The 12 Arsenal moments vs Man Utd that must change for Premier League title charge to 'explode'

Arsenal secured a one-goal victory at Manchester United in the opening fixture of the new Premier League season. However, despite the win, the performance raised concerns and leaving many worried about the daunting opponents coming up.

Upon second viewing, though, there are some notable moments in the game that, while frustrating, show exactly the potential that Mikel Arteta has been speaking about ahead of the season. He told the Men in Blazers show that he felt his side were ready to be unleashed.

"It's time to explode now, like the volcano that is there and is ready to go," he said. "We want to win every single match, and no doubt we're going to continue that way, but with that fire that is the joy to play with each other."

While it would be fair to stop short of agreeing with Arteta based on what we saw at Old Trafford, at least in its entirety, there was a lot of evidence to support the idea that this Arsenal team is indeed ready to take off.

Throughout the match, most would argue that United were the better side. Arsenal could have turned the tide of the discussion far greater if they had been just slightly better with their decision-making and execution in the final third. Mikel Arteta struck a frustrated figure on the touchline as his offensive players failed time after time to turn a threatening move into a tangible high-quality chance.

"Well, as you see, I think there are seven or eight situations when the ball is completely open to play through, and we are on," he said. "And we are attacking the keeper.

"And we give that ball away, and then it becomes a basketball game. And I got a basketball game against a team that is extremely, extremely good at finishing action with the quality that they have.

"That's a very difficult thing to do. That's why I talk about the reaction to that. Because if you don't react in relation to that mistake, quick enough, sharp enough, you're in big problems."

Arteta is, however, slightly underselling just how many opportunities the Gunners had. Looking back over the game, there were in fact as many as 12 separate moments where his side created a turnover in play and failed to create a major opening from it.

This was quickly collated by fans after the match and shared around social media. football.london takes a look at all 12 moments, what happened and the issues involved.

Bukayo Saka vs Mason Mount – 9:33

David Raya quickly rolls the ball out from a Manchester United set piece, Martin Odegaard plays in Bukayo Saka but draws him out wide; the winger tries to beat Mason Mount but is tackled. Both Viktor Gyokeres and Gabriel Martinelli had supported the attack but went unfound.

Martin Odegaard dispossessed by Casemiro - 23:57

Riccardo Calafiori moves centrally and finds Odegaard in space. The skipper drives toward the box and has both Bukayo Saka and Viktor Gyokeres as options but takes too long and Casemiro tackles and starts a Man United counter.

Gabriel Martinelli fails to find accurate pass on the counter - 28:46

Gabriel Martinelli breaks clear inside his own half, drives through the centre of the pitch, tries to find Martin Odegaard to his left, but clips a horrible pass out of play. A central pass to Gyokeres was available, as was a right-side pass to Bukayo Saka or he could have continued his run.

Martinelli's overhead embarrassment - 31:40

Saka turns over the ball in Arsenal's half and finds Odegaard on the counter. He drives forward, and Arsenal have an overload on the right, but the pass takes Gyokeres away from goal and is overhit. The cross still comes in, but Martinelli's acrobatic effort completely misses the ball, and the play breaks down.

Odegaard's driving run finds no pass - 36:56

Martin Zubimendi's clearing header from a corner finds Odegaard. He drives from one half to the other but when the chance to pass is on he overhits it but the runs from both Saka and Martinelli were poor and left the captain with little option – he should have probably taken the chance on himself.

Gyokeres' poor cross - 45:13

Zubimendi finds Odegaard again, he spins and finds a quick pass through the Gyokeres. With four players to aim for, his cross is overhit and goes out for a throw-in on the far left side and was perhaps a good summary of the Swede's performance.

Gyokeres gets all muddled - 51:00

Zubimendi again turns over possession and finds Odegaard. This time he does play a ball from his own half through to Gyokeres who has space to run into, but the Swede gets the ball caught under his feet when he tries to cut inside and is eventually disposed – that was his moment to shine.

Bukayo Saka taken down – 58:00

Long ball from Raya catches out United who had pushed up. Odegaard collects and clips a ball in behind for Saka, who is confronted by Matthijs de Ligt for an arguable foul. Referee Simon Hooper, like for much of the game, did not call it.

Odegaard pass blocked - 60:49

Again, his name keeps coming up in these moments, Zubimendi with an interception. Finds a ball to Ben White who then lays off Odegaard who tries a clipped ball to Kai Havertz but the pass is blocked.

Havertz just needs to find Rice - 61:44

Madueke gets a strong interception and feeds Kai Havertz inside his own half. His driving run sees Declan Rice push on ahead of him, calling for the through ball, but it never comes. A big chance could have been created but the German opted for cautiousness over creation.

Do something Kai! – 71:45

Guess who? That's right, Zubimendi again winning the ball in midfield, muscling out Manuel Ugarte before finding Havertz on the right-hand side, who is standing up outside the box; he waits what feels like an age for Jurrien Timber to arrive before United get a foot in and the move breaks down.

That Madueke chance - 95:07

Some brilliant footwork from Martin Odegaard, beating three players and then finding Saka. The cross eventually comes, but the ball is behind Madueke, who cannot get the right touch on the ball to tap it into the net.

While all these moments can be analysed to be hyper-critical of the Gunners' efficiency, at this early stage of the season and following a successful victory, it is perhaps better to instead focus on the potential these moments have. If Arsenal had been just 20% more refined across these moments, their victory would have been so much more assured.

Instead, many became turnovers in their own right for United, emphasising their threat and which became more tangible chances for the likes of Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo. There is little doubt that if Gyokeres had had some of the shooting opportunities of those on the other side, we could very well be talking about several debut goals for the Gunners' new No.14.

If Arsenal are to win the title, these threatening moments need to be quickly transformed into tangible, high-value chances and, of course, goals. Arteta has another week to work with his team before welcoming Leeds United to the Emirates Stadium, where they hope to begin the chain reaction that could lead to this positive Arsenal explosion!