by Arsenal on Sunday.
No 2 goalkeeper Bayindir, who played because first-choice goalkeeper Onana was not in the squad on Sunday, failed to stop a Declan Rice cross under pressure from William Saliba, allowing Riccardo Calafiori to head home on the line.
Bayindir was involved in a similar error in United’s defeat at Tottenham in the EFL Cup in December, but Amorim defended the Turkish goalkeeper for what he believed was a foul on that occasion.
Full transcript of Amorim’s exchange with reporter
Ruben Amorim backed Altay Bayindir after he was asked whether he thought it was the right decision to start the goalkeeper ahead of Tom Heaton 🔴 pic.twitter.com/QDZLtegoZv
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) August 18, 2025
Reporter: Ruben did you give any considerations to starting Tom Heaton ahead of Altay, because he has conceded a goal similar to that before?
Amorim: Why?
Reporter: I think a lot people might argue that Tom’s a better keeper than him, more experienced in the Premier League.
Amorim: He suffer a goal like this where?
Reporter: At Tottenham last season.
Amorim: Without VAR. Without VAR. With VAR, it’s a foul. And then what happened in the next game? What happened in the next game?
Reporter: At Wolves?
Amorim: No, at Arsenal [in FA Cup win at Emirates in January]. Who saved the penalty? Who saved the game? All the game?
Reporter: But that was a penalty.
Amorim: No, no no, before the penalty. You don’t remember the game. I remember the game. Altay was unbelievable in that game. So I considered everything to put one or the other, and I chose Altay.
Neville: Man Utd must fix glaring issue
"You get in his face!"
Roy Keane says Man United were not aggressive enough in defending the corner that Arsenal scored from 🔊 pic.twitter.com/Y5OJWjXyTG
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 17, 2025
Speaking on The Gary Neville Podcast, the former Manchester United defender says the club “unequivocally” need a new goalkeeper before the end of the window.
“There’s a glaring issue that Man Utd cannot ignore and it is the fact they need to find a goalkeeper,” he said.
“They have to. I’m unequivocal on that because I had an experience with Man Utd for 20 years where there were two big periods of seven or eight years with Peter Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar.
“In between, we had seven or eight goalkeepers in a six, seven, eight-year period and it is really unsettling when you haven’t got a dominant No 1, who is dominant in the air, who owns his six-yard box, comes and punches everything and makes a lot of saves to win you points when your defenders make mistakes.”