Manchester United picked up a stunning victory at Arsenal on Sunday as they moved back into the top four in the Premier League table, with Michael Carrick's men showing their mental strength
Manchester United's players celebrate with Patrick Dorgu during the victory over Arsenal
Manchester United's players celebrate with Patrick Dorgu during the victory over Arsenal(Image: Ben STANSALL / AFP via Getty Images)
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"You can feel the anxiety every time Patrick touches the ball. I can feel the anxiety," a deflated Ruben Amorim said about Patrick Dorgu following the inexcusable defeat to 10-man Everton back in November. In the next four Premier League matches, the Dane played a total of 30 minutes with the trust seemingly gone.
Bryan Mbeumo, Noussair Mazraoui and Amad's departures for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) meant Dorgu was thrust back into the United team in a more advanced role. Since then, Dorgu has started every Premier League match. In the three games the Dane has played since Amorim left, he has bagged two goals and an assist.
The evolution of Dorgu has been as impressive as it has been surprising. When Dorgu signed in January 2025 he became, on paper at least, the only natural wing-back at United. Amad developed into a wing-back but his natural position was, and still remains, as a winger.
Diogo Dalot, Luke Shaw and Mazraoui were all full-backs or centre-backs adapted to the wing-back role. And yet, when Dorgu was played there on the left, there was clearly something missing. You could see he was more comfortable attacking than defending but when in the final third, so many times his crosses let him down.
When he received the ball in the box or was presented with a chance to shoot, Amorim was right - he did look nervous. "You remember the shot against Everton," the former United head coach explained two months ago. "That was easier than the decision he had to make [playing for Denmark] against Scotland.
"He made a great decision, and I saw it when he played in Italy. But here it is different, and sometimes the pressure is hard for them in the beginning, but he has time to improve."
If that chance against Everton fell to Dorgu now, you can almost guarantee he would bury it. While Amorim was right about Dorgu at the time, it seems the 21-year-old has flourished thanks to the confidence injected into the dressing room by Michael Carrick's arrival.
His two recent goals are clear evidence of that. Against Manchester City, Dorgu showed his attacking capabilities as he was the only man alert at the back post, he gambled and got his just rewards for doing so.
Following his strike against Newcastle earlier in the season, we knew Dorgu had a wonder goal in his locker and so he proved again at Arsenal. But these are not just lucky pot shots which Dorgu is taking - you can see he is more comfortable having the ball at his feet and driving play forward these days.
"Patrick Dorgu looked like such an average wing-back under Ruben Amorim," Gary Neville concluded during the victory at the Emirates Stadium. "Further forward he looks like a completely and utterly different player."
And that is where the lesson must lie in this. Dorgu has become an undroppable for United now, unquestionably.
However, this is only on the condition he remains in the attacking midfield three. The Dane may have been signed as a wing-back but his true strengths lie as a forward.
Keep him fit and Dorgu could now be a real game-changer for United in the second half of the season. Looking on from afar, Amorim will not believe it.
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