EPL: Arsenal stun United at Old Trafford as Aina, Awoniyi start season on winning note

Arsenal kicked off their Premier League campaign with a statement win, defeating Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Defender Ricardo Calafiori scored the only goal of the match in the first half, reacting quickest inside the box to hand the Gunners all three points.

The result extended Arsenal’s unbeaten run against United in the league to six games, with five wins and one draw during that period.

It also continued Arsenal’s strong recent record at Old Trafford, where they have now avoided defeat in three consecutive visits, winning twice and drawing once.

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Mikel Arteta’s side are also unbeaten in their last 15 Premier League away games, underlining their consistency on the road.

For United, it was another disappointing afternoon against one of their biggest rivals.

Ruben Amorim’s men clearly dominated Sunday’s match at Old Trafford but only failed to get the much needed goals.

Winning start for Super Eagles duo

Elsewhere, Super Eagles stars Ola Aina and Taiwo Awoniyi were on the wining side as Nottingham Forest romped to a 3-1 victory over Brentford at the City Ground.

Aina, who lined up in defence, produced a composed display over the full 90 minutes, while Awoniyi was an unused substitute.

Chris Wood set the tone early, scoring in the fifth minute from close range after a corner was not cleared.

Forest doubled their lead before half-time when £36 million summer signing Dan Ndoye marked his debut with a powerful header from Morgan Gibbs-White’s cross.

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Wood struck again in first-half stoppage time, finishing calmly after latching onto Elliot Anderson’s pass to give Forest a commanding 3-0 advantage at the break.

Brentford pulled one back through Igor Thiago, who converted a penalty 12 minutes from time after Ibrahim Sangaré was penalised for handball.

But the late goal did little to change the outcome, leaving new Bees boss Keith Andrews with a difficult start in his first Premier League match in charge.

Chelsea held in London Derby

At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea were frustrated in a goalless draw with Crystal Palace.

The Blues had an early let-off when Eberechi Eze’s free-kick found the net, only for the Video Assistant Referee to rule it out because Marc Guehi was standing too close to Chelsea’s defensive wall when the ball was struck.

Enzo Maresca’s side dominated possession but were unable to break down Palace, who held firm to claim a point in the London derby.