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Roy Keane has burst the bubble of positivity surrounding Manchester United following the team's season-opening Premier League defeat.
United suffered a 1-0 loss to Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday as two persistent issues plagued Ruben Amorim's team once again. Riccardo Calafiori netted the decisive goal with a close-range header in the early stages after Altay Bayindir made a hash of Declan Rice's corner delivery.
The match saw Premier League bow-outs for United's trio of new acquisitions - Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, and Benjamin Sesko - though David Raya departed with his goal intact. United endured goalkeeper troubles throughout the previous campaign, with Andre Onana's performances proving erratic, while the struggling team managed a paltry 44 goals across 38 fixtures in 2024/25.
Despite this, Amorim struck an upbeat tone after the final whistle, insisting "we were not boring" - a viewpoint swiftly rubbished by Keane.
When questioned on Sky Sports about potential reasons for encouragement, Keane responded: "Yeah, I think with the couple of signings that have come in and we saw today, I was encouraged by that. They looked like Man United players, they were happy to deal with the pressure, they're good characters.
"But we've mentioned it many times before, there are problems at the back. We've heard noises about them not being boring, but ultimately you've got to score goals to win football matches or you're constantly under pressure.
"The expectations around the club are so low now that everyone is almost happy."
When pressed to forecast where his former club might end up, he responded: "Mid-table – 10th, maybe ninth."
Reflecting on his concerns, he continued: "The expectations at United now are so low, that even Gary [Neville] said on commentary, everyone is OK with a 1-0 defeat. They've got to do better. It does worry me.
"Some of the new signings, there was encouragement with that. They were getting you up the pitch with a bit of power. Things will improve, it's tough against Arsenal, but no goals and another defeat. There's still problems there with Man United."
Mbeumo and Cunha caused difficulties for Arsenal's backline and displayed promising chemistry before Sesko was introduced from the substitutes' bench during the second period.
Amorim has managed only seven victories from his 28 Premier League matches, and following last term's 15th-place finish, Keane outlined what needs to happen moving forward.
"I think it's about trying to rebuild the team, get some confidence, get some momentum early in the season. Last year, obviously nowhere near good enough, we know that," he said before kick-off.
"The biggest issue they had all season despite chatting about the goalkeeper and the defence, they didn't score enough goals. When you're not scoring enough goals, particularly if you're Manchester United when they've invested so much money, you're constantly under pressure.
"They've obviously tried to fix that this summer. The signings, looking at them in pre-season, I know it's still early but yeah, the signs are good.
"They've obviously brought two players in who know the Premiership, they're robust enough to deal with the challenge of that and obviously they needed a goalscorer, so they were constantly under pressure. Looking at it, I like the look of it."
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