George is a Senior Football Writer for the Manchester Evening News, mostly covering Manchester United. He previously worked for football.london before joining the MEN team in July 2021. As well as covering United, George is a Championship-enthusiast and co-hosts The Championship Chat Podcast you can find on all major podcast platforms.
Ruben Amorim gives instructions to Matheus Cunha on the Old Trafford touchline.
Ruben Amorim has some big calls to make ahead of the Premier League opener.
If Ruben Amorim’s starting XI against Fiorentina on Saturday confirmed anything, it was that Rasmus Hojlund will not be starting Sunday’s Premier League opener against Arsenal at Old Trafford.
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The Dane was left out of the starting line-up for the second game running, with Amorim choosing to deploy Mason Mount up front instead.
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Hojlund had watched Matheus Cunha start up front against Everton in Atlanta. Hojlund is looking increasingly likely to leave United following the arrival of striker Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig. The Manchester Evening News understands the former Atalanta man is open to joining AC Milan.
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Whether Hojlund departs or not, Sesko is expected to be thrown straight into the starting XI this weekend and lead United’s attack. He should be supported by fellow new recruits Bryan Mbeumo and Cunha, who occupied the two playmaker roles at the weekend.
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Following the penalty shootout triumph over Fiorentina, Amorim admitted he has an “idea” of what his starting XI will look like for the Premier League curtain-raiser against the Gunners. However, he did concede that his players could still alter his plans.
When asked about having a selection headache, Amorim told MUTV: “That is a good thing, it’s supposed to be like that, not like last season when we had to struggle to put 11 players on the pitch.
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The 2025/26 season will hopefully prove to be a memorable one for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal when it comes to their quest to win major trophies. It just hasn’t quite happened for the Gunners in recent seasons and the north London club have duly strengthened their squad for the new term as a result.
A number of debuts could be handed out at Old Trafford on Sunday when Arsenal play Manchester United in a 4.30pm kick-off. Arteta’s side should certainly go into the match in confident mood after putting three goals past Athletic Club in the Emirates Cup on Saturday.
Arsenal have been handed quite the start to the new campaign as they face Manchester United, Leeds United, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and Newcastle United in their first six games. It is a very tough start to the campaign for a team with title aspirations but the Gunners do have a squad that can come out of that run with a very healthy points tally.
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Arsenal have added six players to their squad for the new season and those who have signed on the dotted line this summer will be hoping to play their part at The Theatre of Dreams this weekend. When it comes to Arteta’s team to take on the Red Devils, the head coach has seven undroppables who look guaranteed to start.
David Raya is the first of those in goal, with William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes then certainties to start together at centre-back. In midfield, it would be a huge surprise if Arteta didn’t go with Martin Odegaard, Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice as his midfield triumvirate after unleashing the trio together last weekend against Athletic Club.
The trio are viewed as his first-choice midfield and they will be expected to all start again after impressing as a partnership against the Spanish side. In attack, Bukayo Saka, as ever, starts on the right wing.
That means Arteta has calls to make over his two full-backs, left winger and striker. In terms of his full-backs, Ben White has had a strong pre-season campaign to up the pressure on Jurrien Timber, who has only just recently returned from injury