By WILL CASTLE
Published: 12:30 EDT, 9 March 2025 | Updated: 12:38 EDT, 9 March 2025
Ruben Amorim has opened up on why he has decided to drop Rasmus Hojlund to the bench ahead of Manchester United's clash against Arsenal.
Hojlund hasn't enjoyed the run of the green since Amorim's Old Trafford arrival in November and is without a Premier League goal since mid-December, where he bagged in a 3-2 loss to Nottingham Forest.
The £72million man has thus accrued his fair share of critics, with some branding him as one of the least value-for-money signings in recent memory.
With just two leagues strikes to his name this term, Amorim has made the decision to drop the Dane amid his 19-game goal drought.
However, the Portuguese boss has insisted that form is not the reason behind his benching.
'No, it’s freshness,' he said. 'I think he was really fatigued at the end of the game. And we tried different things.
Ruben Amorim has dropped Rasmus Hojlund to the bench for today's clash against Arsenal
'We know that the opposition, the two centre-backs, what they want, what they like. And we tried to do different things to surprise the opponent.'
Hojlund played the full 90 minutes as United took on Real Sociedad in the first leg of their Europa League last 16 tie last week.
It was the Dane's strike partner that bagged the Red Devils' one and only goal, with Joshua Zirkzee catching the Sociedad stopper out to give United the lead in Spain.
However, a handball against Bruno Fernandes gave the hosts the chance to equalise from the spot - an opportunity gleefully taken up by Mikel Oyarzabal, who slotted past Andre Onana to put things on terms going into the second leg in Manchester.