Manchester United Manager All Praise For Newcomer's Instant Impact

Manchester United is coming off a statement victory over Arsenal this weekend as they defeated their league-leading rivals in a surprising 3-1 upset at their home of Old Trafford.

For new manager Erik ten Hag, he has high expectations of their most expensive signing this offseason, Brazilian winger Antony, whom they acquired from Ajax for a reported £85.5 million ($98.4 million).

"I know what he can be, I talked before the game we needed that in the right wing. With his pace, his dribbles, his pressing capabilities, he's really good with that, we've seen that," ten Hag was quoted as saying by the Manchester Evening News.

He continued, "[At] this moment, he lacks a little bit of power. He missed some training in pre-season, an injury, then the last 10 days. [But] you can see his potential. He has to work for it to get that. The intensity of the Premier League is going to be high and a challenge for him, but we've seen his potential today. It's great he scored the first goal."

Antony drew the start in place of all-time great Cristiano Ronaldo, and his fit with the Red Devils was on full display as he helped lead the attack that came to fruition in the 35th minute, breaking open the Arsenal defense for the opening goal.

Great short passes from Bruno Fernandes, Jadon Sancho and finally Marcus Rashford had the Arsenal defense confused on who to guard, leaving Antony wide open to slot it in the bottom left corner.

Arsenal would later equalize in the 60th minute thanks to a counter-attack that found Bukayo Saka being left unchallenged inside the box, but Manchester United was not going to let this game go to waste.

A masterful through ball from Fernandes six minutes later plus a Christian Eriksen assist in the 75th minute saw Rashford score the game-sealing goals in their favor, giving them their fourth-straight victory in the English Premier League.

Prior to the match, Manchester United's recent return to form had them as plus-160 favorites, while Arsenal were the slight underdogs with odds of plus-165, according to SportsLine.com.

The Red Devils are certainly putting things together after starting off their Premier League campaign with dismal losses to Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford, with ten Hag making crucial changes to his lineup.

Having Ronaldo come off the bench was an important tactic change for them as it gave his younger stars like Antony, Rashford and Sancho more opportunities for a counter-attack, greatly increasing their scoring potential.

Ten Hag's belief in Antony, 22, comes as no surprise as the pair spent about two seasons as manager and player for Ajax in the Netherlands' top-tier soccer league Eredivisie, where the latter scored a total of 25 goals in 82 matches.

With Antony in tow, Manchester United and its fans are hoping to continue their current form when they welcome Spanish La Liga side Real Sociedad to Old Trafford Friday for a UEFA Europa League fixture.