Manchester United legend Gary Neville left Old Trafford feeling confident about the 2025/26 season.
A 1-0 defeat to Arsenal at Old Trafford means Manchester United have ended gameweek one in 15th place in the Premier League – the same position they finished in 2024/25.
But the scoreline certainly didn’t tell the full story. There were plenty of positives about United’s performance with Ruben Amorim’s side dominating much of the game.
After watching the match, Gary Neville predicted United to finish fourth this season, with full confidence that Amorim can spring a surprise in 2025/26.
Tottenham Hotspur FC v Manchester United FC - Premier League
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Gary Neville believes Man United turned a corner vs Arsenal
The main criticism of Amorim’s predecessors is that they failed to implement a clear style of play and identity at Old Trafford.
Ineos identified Amorim as the top candidate back in November because he promised to bring his unique 3-4-2-1 system to Manchester, and it worked particularly well against the Gunners.
Gary Neville spoke about United’s performance on Sky Sports Premier League, and he believes Sunday’s performance was the first time in years that the Red Devils have fully dominated a big opponent.
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“I’ve got a feeling that Manchester United are going to have a good season,” Neville said.
“I’ve criticised Manchester United over the last five, six, seven, eight years even when they’ve won big games because it’s been a smash and grab where they’ve sat deep at the edge of their own box.
“What they did against Arsenal was very different to what I’ve seen them do in the last five, six, seven years in big matches.
“They really did dominate Arsenal. Now, it’s the first game of the season and Arsenal are not quite at it. Arsenal did very well to get the win and showed great resilience.
“But, if I was a Manchester United player coming off the pitch I’d be thinking – that is as good of a team as I’m going to play this season and if we play like that we’re going to win a lot of football matches”.
Ruben Amorim is getting the control he wants at Man United
When he was appointed as head coach last season, it did not take Amorim long to identify some key weaknesses in his side.
Amorim wants United to control matches, but he spotted a lack of physicality and workrate in his players.
This summer, United’s players look much fitter and sharper heading into the season, and Amorim’s system allowed his side to dominate 62% of possession against Arsenal.
United completely dominated Arsenal statistically and a brilliant performance from David Raya was the only reason the Red Devils didn’t find the back of the net.
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Amorim is still only a few months into his project at United, but there are clear signs that he wants to build a dominant team capable of consistently beating the best.
Not by sitting back and relying on counter-attacks, but by going toe-to-toe with them and being the better side.