Manchester United struggled against Arsenal, but there are signs that Ruben Amorim understands the job ahead

LONDON — Of course Manchester United were going to lose. They didn’t have the players. They didn’t have the time drilling a new system. Most of all, they didn’t have the most intimidating weapon in the arsenal of any Premier League side, the palpable sense of dread that engulfs any defense when Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka walk over to take a corner. The longer the walk, the longer the dread.

A faintly tepid start from Arsenal might have raised hopes in a boisterous away end, but United didn’t yet have it in them to turn possession into profound, consistent pressure on David Raya’s goal. Their new manager’s track record would suggest that it will come.

What has been most encouraging about the very early weeks of Ruben Amorim’s tenure is that he, more than any other Alex Ferguson successor, gets that time is required. To hear a Manchester United manager talk about his side being destined to “be found out in some games” before one of the defining matchups of English football is nothing if not a radical departure. There is no shame approaching these games as a learning exercise. Ultimately the data harvested tonight should be with a view to how United match Arsenal in 2025-26 and realistically further beyond that.

“I prefer to learn winning games,” Amorim said after the match. “That is really clear. But I learned the same last game 4-0. I learned a lot. I could see we had a lot to improve. Same today but I can take some positives today, especially the strategy and the way they blocked the game.”

There will need to be tweaks, and quick ones. The time for a rebuild is rarely afforded and Amorim cannot count on United being as indulgent of him during “the storm” he spoke of yesterday as Arsenal were of Mikel Arteta. He is going to need to bed in something more serious than a vanilla zonal marking system on corner kicks the next time he faces a side as robust and rowdy as Arsenal. Jurrien Timber and William Saliba’s rear end were the chief beneficiaries of a chaotic United defense, but Mikel Merino, Thomas Partey and Gabriel Martinelli will all feel they should have converted from eight openings worth a combined 1.68 expected goals, the highest mark in the Premier League this season.

Perhaps that is no wonder given that Amorim quietly announced in his post-match press conference that assistant head coach Carlos Fernandes would be responsible for dead balls rather than Andreas Georgson, the set piece coach appointed by the old regime. If there’s going to be more flick ons from Joshua Zirkzee at the front post to Manuel Ugarte on the goal line, it would help if it is not United’s goal line.

“Carlos is responsible for set pieces, different stuff,” Amorim said. “Andreas is also there to help. That’s it. If you follow the Premier League for a long time you can see that [they are the best team in the Premier League for set pieces]. They also have big players for that. 

“You can see it every occasion that Saka and Martinelli has a one against one. A lot of times they go outside, they cross. They know if the cross is going well they can score. If it’s a corner they can score. We have to be better on that situation. Like in every area of our game we need time to improve.”

What United did do well, though, was quite notable in open play. They would chase the ball in the United third but never in a cavalier fashion. When William Saliba or Thomas Partey were settled with the ball at their feet the blue shirts were not going to go mad. Wait, block off the angles, and see if you can bait a mistake. With a heavy legged, perhaps still injured Partey, that didn’t seem a bad idea.

When their opponents did manage to move up-field, United were ready. A line of five, a line of four, precious little space between them. Even this Martin Odegaardified Arsenal were having all sorts of trouble manipulating the ball into the spaces they liked. More than once, Bukayo Saka would try one of those give-and-gos down the right flank that so scramble defenses only to see his pass meet a United toe before Odegaard and Jurrien Timber. They might have a third win in three, but in open play Arsenal rarely if ever got going. That speaks to the diligence with which United went about their assignment.

“You could feel at the end of the first half in the stadium that they were not comfortable,” said Amorim. “We had one day to put in the strategy and they couldn’t cope with that. The right side of Arsenal, with a lot of players there, we managed to control very well. The difference today was the set pieces.”

In attack, a lot more work is required. United were toothless in the final third, which was typified by one of a few early breaks through the Arsenal lines, Alejandro Garnacho free to charge down the left. He had the pace to leave Jurrien Timber in his wake. Instead he opted to hold onto possession, waiting for an overlapping run from the left wing channel. When that eventually came, from Harry Maguire, the move was dead. It is the sort of wasted opening you will often see in the early days under particularly system-heavy coaches. Like so many of his contemporaries, Amorim does not like to see an attack that hasn’t been fully built. Perhaps on this occasion a little more free-wheeling was required by Garnacho.

How Garnacho got into that position is one of the more encouraging facets of this United performance. Their ease under pressure was typified by Noussair Mazraoui, whose two-footedness allowed him to draw Saka onto him and fire passes out to either flank. His 11 progressive passes led both sides, a few players like that at start of their build up and United look like a team who can draw teams on and play through, creating the sort of rapier attacks that Amorim’s predecessor, Erik ten Hag, always aspired to, but couldn’t implement.

Amorim is evidently still in fact-finding mode. Every player who has scored for him in his three game tenure has dropped out of the XI for the next match. With injuries hampering United, as they are almost every team in the league, it will surely be a while before a strongest side is established. When it is, you can rest assured that Mazraoui will be in it.

Others? Hmmm. Any appearance fees owed to Mason Mount will indisputably be paid, but a player once understandably rated the best pressing attacking midfielder in the game was bullied in his duels and easily run off by Oleksandr Zinchenko. Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee offered no meaningful impact off the bench. Andre Onana is clearly a capable shot stopper and fearless with the ball at his feet. A little fear might not be a bad thing if the alternative is clipping five separate passes to Arsenal players in your own half.

It was clear even at the sheer talent imbalance on the team sheets that another rebuild lies ahead of United. What Amorim needs to show in the biggest games is that there are bits and pieces to build on. As a starting point, four games into his tenure, this wasn’t bad at all. A lot of work to be done, but to be done by someone who gets that simple truth.