Arsenal had only won two of their previous 11 trips to Old Trafford. An opening-day victory at a stadium where they have so often struggled is something to be celebrated, however unconvincing.

Mikel Arteta called it a “massive” result afterwards. “To go in the first fixture at Old Trafford with that atmosphere, the way they are building momentum, with new signings and excitement around them, it’s a great feeling,” he added to Sky Sports.

They did it by falling back on characteristic strengths. Riccardo Calafiori’s winner came from a new corner routine. “We don’t want to be predictable,” said Arteta. But the outcome was familiar. It was their 31st goal from a corner since the start of 2023/24.

No other side has managed more than 20 in that timeframe.

They are in a league of their own when it comes to set-pieces and they remain the Premier League’s outstanding team defensively too.

Even finishing 10 points behind Liverpool last season, they conceded seven goals fewer than any other side. This was just the latest example of their resilience and organisation under pressure.

They were indebted to David Raya too, of course. He made seven saves in total, including an outstanding intervention to deny Matheus Cunha in the first half. But few sides can rival Arsenal when it comes to summoning the grit and savviness required in circumstances such as the last 20 minutes at Old Trafford.

“Arsenal are one of the best teams at managing games and knowing how to run the clock down,” said Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville on co-commentary. “They are an experienced unit.”

Their experience was tested, particularly in the first half as Manchester United’s new signings Bryan Mbeumo and Cunha rampaged freely into space. But Arsenal responded.

“They really dug in,” added Neville. “They showed a lot of resilience. We know how good they are defensively. The goalkeeper made some great saves and the back four got better as the game went on.

“They were never at their best, but to come here to Manchester, whether it’s Old Trafford or Manchester City’s ground, is always tough. To get three points is big for Mikel Arteta.”

The Arsenal boss described his side’s defensive efforts as “phenomenal” but there was also an acceptance that, overall, their performance was “not at their standards”. In truth it was not even close. “We need to improve a lot of things,” he added.

The main challenge for him and his players, having only scored 69 goals to Liverpool’s 86 last season, is to get back to offensive levels demonstrated during the 2023/24 campaign, when they hit a club-record total of 91 having netted 88 in the previous one.

The club have acted this summer with that in mind, spending a combined £115.5m on Viktor Gyokeres, who started at Old Trafford, and Noni Madueke, who came on for Gabriel Martinelli as a substitute in the second half.

Arteta spoke with obvious excitement about the qualities Gyokeres, scorer of 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting, will add to his side ahead of the game. But the early evidence suggests there is a lot of work to do to adapt, both for him and for the team.

Gyokeres worked hard and showed glimpses of his physical qualities up against Manchester United’s defenders but he made way for Kai Havertz on the hour mark having only completed four passes and not registered a single shot.

Gyokeres will need more service. He will need to build up chemistry with his new team-mates too. But he was not helped by Arsenal’s collective sloppiness in possession.

Their passing accuracy rate of 75 per cent was their lowest in a Premier League game since the 2-2 draw with Manchester City last September and fell well below last season’s average of 89 per cent.

Arteta will hope that is down to early-season rustiness but there are broader questions about Arsenal and their relationship with risk, brought into focus by Liverpool and Manchester City opening their campaigns with four-goal victories this weekend.

“The sign of a really good team is when you’re not at your best and you win football matches,” said Sky Sports‘ Roy Keane. “The worry for me in the second half is there were opportunities to really go at Manchester United, but they seemed off it from that point of view.

“Going forward, competing with Liverpool and Manchester City, they seem to want to go for that second or third goal, whereas Arsenal are thinking, ‘Oh, we’re 1-0 up, maybe we’ll hold onto it’.

“That backfired on them last year when they had too many draws. That won’t win you league titles and has to improve. Arsenal need to be clinical in their play and really go for that second or third goal.”

What matters most, of course, is that Arsenal left with the result they came for. History tells us Old Trafford is not the ground for a free-wheeling approach, even at the best of times. But finding the attacking fluency to match their defensive strength is key to their title hopes this season. It remains a work in progress.

Sky Sports to show 215 live PL games this season

From this season, Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage is increasing from 128 matches to at least 215 games exclusively live.

And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games this season will be shown live on Sky Sports.

What’s coming up in the Premier League?