I am not being negative. Do not put it in the paper that I’m being negative.
Manchester United played a lot better than I expected going into matchday one. At times, they looked like the team that finished in second place last season, while Arsenal looked like a shellshocked team grasping for control. Yet, the scoreline ended entirely in Arsenal’s favor.
That sucks, man.
A moment to forget for United’s goalkeeper Altay Bayindir and a career highlight for Arsenal’s goalkeeper David Raya proved to be
the difference at the final whistle. United did well to get some quality shots on target (7-22), but they just couldn’t get the ball in the net. Shaky defending from a set piece was United’s undoing (again).
I tweeted this on The Busby Babe’s Twitter account, following the loss: “Lots to build on from this performance. But no moral victories. We could’ve won this one and we didn’t even draw.”
I was frustrated at the full-time whistle, which I’m choosing to take as a good thing.
I said on The Fergie Fledglings preview podcast that I was not expecting a good result in this match (which was proven true), but the course of the match was different from what I expected. The fact that I sat in my chair, annoyed that we did not achieve the result we deserved, is ultimately a positive to me.
The team played hard, they busted their guts on the counter, and the new guys flashed why they were recruited. Unlike after losses last season, when it was up to Ruben Amorim to perform triage, there is something to build on after yesterday. Our title charge is far from beginning, but maybe we’ll be a lot more competitive this season (and more fun to watch).
Again, I’m not suggesting we award moral victories — not after how bad last season was. The deficiencies on this team are still astoundingly clear (gestures at the goalkeeping department and certain midfielders), and this team needs to improve its form drastically in the results column. The match against Arsenal should have served as the measuring stick for that level of progress: playing as the better team AND enjoying the reward of being the better team.
Turning losses into results is the next step for this project. With some more recruitment and player development, we could very well be moving in the right direction again.
See, I told you I’m not being negative! I’m just understandably disappointed we didn’t win.
Matchday 1 Vibes Rating
Now, the Manchester United 2025-26 Vibes-O-Meter is a very specific device developed with the most advanced science available to us: our gut.
The Vibes-O-Meter uses a scale of 1-10 based on the contemporary highs and lows of the Post-Fergie era; one being the feelings immediately after losing the 2025 Europa League Final and 10 being the feelings after winning the 2017 Europa League Final.
After matchday one, things are looking alright!
MD1 Vibes reading: 5/10
Positive Influences
- Mattheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo debuts
- Mason Mount
- The defense’s suppression of Arsenal’s frontline
- Amad Diallo’s play off the bench
Negative Influences
- Amad Diallo only playing off the bench
- Manuel Ugarte (more specifically, Ugarte playing instead of Kobbie Mainoo)
- The state of our goalkeeping (which might be a bigger problem than I realized in an earlier piece)
