(Credit: Imago)

Oliver Walton

Tue 19 August 2025 18:12, UK

Matheus Cunha has expressed his disappointment at Man United’s loss to Arsenal on Sunday as he made his competitive debut for the club at Old Trafford.

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Man United moved to bring in the Brazilian international earlier this summer following an impressive season for Wolves that saw him register 15 goals and six assists in 33 Premier League appearances.

He debuted for the Red Devils in the Premier League on Sunday as Ruben Amorim’s side slipped to a 1-0 defeat against the Gunners after Riccardo Calafiori’s 13th-minute goal.

The hosts came back into the game after that early setback and looked the more likely team to score throughout as David Raya kept out efforts from Cunha and fellow summer signing Bryan Mbeumo.

Ruben Amorim’s side thought they should have had a penalty late on as William Saliba tackled Cunha in the six-yard box, but their claims were waved away and the Gunners held on to come away with a valuable three points at Old Trafford to start the campaign off.

Credit: Imago

Cunha impressed in his first competitive game for his new club as he had three shots on target, 88% pass accuracy, created one chance and drew three fouls [Fotmob] while being kept on for the whole 97 minutes.

The Brazilian forward posted to his Instagram page (18 August) following the game, with numerous pictures of him in action alongside a caption saying: “We deserved so much more!

It’s just the beginning.”

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His teammate Mbeumo reacted by commenting: “For sure bro” with fire and two red heart emojis, while Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior replied: “Joga muito!!” which translates to “Play too hard!!” and Bruno Guimaraes added three fire emojis in response.

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Football Insider verdict

United’s 2024/25 campaign was one to remember for all the wrong reasons, as they finished 16th in the Premier League and were beaten in the Europa League final by fellow strugglers Tottenham.

Amorim clearly has huge job on his hands to get the club back on track, but there is a feeling that they cannot get much worse, and signing a player like Cunha has kicked off some major business at Old Trafford over the last few months.

The Brazilian international is now an experienced Premier League forward, having spent two-and-a-half years at Wolves, and his exploits in the last campaign were seriously impressive as he almost singlehandedly dragged the Molineux outfit away from relegation trouble.

AppearancesGoalsAssists36176Cunha’s 2024/25 stats (all competitions)

The Red Devils need goal-scorers this summer, and Amorim has also complemented his talents with another two forwards in Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko, while Matt Le Tissier has told Football Insider that he thinks Cunha is the missing piece of Man United’s puzzle after his bright showing against Arsenal.

Cunha may not be a neutral’s favourite player due to his brash on-field tendencies, but that kind of personality and fight is also something that United have missed in recent seasons, and they could have a stellar signing on their hands as long as Amorim knows how to handle him both on and off the pitch.

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