Ruben Amorim has earned a reputation for his many talents during a relatively short coaching career. Tactical, motivating and even a poet, if you listen to Cristiano Ronaldo.
As Manchester United’s new manager prepared for his fourth game in charge, he added a new string to his bow. Meteorologist. “The storm will come,” Amorim predicted rather ominously, and perhaps he had Wednesday night’s trip to Arsenal in mind when he said it.
The 39-year-old knows he can’t get his way all the time as he carries out mid-season repairs on this United team, sometimes plugging round holes with square pegs. “In some games they will discover us,” he warned.
Few teams are as ruthless as Arsenal at the moment. Mikel Arteta’s side have scored 13 goals in their last three games, including five before the break at West Ham last weekend and, worryingly for Amorim, five more away from home against the formidable Sporting Lisbon, who left behind the last month to take the United job.
Sporting had been on a streak of 17 wins and one draw in 18 games since losing the Portuguese Super Cup to Porto in August. They had not been beaten in regulation time and yet Arsenal raced to a 3-0 first-half lead in a 5-1 Champions League rout at the José Alvalade Stadium last week. Does this emphasize the task that awaits United at the Emirates on Wednesday night?
“I already knew that,” Amorim responded with a smile. ‘I think he (Arteta) has done an incredible job. Sometimes managers are only judged by their titles, but what he has been doing at Arsenal is amazing. He transformed the team.
Rubén Amorim warned his Manchester United players that “a storm will come”
United have made a positive start under Amorim but will have their first major test on Wednesday.
United will face an Arsenal side that has scored 13 goals in its last three games.
‘He bought some young people who are now the great talents of this country. I hope I have the same mentality that he had in difficult times because I followed the Premier League for a long time. It is a very good characteristic of Mikel.”
Amorim can at least take comfort in having beaten Arteta at the Emirates last year, even though it took a penalty shoot-out to resolve the Europa League last-16 tie after a 3-3 aggregate draw.
But on Wednesday night he won’t have the comfort of selecting a team he built and trusts, having admitted he feels anxiety at United because he simply doesn’t know what will happen from one minute to the next.
He also fears that Arteta’s team is even better now; It’s also less predictable with Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber at full-back and Martin Odegaard roaming freely.
The Arsenal captain was an extra-time substitute when Amorim won at the Emirates, but Odegaard’s return after a 12-match absence with an ankle injury has given the Gunners an extra dimension in recent weeks.
“This year Arsenal play a little different. They are more fluid,’ Amorim added. “For example, when we faced Sporting, you knew how to press because you could understand the structure better. It’s more fluid now with Calafiori and Timber on different sides; one enters and the other leaves. Furthermore, Odegaard changed teams and it shows during the season. “Every game is different and you already know that you are going to face a very good team.”
Preventing Odegaard from pulling the strings will be key for United if they are to get anything out of the game, but one player Amorim did not mention was Bukayo Saka. The England winger terrorized Sporting’s three defenders on the right last week, helped by Maximiliano Araujo pushing too high and leaving Gonçalo Inacio isolated.
Amorim will need his left back, likely Diogo Dalot, to provide more protection for his back three against Saka on Wednesday night, and particularly whoever replaces the suspended Lisandro Martínez on the left side.
Harry Maguire is fit again and is likely to start, while Leny Yoro has traveled with the team. Jonny Evans has missed the last two games.
There was frustration when it was confirmed on Tuesday that Luke Shaw had suffered another injury setback after a comeback that lasted just three substitute appearances. Shaw wrote on social media that he was “devastated.”
Amorim’s assistant Carlos Fernandes (left) will try to help United keep Arsenal at bay from set pieces.
Amad Diallo could also be an important asset for United in the Emirates
Riccardo Calafiori has struggled with fast wingers, and Diallo will take advantage of his chances against the Italian.
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United will not need to be warned about the threat posed by Arsenal’s set-piece specialists, but it will be interesting to see how Amorim’s assistant Carlos Fernandes attempts to combat it having replaced Andreas Georgson as set-piece coach of United. Expect Matthijs de Ligt to keep a close eye on Gabriel.
With Kobbie Mainoo also suspended after just one game back from injury, Amorim must weigh up his options in midfield but Manuel Ugarte, sent off by Sporting at the Emirates last year, will likely be tasked with marking Odegaard.
While United’s priority on Wednesday night will be to keep Arsenal calm, one area where they could expose the Gunners is at left-back. Calafiori can be uncomfortable against quick wingers who like to cut inside, something Amad Diallo could take advantage of. The little Ivorian has flourished more than any other United player under Amorim, and is likely to start on the right wing again.
“You try to choose players that you can put in that position and the technical characteristics are perfect for him,” Amorim said. ‘By his left foot. If you are right-handed, sometimes you don’t have space to enter.
‘In that position, you need to have a good physique. Good physique is not size, but he can run. And that is a key point in that position. He has good control and seems faster with the ball than without it. You can play on different systems. In the future, maybe we will play in a different system, so it is that type of player that we will need in the team.”
It is no surprise then that United have been working on a new contract for Diallo. Unless the club offers him a new contract or activates the extension of his current one, he will be a free agent in the summer and will be able to talk to foreign clubs starting next month.
“I think he wants to stay and we want him to stay, so that’s clear and we will find a solution,” Amorim said.
For now, United’s new head coach is focused on tackling his toughest challenge yet in what has been a steep learning curve for him and his players.
So has the size of the job exceeded your expectations?
Amorim will try to outsmart Mikel Arteta to maintain his unbeaten start at Old Trafford
“A little,” Amorim admitted, “because you don’t know what life is like in these types of clubs. That’s why it’s always a surprise. I can do it, but we have to do much more than train the team.
‘You have to manage time differently. You have less time to prepare for matches, not only because you play after two days, but also because you have a lot to do. I can say that I was a little surprised.
‘We are slowly improving, but we have no training. So I’m very happy with all the work and effort the players are putting in right now.
“It is what it is and we will try to win, and we go with confidence to win, but we know that we need to play very well to win the next game.”