Gyokeres blanks, Martinelli nightmare as Calafiori stars - Arsenal player ratings vs Man Utd

Arsenal secured an important victory in the opening match of the Premier League season, winning at Old Trafford. The three points moves the Gunners vitally level with their title rivals, who both also won their opening fixtures.

Arsenal took the lead through Riccardo Calafiori, the Italian heading in at the back post after a Declan Rice corner from the left was poorly dealt with by Altay Bayindir.

Viktor Gyokeres endured a tricky afternoon overall and was replaced to huge jeers and boos from the home crowd inside the stadium. The pressure from the home side continued to build but Mikel Arteta's men held on all the way through to the final whistle.

READ MORE: Man Utd vs Arsenal highlights - Calafiori gets winner in tight clash as Raya excels

READ MORE: Why Max Dowman and Christian Norgaard are not in the Arsenal squad vs Man United

Here is how football.london rated the performances of the Arsenal players:

David Raya – Somewhat shaky, is the impression I took at half-time. Lacked the authority he usually has and was nearly caught when Matheus Cunha almost nicked the ball from him.

However, the save from the Brazilian as the half-time whistle approached was top class – close-range but touched just around the far post: fantastic. He stopped a goal-bound header from Mbeumo in the second half, too as his performance improved with each minute. 8

Ben White – Aggressive and direct in his play, and managed to keep Cunha and Mason Mount relatively quiet. Was not able to get too far forwards throughout as the Gunners remained penned in. Subbed with what looked like a cramp in the second half. 7

William Saliba – Covered well to put pressure on a one-on-one with Cunha, making the shot tame after it looked like he was clean through. His pace was needed more than most times, as he coped with successive counterattacks from the home side. The block on Cunha too in the second half was another key moment for the side. 8

Gabriel Magalhaes – Excellent block to prevent Bryan Mbeumo from scoring in the first half on the counter for United. Strong and secure throughout ,as the Brazilian was a welcome return to the Arsenal team. 8

Riccardo Calafiori – Was in the right place at the right time to head in from the corner and score Arsenal's first goal of the new season. Defensively, he got a yellow card early on but dealt with the pressure strongly and left the field having made a strong case to lock in the position for the near future. 8

Martin Zubimendi – There was a noticeable difference in the midfield but perhaps more in the way it offered space to United. Zubimendi was visibly quite far up from the Arsenal back four and this gap was particularly glaring when the Gunners were hit on the counter.

The Spaniard, however, was good throughout with some important interceptions and progressive passes to relieve pressure. 7

Declan Rice – Brilliant delivery as we expect from the midfielder for the opening goal. He also provided a very brave headed clearance from close range as Bruno Fernandes tried to find an equaliser. A couple of times the midfielder had chances to shoot from outside the box but couldn’t find the target. 7

Martin Odegaard – Had the chance from outside the box to fire a strike at goal but could only sting the gloves of Bayindir. There were three times, however, where the Norwegian failed to make the right choice in the opening half, stunting the threat of three attacks. 5

Bukayo Saka – Was persistently lacking the threat that we have grown so used to from the Arsenal talisman. Found himself on several occasions in dangerous spaces but couldn’t find the right pass or pathway toward goal. Had a late effort to add a goal blocked. 5

Gabriel Martinelli – A nightmare performance from the Brazilian. Incredibly wasteful on the ball and with his chances – there was a moment on the break where he chipped the ball out of play, and his two chances on the United goal were weak and miskicked. 4

Viktor Gyokeres – Struggled to get into the game in the first half and was limited in terms of service and touches. However, when he had chances on the ball, they fell flat and sadly this encouraged the home support into satirical jeers too which turned to huge boos when he left the field in the second half having done very little. 5

Substitutions:

Kai Havertz – Came on to replace Viktor Gyokeres but encountered some of the same issues regarding service as the mad he replaced. He fought hard toward the end as his side came home with the points but again not much to write home about. 5

Noni Madueke – Replaced Martinelli, who needed to come off, but as United tried to find their equaliser, the left winger was not particularly found or used. His defensive work rate was tested and to be blunt, he was not difficult for the player’s attacking him to beat him. 5

Jurrien Timber – Replacing White, Timber had to be strong to help keep out the United attacks as the game was edging towards it's close. 6

Myles Lewis-Skelly – His highlight was the penalty decision that went Arsenal’s way and not United. Getting physical in the box with Amad Diallo but not enough to foul the winger. 6

Mikel Merino – Brought on to help see out the game for the Gunners, replacing Rice. Worked hard in the final moments, of the match as Arsenal came under considerable pressure. n/a