Ruben Amorim views Mikel Arteta’s rebuild of Arsenal as an inspiration but does not believe he will be granted the same time to reverse Manchester United’s fortunes.
United host Arsenal on Sunday having won once in their past four Premier League games. They are 14th on 33 points, while Arteta’s side are second on 54 and all but into the Champions League quarter-finals after a 7-1 first-leg win at PSV Eindhoven.
Arteta took over Arsenal in December 2019 with the club 10th. That season he led them to the FA Cup and eighth but came under pressure the following term, the team slipping towards the relegation zone before again finishing eighth. Although Arteta has not won another trophy, he improved Arsenal to fifth in 2021-22 and they have been runners-up in the past two campaigns.
Part of Arteta’s turnaround of the club involved offloading high-profile players he believed did not fit his vision, including Mesut Özil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. At United, Marcus Rashford has been loaned to Aston Villa, owing to what Amorim called “training reasons”, and the forward may depart permanently in the summer alongside others as the head coach seeks to rebuild his squad.
Amorim was asked whether his role was similar to the challenge Arteta had faced. “I don’t feel that,” he said. “I will not have the time Arteta had – I feel that. It’s a different club. So we just need to survive with the players [available] on Sunday. I think it’s a different club – in that aspect, the way Arteta dealt with that is an inspiration for everybody but I will not have the time like Arteta had.”
From 3.15pm on Sunday United fans will protest against the Glazers’ ownership, marching about one mile from the Tollgate pub to Old Trafford. Supporters have been urged by a fan group to wear black to show the club is “slowly dying”.
Amorim said: “For everybody in our club it’s a really tough moment. It’s everything at the same time. The only thing I can do is, and our players can do is, perform well and win. People have the right to protest. I think it’s a good thing to do that. It’s part of our club. Everybody has a voice. But our job and my job is just to improve the team and give them something in this moment because they deserve it and they are amazing.”
After Arsenal, United host Real Sociedad in the second leg of their Europa League last-16 tie. Amorim’s squad was depleted by injuries for Thursday’s 1-1 first-leg draw in Spain, Harry Maguire and Manuel Ugarte the latest players unable to travel. He was asked whether they will be available to face Arsenal.
Amorim said: “I don’t know – Maguire we have to be careful. We need to survive Sunday – the team was so tired in the last 20 minutes. We have to prepare for Sunday and think about this important game for our season on Thursday.”
Amorim said he hoped Amad Diallo may return in the season’s final month after an ankle ligament injury and that Lisandro Martínez was the only player with no chance of featuring before the end of the campaign.
