Onana dropped from Man United team to face Arsenal

Ruben Amorim sent out a strong message with his decision to leave out Onana against Arsenal.

Cameroonian shotstopper Andre Onana has been dropped from Mancheswter United's first home game f the season as they welcome Mikel Arteta's Arsenal.

Onana was the first choice shot-stopper for the Red Devils last season and was between the sticks for 34 Premier League games. However, his position was questioned on multiple occasions last season, and despite working hard to regain full fitness and returning to training ahead of the Arsenal match, he has been left out of the squad.

Man United vs Arsenal Line-up 

Manchester United boss Amorim went for Turkish shot-stopper Altay Bayindir instead of Onana, and Tom Heaton took up the goalkeeper slot on the bench. 

Mikel Arteta, on the other hand, had no surprises, with new signings Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Zubimendi immediately taking up places in the starting 11.  

Man Utd XI: Altay Bayindir; Leny Yoro, Mathijs De Ligt, Luke Shaw; Diogo Dalot, Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes, Patrick Dorgu; Mason Mount, Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo. 

Arsenal XI: David Raya; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Maghalaes, Riccardo Calafiori; Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi; Bukayo Saka, Viktor Gyokeres, Martinelli. 

Why was Onana dropped?

Amorim's decision comes amid a wave of speculation surrounding the Manchester United goalkeeper slot. Despite their interest in Emiliano Martinez, the Portuguese shot stopper expressed confidence in his current options during pre-season. 

Dropping Onana suggests Amorim is sending a strong message that the Cameroonians’ time is up at Old Trafford. There were suggestions that Onana's axing could be down to fitness problems, but A,orim immediately dismissed it.

"We try to choose the best players for each game. Next week is a different life and in this week we chose this way."

"No, no [not an injury]. He [Onana] will recover but the guys did so well in pre-season so I need to balance that."