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Credit: Imago

Chris Smith

Mon 18 August 2025 11:30, UK

Mason Mount has been hit with a portion of the blame for Arsenal’s winning goal against Manchester United on Sunday, despite an error from goalkeeper Altay Bayindir.

The Gunners won 1-0 at Old Trafford on the opening weekend of the Premier League season, with Riccardo Calafiori scoring from close range as Bayindir failed to deal with a Declan Rice corner in the first half.

Despite the defeat, there was a lot to like about United‘s performance, especially from their revamped attack.

Mount was singled out for praise by ex-Red Devils captain Gary Neville during the first half, but not everyone was impressed by what they saw from the former England international.

While it was Bayindir who failed to clear Rice’s corner into the six-yard box, it’s Mount who failed to protect his goalkeeper from Arsenal defender William Saliba — who blocked the Turkish stopper’s path to the ball, without doing enough to draw the attention referee Simon Hooper.

That’s the view of former England goalkeeper Joe Hart, who criticised Mount’s poor performance as a ‘human shield’.

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“In the millisecond it takes for Declan Rice to approach the ball, William Saliba has moved Mason Mount out of the way and has got himself locked in a physical battle that Altay Bayindir would not have been prepared for,” Hart told the BBC (18 August).

“Bayindir will be well aware he’s not catching it, but he wants to get a good punch on it and clear his lines.

He manages to free himself from Saliba, and this is where he needs forward momentum, but Saliba knows that and just gets the nudge in as Bayindir tries to take off.

“In this situation, I would want my teammate next to me, I would want Mount on the other side of Saliba, so I can use him as a human shield.

You want someone who is going to handle one of the hardest players on the pitch, but Saliba just got around it so easily.”

Photo Credit: Imago

Football Insider verdict

It’s true that Mount could have done a little better in protecting Bayindir, but then, he also shouldn’t have been tasked with battling against one of the strongest players on the pitch.

What’s more, the responsibility in dealing with crosses into the six-yard box falls on the goalkeeper, and the fact that Bayindir actually made contact with the ball shows he did have a chance to clear it, but wasn’t assertive enough.

Stats vs ArsenalAltay BayindirSaves2Errors leading to a goal1Goals conceded1xGOT faced1.21Goals prevented0.21Altay Bayindir vs Arsenal (FotMob)

If Bayindir required a lesson in how to deal with crosses, he only needed to look at the other end of the pitch, where David Raya expertly cleared away a similar cross in the second half as part of a goalkeeping masterclass from the Arsenal man.

These flaws from Bayindir and Andre Onana have cost United heavily over the last couple of years and are exactly why the club are being heavily linked with a new goalkeeper — including Gianluigi Donnarumma.

It’s an Achilles heel of a position for Ruben Amorim, and a problem he needs to solve to avoid rendering all the hard work in rebuilding his attack this summer pointless.

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