Manchester United defeated Arsenal 2-0 in a preseason friendly. Jadon Sancho and Bruno Fernandes both scored for the Red Devils.
It signalled the start of the Portuguese star’s permanent captaincy.
Manchester United and Arsenal engaged in a preseason friendly matchup in New Jersey before the start of the new season, but as is customary, their rivalry matchup was anything from ‘friendly.’
In a heated preseason match on Saturday night at MetLife Stadium, home of the NFL’s New York Jets and Giants, Arsenal was defeated 2-0 by Manchester United.
It was the first tough game captained by Bruno Fernandes of the Red Devils, characteristic of the heated rivalry that has persisted between both teams.
The United captain, along with Jadon Sancho, showed a lot of promise as they outperformed the runners-up from the previous season.
Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber, two recent additions to the team, made their debuts while Kai Havertz also played the whole 90 minutes in Mikel Arteta’s strong lineup. And despite the loss, Arteta’s Premier League competitors will envious of the talent at his disposal.
The start of Fernandes’ captaincy is excellent.
Harry Maguire may benefit from regaining the Manchester United captaincy because it would let him to concentrate on his game, but Bruno Fernandes was always going to be up to the task, according to Erik ten Hag.
With the first goal in United’s 2-0 victory over Arsenal at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, Fernandes, who enjoys the responsibility, had a winning debut as the team’s permanent captain. Aaron Ramsdale, the keeper for Arsenal, would be frustrated that he couldn’t stop Fernandes’ excellent shot. This was undoubtedly a good beginning because Fernandes was never expected to feel the armband heavily.
Tom Heaton displayed a reliable set of skills.
With David de Gea leaving United’s goalkeeping staff after 12 years and Andre Onana taking his place as the new No. 1, there has already been more than enough change in the position. Tom Heaton’s future has also been in doubt after a move to Premier League newcomers Luton was vetoed and his contract was extended by a year.
Heaton is anticipated to replace Onana as Dean Henderson is expected to leave United for Nottingham Forest. Heaton demonstrated here that he has a safe pair of hands with an excellent double save from Gabriel Martinelli and a respectable right foot when he found Kobbie Mainoo with a long pass in the lead-up to Fernandes’ goal.
Sancho makes another promise, but this time he must keep it.
Jadon Sancho’s ability to convince new manager Erik ten Hag was one of the highlights of United’s trip to Bangkok and Australia last season.
However, United’s £73 million player went on to have yet another underwhelming campaign after taking some time away from the team at the beginning of the year to manage his physical and mental health.
Sancho, who was used as a false nine against Arsenal, produced a brilliant finish for United’s second goal, sprinting through traffic to slam the ball into the roof of the net.
Sancho gave off a positive signal, but he can’t afford to have any more false dawns. He must perform well for United and build on this during the tour games.
