Manchester United are preparing to face Arsenal on Sunday afternoon with Ruben Amorim looking for another victory over Mikel Arteta.
Premier League action returns for Manchester United for the first time in nearly two weeks.
FA Cup and Europa League games have taken the focus for United but it’s back to the bread and butter of the Premier League on Sunday.
Arsenal are the visitors on Sunday, handing Amorim a third meeting with Mikel Arteta despite only arriving in November.
Arsenal beat United 2-0 in the Premier League in December as set-pieces proved to be United’s downfall.
Amorim had his revenge in the FA Cup in January as United defeated Arsenal on penalties at the Emirates Stadium, dumping the Gunners out.
Photo by Ion Alcoba Beitia/Getty Images
Photo by Ion Alcoba Beitia/Getty Images
Ruben Amorim on Manchester United improvements
A win over Arsenal on Sunday would be huge for United and Amorim – even if it helps Liverpool win the Premier League title.
United drew with Real Sociedad on Thursday night and there were some encouraging signs in that display despite failing to win.
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Amorim must build on that performance and has now spoken about the improvements around the club.
Speaking to United’s official website, Amorim accepted that results are ‘bad’ and the performances aren’t improving as much as he would like.
Amorim claims that improvements are being made around the Carrington training ground though with ‘a lot’ of changes ongoing.
Amorim accepts that fans can’t see those improvements but he feels that the small changes happening right now can be ‘really important’ next season and beyond.
The United boss admitted a ‘risk’ to this approach, putting long-term success over the short-term results, but hopes for the pay-off down the line.
“In terms of the results, it’s bad,” said Amorim. “Also the performances are not improving a lot, to be honest.
“But the good thing is that we are learning a lot. We are changing a lot of things but you cannot see it. Here in Carrington, the way we want to do things. I’m understanding the players and doing, in my head, what is the future of the squad.
“And that can be really important next year, but there is also a risk, when you are planning and doing and thinking to the future, you have to pay attention to the present. And the present is really hard in the moment because the results and the performances are not there,” he added.
This can be a huge week for Ruben Amorim
Amorim would no doubt love another win over Arsenal, a real statement victory in what has been a testing period.
United’s wins have hardly been easy on the eye but few would turn their noses up at a battling victory against the Gunners.
The next focus is the Europa League with United hosting Real Sociedad on Thursday night.
A spot in the quarter-finals is up for grabs and United really have to seize this opportunity for some European success.
We can appreciate Amorim’s long-term view but a short-term boost from results against Arsenal and Real Sociedad would start to change the atmosphere for the final stages of the season.
It’s a big ask, but Amorim will hope for some of those training ground improvements to show on the pitch this week.