Manchester United's two preparation changes fail in defeat to Arsenal

"Set-piece FC, olé, olé, olé," chortled the Arsenal fans. Arsenal were at their most dangerous from dead-ball kicks. Conceding from one was a kick in the teeth for Manchester United. A second looked like carelessness.

Carlos Fernandes, Ruben Amorim's assistant, now stands in the technical area to choreograph the set-piece strategy rather than Andreas Georgson, the set-piece coach. United went through their new set-piece drills in the warm-up. They ended up conceding from two corners and it could have been more.

Peter Schmeichel, in the Emirates press box, would have clambered over the posse of players to pluck the ball. Andre Onana never appeared that inclined and Arsenal's only openings in a tepid first half were from corners. Onana was more culpable for William Saliba's far-post header and he was as rooted to his line as David de Gea.

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Arsenal fans started to sardonically anticipate the corner chaos. They won 13 corners. United did not have one. Amorim was aghast at how Marcus Rashford conceded the corner to tee up Saliba.

United tried to beat Arsenal at their own game from a free kick but David Raya repelled Matthijs de Ligt's connection at 1-0. Antony struck softly from an innovative free kick in the 86th minute. Ultimately, United's absence of a consistent goal threat was their undoing.

Harry Maguire was the first player to have a touch inside the Arsenal area and fellow defender Diogo Dalot had their only shot of note in the first 60 minutes. Mason Mount and Alejandro Garnacho, the two 10s, saw their numbers flash up before the hour.

At one stage, the