The newest addition to the Manchester United squad, Antony Matheus dos Santos experienced the dream debut tonight as United won 3-1 against Arsenal at Old Trafford.
Antony is one of the most promising signings in the premier league this season. The Red Devils, under the guidance of Manager Erik ten Hag, are determined to bounce back from the disastrous last season. The signing of the 22-year-old youngster from Ajax was a step towards that goal.
The debut of the Brazilian at the Theater of Dreams was nothing short of dream-like. 35 minutes into the first half, Antony scored a beautiful goal to give his team the early lead. The crowd at Old Trafford went berserk as their debut boy finessed the ball with a first-time shot into the net. However, the United fans could not stay ecstatic for too long. In the 60th minute, the Gunners came back with a goal by Saka.
An immediate impact from @antony00 ????#MUNARS | @ManUtd pic.twitter.com/AWTU7OzYpF
— Premier League (@premierleague) September 4, 2022
Although Cristiano Ronaldo was subbed in at minute 58 of the game, the last 30 minutes were all Marcus Rashford. The Brit just put on his best performance of the season. Before getting subbed out at the 80th minute, the 24-year-old scored two goals and thus killed all the hopes for Arsenal.
???? He's one of our own ❤️#MUFC || #MUNARS pic.twitter.com/nS28q3p0S9
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 4, 2022
“It was a big test for us today and we showed up. We can be proud of ourselves,” remarked Rashford in the post-match interview. “It’s been a long time since I scored against Arsenal. It’s something I was looking to do this year, and I’m happy I did.”
The manager, Erik ten Hag, who many are giving the credit for United’s current form, is happy with the win as well. “There was a good team spirit. Arsenal created chances, of course, but so did we, especially on the break. We scored great goals,” said Hag. “It’s really good to see that, after the setback [of the equalizer], they fought back. I like that mentality.”
“We have all seen what a threat Antony can be. It was a great goal. All the goals were team goals,” he added.