Ruben Amorim is a long way away from being compared to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, and likely never will, but every little glimpse helps.
Manchester United kick off their Premier League season with a marquee fixture against Arsenal at Old Trafford, with Ruben Amorim eager to wash away the stench of last season.
Arsenal have always been one of the storied rivals, as the battles between Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger defined a whole era of English football.
Ahead of this game, Amorim channeled his inner Sir Alex to throw the gauntlet in front of Arsenal, also reminding of the legendary United manager’s greatest ability.
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim interacts with Sir Alex Ferguson prior to the Premier League match between Manchester United and Brighton at Old Trafford in 2025 in Manchester.
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Ruben Amorim dares Arsenal to step up vs Man Utd
The expectations at Man Utd are always at fever pitch, where one bad result is the end of the world, and one good result means there’s nobody better.
However, the fates are slightly flipped in this game, with Arsenal under pressure to finally get that elusive title they’ve flirted with for the last few years.
For United, it’s just the next step in the process, and it’s all about the big picture of how competitive they look and how much they can improve on a wretched last season.
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Amorim, speaking during the embargoed section of the press conference ahead of the game, took a page right out of Sir Alex’s playbook of media management.
He piled on the pressure on Mikel Arteta’s men, saying that he knows “everybody thinks” Arsenal will win, so they will just walk out on the pitch with the drive to change that.
He said: “The players, the coaches and the fans. And we are going to change things. But you have to make Old Trafford an advantage. No question. If you want to win things and to be a very strong team, especially at home you need to win your games.
“It is also really important that it is an enjoyable place for our fans. This is just one game against Arsenal. Against one team that everyone thinks is going to win. I know that. So we’ll be there on Sunday to change things.” [Near the 1.10 mark]
Not only does it transfer the pressure of winning to Arsenal, and leave United with a “nothing to lose” scenario, but it is also reminiscent of a trait Sir Alex regularly used to display.
Amorim cultivating a siege mentality at Old Trafford
Much has been said about how much of a positive change Man Utd’s dressing room has undergone over the summer, and this is Amorim hammering it home further.
Sir Alex regularly used to manufacture conflict and create imagined rivalries to cultivate a feeling of “us against them,” which unified the dressing room.
Despite being the dominant outfit, he used to paint United as the underdogs who had to fight the world to get their due, and it drove the players to better heights.
Amorim has done exactly the same by effectively telling his players through the media that nobody is giving them a chance against Arsenal, so they need to prove everyone wrong.
It follows many comments from players in the Man Utd squad this season, where they have spoken about “revenge”, and how everybody hates United and wants to see them fail.
The vindication of proving people wrong is concentrating the players’ minds, and Ruben Amorim has managed to make that happen by channelling his inner Sir Alex Ferguson.