Of the attacking reinforcements that Manchester United have brought in this summer, I think Cunha is the best fit when factoring in Ruben Amorim’s unique system. Cunha registered 21 goal contributions across his 29 Premier League starts last season. He had 110 shots across these games (3.81 per 90) with 44 of those attempts finding the target (1.52 per 90).

We can expect Cunha to maintain this high shot average, seeing as he isn’t afraid to take aim from unlikely angles - exactly 50% of Cunha’s shots came from outside the box last season, and he benefited from this risk with four of his goals coming from those. It’s possible that a few less of those speculative efforts find the back of the net, seeing as Cunha outperformed his xG by 6.4 goals last season. There weren’t many other players who overachieved by that margin last season, but Bryan Mbuemo also notably saw a similar trend for Brentford last term. 

Cunha found the target in both of Wolves’ games against Arsenal last season, despite only playing 33 minutes in the initial clash between the sides. Cunha’s willingness to take on shots from improbable angles makes him likely to fashion chances entirely on his own, making him a solid choice to find the target here.

Bukayo Saka will be hoping this is the year he can finally carry Arsenal to the Premier League title and the Gunners can start the 25/26 season with a real statement win here, but it should be noted that Arsenal have a pitiful record at Old Trafford in the Premier League era.

Arsenal were a bit flat offensively last season, this was partly due to injuries to Saka and Martin Odegaard at different points in the season, but Saka managed to maintain a solid shot on target record throughout the campaign. Saka had 67 shots across his 20 Premier League starts last season (3.48 per 90) with 23 of those attempts finding the target (1.19 per 90). It’s worth noting that this is the highest shot volume that Saka has posted in the Premier League across his seven seasons for Arsenal.

Saka is on penalties for Arsenal which can offer the 23-year-old another route to goal. Saka missed two of the three meetings between the sides last season due to injury, but he did find the target in Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Manchester United at the Emirates.

This game is laced with narratives and the striking battle between Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko is the standout storyline at Old Trafford. Gyokeres was linked with a move to rejoin former boss Ruben Amorim at Manchester United before he signed for the Gunners, and Arsenal reportedly preferred Sesko before moving for Gyokeres. I actually think that both sides have got the wrong striker in terms of what would suit their system, but it will be fascinating to see how they do this season. 

Gyokeres’ goal record at Sporting speaks for itself, but his foul record at Sporting is also an area of promise, especially seeing as he will be the lone striker up against the back three of United. Gyokeres is a wrecking ball of a striker, he loves being fed the ball with space ahead of him to run into, but he can occasionally be overzealous in challenges with opposition centre-backs. Gyokeres committed 24 fouls across his 31 appearances for Sporting in Liga Portugal last season (0.77 per 90), I would expect this to increase this season with the extra defensive responsibilities that Mikel Arteta demands from his forwards.

In my opinion this will prove to be Arsenal’s best signing of the window. I think there were better options for the Gunners to fill the striker role, but Zubimendi could end up being as important to Arsenal as Rodri is to Manchester City. That is a bold claim, but he has already got many Arsenal fans excited with his performances in pre-season and the relationship he’s developing with Declan Rice. 

Zubimendi has much more to his game than just being a player that recycles the ball. He’s shown in pre-season that he can be the genesis for Arsenal’s attacks this season, whilst also offering defensive cover. The rotation between him and Rice this season is definitely something to keep an eye on, and also why I think Zubimendi’s fouls won numbers will increase this season. 

Zubimendi won 19 fouls across his 33 starts for Real Sociedad in La Liga last season (0.58 per 90) - this is a really low record for a defensive midfielder, which also tells us that Zubimendi’s positioning is elite. However, this record is bound to increase in the Premier League as it is a more physical league and Zubimendi won’t get as much time on the ball to dictate play - especially against a United side that can have as many as four bodies in central areas. 

He’ll be lining up against Manuel Ugarte here, who committed 41 fouls across his 22 Premier League starts last season (2.06 per 90). Zubimendi should be earmarked as a potential game-changer for Arsenal this season, and his fouls won record should increase accordingly, especially up against a player as aggressive as Manuel Ugarte. 

Dorgu really caught my eye in pre-season when watching Manchester United compete in the PL Summer Series against Everton, Bournemouth and West Ham. Manchester United went on to win the tournament and I came away thinking that Dorgu could develop into a superb wing back in Amorim’s system. 

The two best words to describe Dorgu are pace and power. He is still quite raw and will need some work to polish the inconsistent parts of his game, but he offers Manchester United something which they really lacked last season. Manchester United were far too lightweight last season, the Red Devils folded at the first sign of physicality, but improved in this area when Dorgu joined in January.

Dorgu had 10 shots across his 10 starts for Manchester United in the Premier League last season (1.06 per 90), which is a record which presents promise for this upcoming campaign. Dorgu will be United’s outlet on the left-hand side and could prove important against an Arsenal side that likes to move their full backs inside or push them up the channels.

It would be poetic if Gyokeres was to score his first Premier League goal against his former manager and the side that had also courted him throughout the summer. I still maintain that I don’t think Gyokeres is the best fit stylistically for Arteta, but the Arsenal manager may be going for a direct approach this season, which would certainly suit Gyokeres. 

Despite my belief that there were better-suited strikers to Arsenal, Gyokeres will get goals purely because of the volume of chances that Arsenal will be able to create with the general dominance they have in the majority of their games in the English top-flight. 

Gyokeres’ scored 54 goals across his 52 appearances in all competitions for Sporting last season, building on the 23/24 season where he netted 43 goals across his 50 appearances under Ruben Amorim. It remains to be seen whether Gyokeres can translate this form to the most competitive league in Europe.

Looking over to the opposite corner, I think Sesko would have been the perfect acquisition for Mikel Arteta. It’s easy to look at his numbers from last season and think that he won’t score enough goals for United, but Sesko was playing in a slightly different role last season, often just behind the striker and was still incredibly effective. In his first season in the Bundesliga, only Serhou Guirassy and Harry Kane scored at a better rate than Sesko, which is more illustrative of his true scoring power. 

He’s also only 22 years old, leaving plenty of room for Sesko to develop into the perfect Premier League striker with the Slovenian already having the pace and physicality that the league demands. 

Sesko scored 21 goals and provided six assists across his 45 appearances for RB Leipzig last season. He actually scored three fewer goals overall in the 23/24 season, so there is actually an argument to suggest that Sesko has developed further in the most recent season, instead of the narrative that he regressed last campaign.

This selection landed in two of the meetings between these age old rivals last season, and Fernandes’ pre-season performances would suggest that he can continue to be a thorn in the side of Arsenal, either through catching the eye of the referee or finding the back of the net. Fernandes registered four goal contributions across his three PL Summer Series games as Manchester United won the competition. 

Fernandes was easily Manchester United’s best player last season in registering 18 goal contributions across his 36 appearances for the Red Devils - more than any other player in the United ranks. His role on penalties and free kicks for United gives him a real chance of finding the back of the net in this opening clash. Fernandes scored against Arsenal in the 1-1 draw against the Gunners and in the FA Cup clash at the Emirates, where he was also shown a yellow card. 

Fernandes picked up five cards in total during the 24/25 season (three yellows, two reds), this is actually lower than I expected for a player with the attitude and approach of Fernandes, but we may see a rise in this metric this season seeing as Fernandes will occasionally be playing in a slightly deeper role - this market covers both possible roles that Fernandes could play in Ruben Amorim’s system, making it a solid choice for the blockbuster game of the opening weekend.

We’ve spoken a little about the threat that Dorgu can offer going forward for United, but he will also be regularly tested defensively here up against one of the most consistently fouled players in the Premier League in Bukayo Saka. 

Dorgu committed 17 fouls across his 12 appearances for Manchester United in the Premier League last season, he made at least one foul in nine of those games which is a promising record, even before factoring in the threat of Bukayo Saka. 

Saka has long been one of the most difficult wingers to stop in 1v1 situations, and that shouldn’t change this season. Saka won 39 fouls across his 25 Premier League appearances last season (2.02 per 90).

Amad Diallo is likely to line up as a right wing back here, as he did in Manchester United’s final pre-season friendly game against Fiorentina. Diallo and Bryan Mbeumo showed some really positive signs in that friendly, with that game also confirming that Diallo’s role will primarily be an attacking one. 

Many have questioned whether it is possible for Amorim to play with the same bold system he used at Sporting, which often included four wingers with two of them operating as wing backs. Diallo had two shots against Fiorentina in that friendly, confirming that he will still be a shot threat this season. 

Diallo had 47 shots across his 26 Premier League appearances last season (2.23 per 90), with some of these appearances being as a wing back in Amorim’s positive system. As Diallo is left-footed, we can expect him to take the option to cut in and shoot more often than getting to the byline and delivering a ball into the box.