Manchester United drew a blank at Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night as Ruben Amorim suffered a 1-0 defeat at the City Ground.
Manchester United went into the international break having scored seven goals in two games against Real Sociedad and Leicester City.
The break may have halted United’s momentum, though, and Ruben Amorim watched his side fall to a 1-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest.
United racked up 23 shots but couldn’t find the net, even resorting to Harry Maguire playing as a makeshift striker.
United just don’t have that top-tier striker to put the ball in the net on a regular basis with Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee struggling for goals.
The days of Robin van Persie firing United to the title are long, long gone and raiding a top Premier League rival for a world-class player feels like a pipe dream these days too.
Photo by Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images
Photo by Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images
Sir Alex Ferguson thought Robin van Persie to Manchester United was impossible
United lost the Premier League title to Manchester City in 2012, but the less said about that heartbreaking final day, the better.
Sir Alex Ferguson wasn’t about to let City take dominance of Manchester or of the Premier League, and spent on Shinji Kagawa from Borussia Dortmund.
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Come August, though, United had sent shockwaves through the Premier League by raiding Arsenal to sign Van Persie.
From his first shot finding the net against Fulham to his stunning hat-trick to seal the Premier League title against Aston Villa, Van Persie was a transformational signing for United.
26 goals in 38 games was an exceptional record, and the move to sign Van Persie showed that United meant business, snatching Arsenal’s top goalscorer away from them in a bargain £24million move.
Ferguson admitted to BBC Sport after agreeing the deal that he thought signing Van Persie was impossible.
Ferguson thought that Arsenal wouldn’t let Van Persie go, but his stance on now wanting to sign a new contract gave United hope.
Van Persie only wanted to join United according to Ferguson and he even turned down ‘various clubs’ to make the move happen.
“The boy wanted to come. He turned down various clubs. If he hadn’t told Arsenal he wanted to go to Manchester United, the transfer wouldn’t have happened,” said Ferguson.
“Robin is a world-class striker with a proven record in England and in European football. His talents need no introduction to our fans. He has scored a number of goals against us in some classic battles with his former club. His movement, finishing and all-round ability are outstanding.
“We never thought we could get Van Persie. If you go back six months ago, I couldn’t see us getting him. I thought Arsenal are not going to let him go. When I read he had refused a new contract, that is when we acted. It has been a long haul,” he added.
Arsene Wenger explained Robin van Persie deal
United and Arsenal were bitter enemies in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, with those clashes summed up by the simmering rivalry between Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira.
The idea of Arsenal selling a star player to United was unthinkable, but Ferguson managed to get the deal done for Van Persie – and leave Arsenal fans infuriated.
Arsene Wenger attempted to explain, telling BBC Sport that one ‘simple reason’ saw the deal materialise.
Wenger highlighted that Van Persie simply refused to sign a new deal and made it clear that he wanted to leave.
Wenger hailed Van Persie as ‘world-class’ but had ‘regrets’ that he had been allowed to run down his contract in North London.
“I have regrets. We have lost a good player because of a simple reason,” said Wenger.
“He only had one year left on on his contract and he wanted to go. We lost a good player, a world-class player – I don’t deny that. But it is a massive challenge to replace him and therefore we have to be even more of a team and work even more together to compensate,” he added.
Van Persie was an enormous coup for United and, ultimately, the catalyst for a title-winning season in Ferguson’s final campaign.
United haven’t won a league title since then and will need to find a striker of Van Persie’s quality to truly get back to the top.