Riccardo Calafiori’s header saw Arsenal edge to a 1-0 win against Manchester United in their Premier League opener at Old Trafford on Sunday.
The game was ultimately decided on a goalkeeping error as Altay Bayindir – deputising for the absent Andre Onana – failed to deal with Declan Rice’s corner, allowing Calafiori to nod home inside 13 minutes.
Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya was also at his best, keeping out the lively Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, who signed from Wolves and Brentford, respectively.
After finishing second for the past three seasons, the pressure is on Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta to deliver the club’s first league title since 2003/04.
The Gunners were far from impressive at Old Trafford but earned a huge three points thanks to a glaring error from United’s stand-in goalkeeper Bayindir.
United manager Ruben Amorim said: “We proved today we can win any game in the Premier League against a great team like Arsenal.
“We deserved a different result and we need to move forward to the next one.”
Liverpool whip Bournemouth in Premier League opener
Meanwhile, world champions Chelsea were lucky to escape with a 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace.
Palace were denied an early opener when Eberechi Eze’s free-kick was ruled out by a VAR review for Marc Guehi obstructing the Chelsea wall.
New Chelsea signing Estevao came closest to snatching a winner for the home side, but the newly-crowned world champions were blunt in attack against a well-organised Palace defence.
Palace’s key duo of Guehi and Eze started despite mounting speculation the England internationals are set to join Liverpool and Tottenham, respectively.
Nottingham Forest also made light of manager Nuno Espirito Santo’s pre-season fears over a lack of signings with a dominant 3-1 win over a much-changed Brentford.
Chris Wood struck twice either side of Dan Ndyoe’s debut goal for Forest on a nightmare afternoon for new Brentford boss Keith Andrews.
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