Shankul Bhandare
When Erik ten Hag warned of potential injury troubles in the pre-game briefing, he likely did not anticipate them striking so soon during Manchester United’s opening match of their US tour.
However, just 14 minutes into the game, echoes of last season’s injury woes, which contributed to United’s eighth-place finish, became a harsh reality. Rasmus Højlund, Ten Hag’s key No 9, was forced to leave the pitch. Twenty minutes later, new £52m centre-back Leny Yoro followed suit, adding to the mounting injury concerns.
Adding insult to injury, Manchester United suffered a late defeat to Arsenal as Gabriel Martinelli slipped past James Scanlon to score against André Onana with less than 10 minutes remaining.
The Gunners likely deserved their 2-1 win, having created more chances, though neither Mikel Arteta’s nor Ten Hag’s teams displayed much fluidity. Following this, a pre-arranged penalty shootout concluded in a 4-3 victory for United, with Jadon Sancho netting the decisive kick.
Earlier in the game, Rasmus Højlund experienced both joy and despair. At the 10-minute mark, he capitalized on a mistake by 17-year-old Ayden Heaven, collecting a pass from Marcus Rashford, advancing into Arsenal’s area, and scoring with a shot that Karl Hein couldn’t stop, giving United a 1-0 lead.
However, joy turned to despair soon after. Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s cross provided Højlund with another chance, but a challenge from Ben White seemed to disrupt him. It was unclear if this caused the injury, but Højlund went down and was substituted by Hannibal Mejbri, who took over as centre-forward.
Post-match, Ten Hag addressed the injuries to Højlund and Leny Yoro, stating, “It’s too soon to say. We have to wait over 24 hours to know more. We were very cautious, especially with Leny. He only participated in 50% of the training sessions. It’s very disappointing that he had to come off, but let’s stay positive and see what the results show.”
Before that, Leny Yoro gave United an early scare when he missed the ball, allowing Gabriel Jesus to slip in. However, as in the game against Rangers’ Cyriel Dessers, Yoro’s speed and 6ft 3in frame enabled him to recover and extend a long leg, with Onana gathering the ball.
United’s No. 1 had little chance with Jesus’s equalizer. Ethan Nwaneri bypassed Onana by sliding the ball to the Brazilian, who tapped it in. Despite a hint of offside, the absence of VAR meant the goal stood. Yoro couldn’t continue after going down with the injury that led to his substitution.
Unlike Højlund, the French defender limped off to join his teammate in the changing room. This brought in Rhys Bennett, a 20-year-old with a single League Two appearance on loan at Stockport County.
These setbacks reduced Ten Hag’s lineup to seven frontline players compared to Arsenal’s eight, led by captain Martin Ødegaard.
Mason Mount was perhaps United’s standout performer, displaying quick thinking and skill as a No. 10, finding time and space against top-tier opponents.
At the break, Arteta made two changes, replacing Heaven and Nwaneri with Salah-Eddine Oulad M’hand and Jakub Kiwior, while Ten Hag made 10 substitutions, leaving only Onana on the field.
Keeping United’s keeper proved wise as Onana’s quick reflexes saved a close-range shot from Leandro Trossard, beating the ball out.
Arsenal dominated possession, their movement in the final third forcing United to chase the ball. Therefore, when United broke away, Sancho’s mazy run along the right, which drew Arsenal back, was a welcome sight, as was his calm pivot and pass to Maximillian Oyedele.
United’s pre-season form included a 1-0 loss to Rosenborg and a 2-0 win over Rangers. Omar Berrada watched this match, joined by chief executive Dan Ashworth, technical director Jason Wilcox, Dave Brailsford (representing Jim Ratcliffe), and co-owner Avram Glazer, at the 70,240-capacity SoFi Stadium.
Arsenal, having drawn 1-1 with Bournemouth on Thursday thanks to Fábio Vieira, brought on the Portuguese midfielder along with several other changes by Arteta just after the hour. Another substitute, Kai Havertz, had a scoring opportunity thwarted by Christian Eriksen. This was followed by Martinelli’s decisive intervention.
