Antony scored on his Manchester United debut to give Erik ten Hag’s side a 1-0 lead against Arsenal, and Cristiano Ronaldo was delighted with his new team-mate’s first-half goal
Cristiano Ronaldo was elated after Antony scored on his Manchester United debut to put the Red Devils 1-0 up against Arsenal.
The 22-year-old winger slotted home against the run of play after completing his £85million transfer from Ajax fourth days ago. Erik ten Hag’s star signing was thrown straight in against the Gunners and got off to a perfect start when he guided home in the first half. Television cameras then panned to Ronaldo, who was seen applauding Antony’s goal from the United bench.
The Red Devils’ opening goal came after Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli thought he’d broken the deadlock in the 11th minute, but Martin Odegaard’s challenge on Christian Eriksen was deemed to be a foul by VAR. Referee Paul Tierney needed to watch a replay multiple times on the pitch-side monitor, as Mikel Arteta’s men were left dismayed by the decision.
Gary Neville gave his reaction to Antony’s opener on commentary for Sky Sports by saying: “Well I said he had to have a good start, well he just has. Arsenal have been the better team in the last 15 minutes but this pass from Christian Eriksen is brilliant and it just opens up the game.
“Well done to Paul Tierney he plays the advantage, [Marcus] Rashford, he just knows Antony is there. It’s on a plate, he goes down early [Aaron] Ramsdale. We mentioned it before the cutting in on the left-foot, it’s a dream position for the Brazilian.”
United came into the game looking to make it three successive wins in the Premier League. Arsenal, meanwhile, are the only team to still boast a 100 per cent record after six matches. Neville’s fellow Red Devils legend, Roy Keane, fancied his old club to come out on top and declared pre-match: “I fancy United strongly, I really do.
