MANCHESTER, England — Ruben Amorim rejected the suggestion he needs a new goalkeeper in the final weeks of the transfer window despite Altay Bayindir‘s error costing Manchester United against Arsenal on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
Bayindir was picked ahead of André Onana for the 1-0 loss at Old Trafford after the Cameroon international missed the entire preseason schedule with a hamstring injury.
Onana was fit to play after resuming full training last week.
But Amorim opted for Bayindir and the Turkey international made a critical mistake which allowed Riccardo Calafiori to score from a Declan Rice corner for the only goal of the game.
And in a tense postmatch news conference, Amorim defended Bayindir and said he does not need a new goalkeeper.
“I’m happy with the three goalkeepers,” said Amorim. “He [Bayindir] chooses to get the ball, but he’s getting pushed. That is my feeling when I see the play.
“You choose to push a player [out of the way] or to get the ball in that moment. He needs to use his hands to catch the ball, not push players. He chooses to push players and let the ball pass.”
At his prematch news conference on Friday, Amorim confirmed Onana was fit to play against Arsenal despite having only three sessions with the team in the build-up to the game.
It was a surprise that he wasn’t in the squad when the teams were announced, but Amorim said the former Ajax man had not been “dropped.”
“I didn’t drop Onana from the squad,” said Amorim. “It’s not the case of dropping Ornana. It’s not putting Andre Onana in just one week without seeing the game, without time, with training.
“Tom [Heaton] and Bayindir, during the preseason, they did a good job.”
Despite the result, United were the better team for long spells against Arsenal. Patrick Dorgu hit the post in the first half while summer signings Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo both had efforts saved by David Raya.
“It’s that feeling that we played better,” said Amorim. “We were the better team, but in the end we lost the game. I’m really proud of the work that they put on the field and that is important to move forward.
“We proved today that we can win any game in the Premier League, especially against a great team like Arsenal, and we were the better team.”
In a telling move by Amorim, striker Rasmus Højlund was left out of the matchday squad to play Arsenal, adding to the speculation that he may be on his way out at Old Trafford before the transfer window closes on Sept. 1.
One possible destination for Højlund, who joined United in the summer of 2023, is Milan. The Serie A club’s sporting director told Mediaset on Sunday: “Højlund is a good option for us. We are thinking about him but in transfert market you never know what could happen.”
New signing Benjamin Sesko was presented before that game and appeared from the bench against the Gunners at Old Trafford, where the Denmark international was conspicuous by his absence.
“It is a fight for places,” Amorim said after the game. “We’ll see what is going to happen in the market. There are different characteristics. Rasmus has the same characteristics of Benjamin Sesko, so we need to choose.”
