Ruben Amorim was handed his first defeat since taking over as Manchester United head coach after Jurrien Timber and William Saliba made the difference for Arsenal
Ruben Amorim during Arsenal vs Manchester United
Ruben Amorim suffered his first Manchester United defeat away to Arsenal (
Image: Getty Images)
Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim suggested Arsenal's wingers are more than happy going down the outside due to the Gunners strength from corners.
Both of Arsenal's goals against United on Wednesday came from corner kicks. Jurrien Timber scored the first to open his Premier League account, and William Saliba clinched victory for Mikel Arteta's side.
The 2-0 defeat was Amorim's first reverse as United boss after a draw with Ipswich and wins against Bodo/Glimt and Everton. It also showcased Arsenal's set-piece strength from both sides, with deliveries from Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka producing the goals.
Amorim recognised the willingness of the opposition to play to those strengths. On this occasion it was Saka and Gabriel Martinelli on the flanks for the London side, and the visitors failed to deal with them.
"You can see it in every occasion that Saka and Martinelli has one against one, a lot of times they go outside, they cross, they know that if the the cross is going well, they can score, if it's the corner, they can score. We have to be better on that situation," Amorim said after the defeat.
Reflecting on the reverse in a Match of the Day interview, he recognised set pieces at both ends were key, with Matthijs de Ligt denied an equaliser by a big David Raya save. "We were committed and we lost to the set pieces. If Matthijs [de Ligt] can score in that moment the momentum would be different," he said.
"We tried to play but they are a very organised team and it's hard to score. I felt the players were in control of the game, the set pieces changed the game in the second half."
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Both of Arsenal's goals came from corners (
Image:
Getty Images)
Arsenal cut the gap to leaders Liverpool to just seven points after the Reds drew at Newcastle. Chelsea climbed above the Gunners on goal difference with their 5-1 win at Southampton, but Arteta was positive after his own team's victory.
"We scored two set pieces, but we could've scored from open play many more," he told Match of the Day. "We lost two massive players for us in our backline [Gabriel and Riccardo Calafiori] but the team are still responding.
"The game opened up a little bit and we looked a real threat. Very pleased. It's a joy to play in this stadium with that energy, it's something incredible."
Arsenal travel across London to take on Fulham on Sunday as they look to keep the pressure on the teams above them. United are back at Old Trafford one day before that, hosting a Nottingham Forest team who lost at Manchester City on Wednesday.
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