Manchester United have spent billions of pounds... so WHY are they still using this 'banter years' tactic?

Ruben Amorim's Manchester United began their 2025-26 campaign in a similar vein to last season's exploits, albeit with a few new faces.

It was an old face, the second-longest-serving player in Amorim's squad, in fact, whose introduction eight minutes from the end indicated that not enough had changed at Old Trafford, to believe things can be drastically different this year.

Amorim's 15th defeat in 28 Premier League matches saw him become the fastest manager of a non-newly-promoted team to 15 defeats in the competition. Trailing for much of the game, the Portuguese coach's second-half substitutions did not yield the impact Man United desired, and perhaps even deserved.

Ruben Amorim earned a new, unwanted record as Manchester United boss last weekend

Amad's 55th-minute introduction for Diogo Dalot gave Man United more of an edge to their attack, while Benjamin Sesko's debut from the bench on 65 minutes gleaned a response from Old Trafford, which ultimately did not translate onto the pitch.

With less than 10 minutes of normal time remaining, Amorim turned to a player who has delivered before in the dying embers of games in front of the Stretford End.

Harry Maguire was hurled on, replacing Luke Shaw but every bit an auxiliary, possibly even emergency, centre-forward.

Man United were unfortunate to come away with nothing from the match, just as Arsenal were lucky to have taken all three points, but in a division where the margins can be so fine, it was the Gunners who made their opportunities count, not the team with £200 million worth of fresh attacking talent on the pitch.

Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo's competitive debuts are something for Man United fans to shout about and there is every chance the pair will find the back of the net sooner rather than later, and regularly.

But, after a summer in which the club - who very recently pleaded poverty amidst non-playing staff redundancies - has spent more on attackers than almost every other team in Europe has spent on their squad, Maguire doubling as some sort of slab-headed Hail Mary was a throwback to the all-too-recent Old Trafford 'banter years'.

Of course, the first fixture out of the hat being against the Premier League runners-up is hardly the environment for a trio of expensive, new attackers to announce themselves. The scoreline also shouldn't detract from Mbeumo and Cunha's performances, either, which were for the most part, quite promising.

Maguire's substitution and subsequent role, rather, suggests issues at Old Trafford will not be remedied by the club's ambitious summer spend. Two-hundred million pounds on strikers doesn't necessarily constitute a quick fix, almost like throwing on your tallest and most imposing player when chasing an equaliser doesn't always yield a goal.

Altay Bayindir was at fault for the Arsenal winner, proving too weak dealing with the Gunners' set-piece which fell kindly for Riccardo Calafiori to prod in. Andre Onana's absence, Tom Heaton's presence in the squad and the general consensus that an institution like Man United don't have a reliable first-team goalkeeper, was rather conspicuous, too.

Similarly, Manuel Ugarte's cameo off the bench suggested it will be more of the same from the ill-fitting Uruguayan this season. His debut in English football came at St. James' Park for a Paris Saint-Germain side who were hopelessly overrun in midfield - needless to say, he was not particularly good that night. And yet there have been a catalogue of appearances for his new side where Ugarte has struggled to have a desired, or even positive, impact.

There is much work to be done off the field, which is why Amorim will be given more time to get things right, but the head coach is not blameless here. Twenty-eight Premier League matches is more than most managers are given to get a team moving in the right direction.

The summer window has bought him some time, new signings will need time to bed in and so on, but there comes a point where coaching is correctly called into question.

Maguire has previously delivered in the function he carried out at Old Trafford on Sunday. He brings chaos, physicality and a focal point to attacks late-in-the-game, especially if he is not tasked with his usual defensive obligations.

Olympique Lyonnais' Old Trafford collapse in the UEFA Europa League last season came about largely due to Maguire's ability as a wildcard.

But, as a tactic, it isn't sustainable, nor is it becoming of a team like Man United. If it works, it is inspired; if it doesn't, it reeks of desperation.

A new arrangement ensured there was a different smell at Old Trafford on Sunday evening, not quite as foul as a 15th-place Premier League finish, but there was at least a lingering scent.