MANCHESTER, England, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Arsenal's Riccardo Calafiori headed home an early corner, aided by a weak challenge from goalkeeper Altay Bayindir, to earn a 1-0 victory at Manchester United ( MANU ) in the Premier League on Sunday, spoiling the hosts' season opener.

Despite a cast of new faces, Mikel Arteta's visitors proved they are still lethal from set pieces with Calafiori netting in the 13th minute. Arsenal's William Saliba backed into Turkish keeper Bayindir, who feebly batted the ball with one hand into the path of Italian Calafiori for an easy close-range header.

United were otherwise the better team, with close-season signings Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu missing good chances. The home side had Arsenal pinned back for most of the second period and kept keeper David Raya busy, forcing him into a diving save to stop Mbeumo's powerful header.

Set-piece specialists Arsenal have scored 31 league goals from corners since the start of the 2023-24 season, at least 11 more than any other team, and three of their last four league goals against United have been from corner kicks.