Ruben Amorim has not yet completed a full season at Manchester United, yet the difference in the way the team approaches matches is already unmistakable. The chaos that defined recent years has given way to something more measured, more deliberate, and far more structured. United no longer look like a side relying on moments of improvisation to survive matches. They are beginning to resemble a team that wants to take control of the game and shape it on their own terms.
That shift explains why a graphic that circulated this week generated such a reaction. It plotted Premier League teams by the number of positional attacks they create and the number of counterattacks they produce. Arsenal sat exactly where most observers expected, high in both metrics, comfortably asserting territorial dominance while still punishing opponents whenever space opens. The surprise was United, placed right alongside them.
From that point, the storyline took shape quickly. Amorim is turning United into Arsenal in miniature.
There is a reason the claim caught fire. The data points towards a team behaving very differently to the one that drifted through last season. But while the numbers hint at stylistic evolution, the comparison with Arsenal feels exaggerated when you look at what United are producing on the pitch from week to week.
The Numbers Behind the Hype
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim crouching.
Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - November 8, 2025 Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim REUTERS/Toby Melville
The graphic essentially reflects that United now spend far more time playing in the opposition half, assembling longer spells of possession and recovering the ball higher up the pitch. Their counter-attacking figure is influenced by the same thing. These attacks begin closer to the opponent’s box, not because United sit deep and break, but because they regain possession in advanced zones.
Those trends are encouraging and reflect genuine progress. They show a team attempting to impose control instead of responding to whatever unfolds around them. But no single plot of data reveals how secure or fragile those attacking phases are. It does not show the moments where the shape loosens, the tempo drops or the structure dissolves under pressure. Arsenal’s numbers sit on top of an identity refined over several seasons. United’s sit on top of a project still learning to stand upright.
What Amorim Has Changed
senne lammens manchester united
One of the clearest differences is the position of United’s defensive line. It sits much higher than it did last season, and that is partly because Senne Lammens has settled with surprising composure. His presence has offered defenders the confidence to defend further from their own goal, which has allowed Amorim to tighten the distance between United’s units and compress the pitch in a way that simply was not possible earlier in the year.
United’s midfield has taken on a clearer identity as well. Bruno Fernandes remains central to everything United try to do with the ball. He drops into deeper areas when needed and helps United progress play with more patience. Casemiro continues to be influential, especially when United need calmness and control. Manuel Ugarte has yet to fully establish himself, which is evident from how frequently Amorim has rotated that position in search of better balance.
The build-up phase has changed too. United are far less frantic than before and rarely bypass their midfield. They show more willingness to construct attacks methodically, to create small combinations and to tempt opponents into overcommitting. It is a slower, more thoughtful approach than anything United produced in recent seasons.
Wide play has been reshaped out of necessity. Alejandro Garnacho’s move to Chelsea forced United to abandon the idea of relying on a single winger to disrupt defensive lines on his own. In his place, players like Bryan Mbeumo have offered structure and width in a way that prioritises system over stardom. It might not produce highlight reels every week, but it gives United better balance.
Perhaps the most striking improvement lies in how United react to losing the ball. They no longer crumble into disorganisation. Distances between players are shorter, recoveries are quicker and opponents are given less room to run into. It is not flawless, but it is a significant step forward.
All of these developments explain why the data places United near Arsenal. The behaviours are similar, even if the execution still varies.
Where the Comparison Falls Apart
mikel arteta arsenal
This is where the narrative begins to overreach. Arsenal’s game is the product of years of construction, reinforced by recruitment tailored specifically to Mikel Arteta’s demands. Their structure is lived in, not taught. They dominate matches in a way that looks effortless because every player understands the choreography.
United are not at that point. Their best football comes in waves. One phase might be controlled and well rehearsed, the next might lurch into the kind of untidy improvisation that used to define the side. There are still passages where Bruno is forced into heroic playmaking because the build up has stalled, or where Casemiro is left trying to extinguish fires across half the pitch. United’s press can sometimes look enthusiastic rather than co ordinated, and their spacing can unravel when opponents move the ball quickly.
Arsenal do not fluctuate in that way, which is why the comparison only goes so far. United mimic certain principles, but they do not yet match the stability or reliability of Arsenal’s approach.
United’s Direction Matters More Than the Label
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What stands out most in Amorim’s early months is simply the clarity. For the first time in years, United resemble a team with an idea that stretches beyond the next game. You can see the logic behind the coaching, and you can see which players are suited to the project and which are still adjusting. The foundations may be shaky at times, but at least they exist.
That is why the Arsenal comparison feels more like excitement than accuracy. The resemblance lies in the ambition of the style rather than the sophistication of it. United finally want to play a certain way, but wanting something and executing it at the highest level are two very different stages of a rebuild.
The graphic that inspired all the discussion highlights improvement, not equivalence. United are heading in the right direction, but the journey has barely begun.
They are not Arsenal in miniature.
They are simply a work in progress, and for the first time in a long time, that is enough.