Manchester United were on the losing side against Arsenal in their Premier League curtain-raiser at Old Trafford on Sunday.
The Red Devils were the dominant outfit over the course of 90 minutes, but they could not find the back of the Gunners’ net.
A solitary goal from Riccardo Calafiori sealed the win for the visitors, but the result could have been quite different on another day.
Despite the defeat, there were plenty of positives on both ends of the pitch.
Matthijs de Ligt and Leny Yoro were exceptional with their aerial duels and comfortably handled the threat of Viktor Gyokeres.
In the final third, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo were brilliant on their debuts, while Mason Mount complemented the duo.
Cunha was particularly impressive with his direct runs against the Arsenal defence, and almost scored a sensational solo goal.
The Brazilian, valued at £52 million by Transfermarkt, won an impressive four out of six dribbles contested, which was the joint-highest in the first matchday of the season.
In our view, Cunha put wantaway star Alejandro Garnacho to shame with his excellent dribbling skills on his debut for the club.
Garnacho started in 23 out of his 36 league appearances for the Red Devils last term.
The Argentine won less than one dribble (0.7) per game with a success rate of just 32 percent.
He also won fewer than three duels per outing. Cunha looks poised to eclipse that average, having won eight duels on his debut itself.
United have quite clearly found an upgrade on Garnacho in Cunha.
Garnacho is undoubtedly talented, but his inability to win regular duels or dribble past opponents has been quite frustrating.
The Argentine’s future is now clearly away from United. He is pushing for a move to Chelsea, and a deal is expected to materialise.
Stats from Sofascore.com & WhoScored.com