Manchester United kicked off the USA leg of tour 2023 with an extremely comfortable 2-0 win over Arsenal in New York.
The scoring was opened by Bruno Fernandes in the 30th minute thanks to a long range strike which Aaron Ramsdale got a hand to.
Jadon Sancho made it two just seven minutes later, as he raced through on goal before smashing it home.
The scores stayed that way, with the second half largely disrupted by substitutions.
Here are five things we learned…
Mainoo continues to impress
One of tour 2023’s most impressive players has been 18-year-old Kobbie Mainoo who has already made a huge case for place in the first team.
Having played well and earned plaudits against both Leeds United and Olympique Lyon over the past two weeks.
Mainoo put in his best game to date against Arsenal, assisting his captain’s goal and looking completely natural in his position and bossed Arsenal’s £100million man.
Captain Bruno an inspiration
First game on the job as club captain, and Bruno has already been a revolutionary change in the armband.
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Scoring the opener, Bruno drove inside with the ball before unleashing a venomous strike that Ramsdale couldn’t do anything about.
He also quickly showed why he was named captain, a clear leader on the pitch and was even spotted keeping his manager out of trouble too.
Sancho finds his shooting boots
Sancho has enjoyed a lively if un-remarkable pre-season prior to his burst into life against the Gunners.
Making the American crowd ooh and aah, however his defining moment came as he latched onto a ball, before driving toward goal and firing a powerful strike past Ramsdale.
Despite the clear need for a striker, Sancho’s stock has absolutely risen across this pre-season tour.
Excellent defensively
Game three of the tour and still no goals conceded which will be a huge positive for Ten Hag to take away from these games.
It wasn’t just a clean sheet but United were so good defensively that Tom Heaton didn’t have to do anything.
Beginning to have a solid defensive record this early in the season can only be a good thing for United.
So far so good
The 2-0 trouncing of the Gunners makes it three wins from three for United in pre-season.
While we know this period of play amounts to very little, it is extremely encouraging to see the Reds on the winning side.
To beat a direct Premier League rival so comfortably sends a huge statement of intent ahead of the incoming season.