Ruben Amorim suffered his first defeat as Manchester United manager against Arsenal this week with the Gunners scoring twice in the second half to secure the points in front of home support.
Despite looking more solid defensively from open play, United struggled to make an impact in attacking areas and rarely troubled David Raya in the Arsenal goal.
United have looked more structured in their build-up since the arrival of Amorim but translating that to the big games will be key to the success of the new head coach.
Former United defender Rio Ferdinand spoke on the attacking players in Amorim’s squad and questioned how many of them suit the Portuguese coach’s style of play.
As reported by the Manchester Evening News, speaking after the game, via social media, Ferdinand says the qualities of the current crop might lead to them struggling to find their best form in the new system.
“I worry about whether the players that we have can fit into what Amorim wants,” he said.
“You look at Garnacho and you look at Rashford. Can they fit into an inside forward position and is that really the position they are going to excel?”
Ferdinand continued, claiming Antony “hasn’t shown he fits in the system” and questioned “where does Zirkzee fit?”
Rasmus Hojlund looks the most comfortable at the point of United’s attack and will hope to thrive under the new regime.
Rio asked whether the Dane is capable of delivering what is required to play the role with Amorim’s former striker at Sporting, Viktor Gyokeres sharing similar qualities.
“Rasmus Hojlund. Is he going to be our [Viktor] Gyokeres, is he going to be the guy we can play through?” asked Ferdinand.
The former England man concluded by stating there is major improvement to be done in attacking areas with the team failing to really lay a glove on Arsenal on Wednesday.
“I think there is more work to be done and more urgently in the forward areas because we don’t seem to have the cohesiveness up there,” he added.
Amorim has plenty of matches in the coming weeks to build confidence in the front men with the games coming thick and fast in December.
Next up for United is the visit of this season’s surprise package, Nottingham Forest, to Old Trafford on Saturday.
Featured image Stephen Pond via Getty Images
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Conner Botterill
Conner Botterill has been with The Peoples Person for two years. A keen match-going red with degrees in Sport and Journalism and Philosophy and Psychology, Conner still believes he has a chance of making United’s first team through his 5-a-side career.
