There is no need for extra motivation on matchday one in front of your fans at a 75,000 seater stadium. But the Premier League is a marathon, not a sprint, and Manchester United have many more matches on the fixture list where this trip to **Fulham**has come from. How will they prepare?
How will Amorim arrange the midfield?
Roared on by the **Old Trafford**faithful, **Man United**put up stiff competition for the Gunners. But the gaps in the starting eleven are still evident, and one big hole remains in the middle of the park.
Bruno Fernandes, ideally a number ten with freedom, filled in a deeper role in the double pivot again. **Casemiro**continued to play next to him: it was a damning indictment on Manuel Ugarte, whose half hour cameo was far from impressive on Sunday, with a series of misplaced passes.
This situation remains a massive headache for Amorim. Ugarte continues to create problems for the squad construction, but who will play in the middle of the park if he still sits on the bench this week?
Carlos Baleba is staying put at Brighton, so it looks like he will have to find more internal solutions.
Last Sunday, the manager played Mason Mount on the left of the front three. He was an exemplary figure for the heightened fitness levels of the squad, swivels well with the ball to progress the play forward, and moves intelligently between the lines. In some senses, he was a third midfielder, and his presence helped to level out a contest between two clubs at opposite ends of the table last term.
Yet, the Englishman cannot be in the best place at the same time. The passing from Fernandes and Mount meant the ball arrived in the final third many times, but Mount could only connect with Matheus Cunha from time to time, while Bryan Mbeumo made headway from the right side.
The choices in the last match also meant that there were no minutes for Kobbie Mainoo. Maybe a more open encounter does not suit his best skills on the ball. But **Fulham**are much more likely to ask the Red Devils to pick the lock, and no one shines in small spaces more than the academy graduate.
It is likely to be a case of 'horses for courses' in the midfield, so could another option get the nod?
Making the difference in both boxes
For the final half hour, Benjamin Sesko stepped on the pitch. The £66 million man from **RB Leipzig**walked out to applause from Old Trafford, and his job will be to put the ball in the back of the net.
The striker is still 22 years old and has work to do to refine some aspects of his game: the same was once said about Rasmus Hojlund, who appears to be on his way out the door. His Danish teammate arrived from **Atalanta**as a willing channel runner without the coordination to always execute the box.
Fast across the ground, the Slovenian should be a bit more polished, and his 6'5" frame poses an aerial threat. Amorim has praised his fitness and commitment to the craft of being the best professional that he can/ if he makes his debut against the Cottagers, all eyes will be on how well he can lead the line.
At the other end of the pitch is another big dilemma for the 40-year-old. Andre Onana has dropped his fair share of clangers for the club, and the manager mentioned that he chose not to rush him back into the starting eleven after he sat out of action for a few weeks because of a niggling hamstring.
However, Altay Bayindir is capable of blunders too. The Turkish shot stopper conceded directly from a corner in the Carabao Cup against **Tottenham**in December before salvaging some pride with a backs-to-the-wall performance in the third round of the **FA Cup**against Arsenal the next month.
He would again falter on the opening matchday, as the set-piece pressure from the Gunners saw him flap at a corner kick from Declan Rice. **Riccardo Calafiori**claimed the only goal of the game.
The game is decided in both boxes, and Amorim can only do so much with particular flaws in the squad. However, he has to find a way to pick up many more points against the smaller sides in the division if the Red Devils are going to fly up the table, starting with this fixture at Craven Cottage.