Man Utd’s new front three of Mbeumo, Cunha & Sesko showed flashes against Arsenal – but will £200m revamp really work?

MANCHESTER UNITED may have lost their opening game of the new Premier League season to title-chasing Arsenal.

But there were flashes of brilliance from their new-look front three, which will be a significant upgrade for Ruben Amorim this season.

Amorim’s men looked more like a collective team than they did last season.

United came into the match following a busy off-season, having revitalised their attacking options at a cost of a whopping £200MILLION.

Two new attackers, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha, started the match, while new star striker Benjamin Sesko was on the bench – although he did feature in the final 30 minutes.

At the start of the game, it seemed that Cunha would be playing as the central striker, with Mason Mount and Mbeumo playing as the narrow attacking No. 10s behind him.

The positioning and role of Cunha, however, was more versatile than that –  until the introduction of Sesko in the second half.

The game was just a taste of what United’s three new attacking players can bring over the coming weeks and months.

So with that in mind, SunSport’s Tactics Exposed team is on hand to take an in-depth look at each of United’s new attacking options and break down what fans can expect to see from them this season.

Bryan Mbeumo

When United secured the signing of Mbeumo from Brentford for a £71m fee, it was off the back of a strong season in which he finished with 20 goals and nine assists in all competitions. 

He appears to ideally suit the 3-4-2-1 system that is favoured by United’s Portuguese head coach Amorim. 

It is likely – and this was supported against Arsenal – that Mbeumo will start for United as the right-sided No.10 behind the main striker.

From this position on the right, one of the biggest threats from Mbeumo comes from his off-the-ball movement. 

During his time at Brentford, he looked to make attacking runs in the channel, starting from deeper positions.

Mbeumo can then accelerate to attack the space between the opposition’s fullback and central defenders.

Against Arsenal, we saw early signs of these runs and the danger that they’ll bring.

Here, we see the kind of movement that we can expect this season from Mbeumo. 

As Cunha and Mount work to collect a loose ball, Mbeumo starts a run to attack the space through the channel

The positioning and movement of Mbeumo throughout this match were interesting. 

He showed a clear tendency in the build-up phase, and when the ball came into the middle third, to come out wide to receive and support the attack. 

Mbeumo dropped back to goal to receive the ball and showed his touch and technical ability when receiving and linking up with teammates behind him.

Also, he looked comfortable when getting the ball on the turn and looking to attack forward with aggression.

As the play progressed into the middle third he narrowed off as he likes to play closer to the area and to goal. 

This was supported by the longer overlapping runs from Diogo Dalot from the right wingback position, and then the higher attacking positions from Amad Diallo when he came into that role. 

Mbeumo was difficult to play against for the opposition defenders as he varied his approach. 

At points, he released the ball to play in the wingback when he moved from deep to support. And at other points, he took the ball and drove inside towards the area.

In this example, Mbeumo is in possession of the ball as United are on the attack. 

The defender is isolated and cannot commit as he does not know which way Mbeumo will go.

This time, he uses the overlap and plays the ball for Dalot to carry forward.

The movement and attacking intelligence that Mbeumo showed throughout the match against Arsenal should excite United fans.

Matheus Cunha

United moved very quickly at the end of last season to trigger the release clause of the Brazil star Cunha to take him from Wolves for £62.5m.

Similar to Mbeumo, United made the move for Cunha on the back of a strong season in which he scored 17 goals and had six assists. 

While we think as the season goes on that Cunha will end up playing as the left-sided No.10 behind the main striker, he actually started against Arsenal as the main striker.

Cunha was, however, still very versatile with his attacking positioning and movement as he moved and dropped deep to get on the ball.

He would then either turn and driving in possession of the ball or link the play with teammates and move into advanced areas with his off the ball movement. 

Cunha consistently got into positions in which he could take the ball and then look to hurt the Arsenal backline.

There were moments when Cunha dropped very deep, even as the central striker, and was deeper in the United half to help progress the ball. 

We see an example of this here as Cunha has dropped very deep and taken possession before turning and driving forward.

It was interesting to see how effective Cunha was in the final third in terms of giving United a platform to attack from. 

He played as the main striker until the final 30 minutes, when Sesko was introduced for Mount, before dropping back to play as the 10. 

During the match, however, he completed all 11 passes that he attempted in the final third as he linked the play. 

He was consistently willing to take possession of the ball under pressure in advanced areas and to link the play with teammates moving to support the play. 

The Brazilian is also a threat in these situations, however, to take the ball on the turn and drive to goal in order to get a shot away.

Here, Cunha takes possession of the ball from a short forward pass from Bruno Fernandes on the edge of the Arsenal penalty area. 

He holds off the pressure from the defender and plays the ball back into the path of Bruno as he moves forward to attack the edge of the area.

The positional versatility that we see from Cunha combined with his ability on the ball to combine with teammates and drive through space in the final third will help United to break down opposition teams.

Benjamin Sesko

The final new attacking player is Slovenian international striker Sesko, who was recruited from RB Leipzig for £74m.

While he was not quite ready to start the first game of the season, we did see him come off the bench for the final 30 minutes.

And in that time, we saw what the striker will bring to the squad.

Sesko likes to run at defences. He is far less effective when playing back to goal and receiving into his feet. 

This means he provides a very different option to Cunha as the No.9 in this game. 

The willingness of Sesko to make these runs and stretch the game provides a threat, but it also creates space underneath that the likes of Cunha and Mbeumo could take advantage of.

As United are in possession in their own half with the man in possession under no pressure, Sesko times his run to break beyond the last line and allow the ball to be played over the top and into space.

Sesko is a very physical and is 6’ 5” tall, with the ability to routinely threaten space for his team. 

His off-the-ball movement is similar to that of Rasmus Hojlund, who is still in the United squad. But Sesko should provide more consistent threat through his ball striking and ability to maintain that pace when in possession of the ball.

Here, we see a clear example of Sesko making a diagonal run to force the opposition defensive line backwards and create space for teammates underneath. 

Cunha has taken possession of the ball and turned his man before driving towards the opposition half. 

As Sesko makes a darting diagonal run the entire defensive line for Arsenal is pushed backwards.

A striker like Sesko, when compared to the profiles and positional tendencies of the likes of Cunha and Mbeumo, will create a lot of threat across the season for United.

Conclusion

We have gone through the three new attacking players for United and not even mentioned their best attacking threat from last season in Bruno Fernandes. 

The United captain will likely find himself moving deeper to play a more deep midfielder as opposed to one of the No10’s.

But his passing ability and aggressive nature from this role will be very strong for United. 

As the season progresses we are likely to see Sesko established as the main striker with Cunha and Mbeumo as the No.10’s behind him. 

This will be the strongest attacking setup for Amorin and his United squad and a vast improvement on last season’s attacking options.