Ruben Amorim is shown areas that require improvement after Manchester United loses to Arsenal.

The fact that Ruben Amorim lost in the Premier League for the first time since December 2023 against Arsenal served as a reminder of the challenge he faces at Manchester United.

Despite Sporting's 4-0 victory over Everton over the weekend, the Portuguese manager, who had just finished an extraordinarily dominant stint as Sporting's manager in his native country, had warned his team that a storm was on the horizon before the game.

"There will be a storm. During his pre-game press conference, he had stated, "We will face challenges and be exposed in certain games." Jurrien Timber and William Saliba struck the net as Arsenal corners rained down on United's six-yard box in the second half, bringing the storm to the Emirates Stadium.

Since January 2014, United has not given up two goals from corners in a Premier League match.

However, the problem was not limited to set-piece defence. After this defeat, Amorim will have a clearer understanding of where his team stands and where they need to make improvements.

Complementary fitness
According to Amorim, some players currently have a "time limit" during games because of the necessity to treat their injuries and get them back to full fitness. On his first Premier League appearance since May 2023, Tyrell Malacia did a good job of containing Bukayo Saka in the first half, and his departure at halftime was proof of it. As was Harry Maguire's replacement at the hour mark.

 Amorim also mentioned Leny Yoro and Mason Mount.
According to Amorim, some players currently have a "time limit" during games because of the necessity to treat their injuries and get them back to full fitness. On his first Premier League appearance since May 2023, Tyrell Malacia did a good job of containing Bukayo Saka in the first half, and his departure at halftime was proof of it. As was Harry Maguire's replacement at the hour mark. Amorim also mentioned Leny Yoro and Mason Mount.

The six changes Amorim made to Man Utd from one Premier League match to the next since the last day of the 2022–2023 season, when there was an FA Cup final to prepare for, also demonstrated this.

Given that Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee each scored twice against Everton the previous time out but were benched, the starting lineup caused some concern. However, Amorim described how he must rotate his team to manage training demands following the draw at Ipswich.

Threat in attacking

Similar to the substitutes who took their position in offensive zones, the altered front three here had little effect, and such changes make it challenging to establish play patterns and consistency in performance.

Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund had no chance. Of all the starters, Mount had the fewest touches. Rashford's most important contribution was to mishandle an attempted flick as he tried to clear the ball, giving Arsenal the corner from which they scored their second goal. Zirkzee was disappointed when one second-half layoff missed its target by a considerable margin, ending the possibility of a United response.

Despite setting up a few shots in his deeper central-midfield spot, Bruno Fernandes lacked the creative spark that he is capable of, and United eventually failed to shift gears when they needed to in the second half.

United's lone meaningful threat came from Matthijs de Ligt's header, which prompted a fantastic stop from David Raya.

Under Amorim, they now have Expected Goals totals of 0.8, 1.07, and 0.31 in their matches against Arsenal, Everton, and Ipswich.

"We worked a lot on building up," Amorim commented. "The concept and the structure are visible. However, you can see that we need to do better, be more aggressive, and come up with more ideas in the last section, the final third.

The positives...
A clear benefit for Amorim was Yoro's first outing for Manchester United following his foot break against Arsenal during the preseason. When he entered the game in the second half, the youthful centre-back, who was playing on the right of the back three, stretched to put a threatening Saka cross behind him and made a good stop when Leandro Trossard appeared to have a chance to score.

This system seems to work well for Amad Diallo as well. He produced some thrilling dribbles down the right, which was an exception to United's offensive problems, but like his teammates, he was unable to turn that spark into a significant contribution that would have allowed United to get back into the game.

Amorim cautioned that as he works to develop his style of play, there may be challenging times. One of them was Wednesday evening. There will be more in the future. However, Amorim will make it apparent to everyone watching where United has to make improvements.