Arsenal legend Ian Wright was impressed by what he saw from Manchester United in the FA Cup.
Joshua Zirkzee scored the decisive penalty to fire the Red Devils into the fourth round of the FA Cup after a resilient performance in North London.
Despite Diogo Dalot being sent off and Harry Maguire conceding a harsh penalty, Manchester United battled against the odds to beat 14-time FA Cup winners Arsenal last weekend.
Ruben Amorim called for his players to be brave and aggressive and the mentality from the United squad was spot on at The Emirates.
Matthijs de Ligt was “outstanding” against Arsenal alongside Maguire in the heart of defence. The Dutchman has faced criticism since his summer move, but he has proved to be a great fit for Amorim’s system.
Matthijs de Ligt block summed up Man United improvement
After going down to 10 men, United dug deep and dragged Arsenal to a penalty shootout. That may have not been the case without De Ligt’s incredible tackle on Leandro Trossard.
Matthijs de Ligt recovered superbly to beat Trossard to Kai Havertz’s pass across goal. Somehow, the Dutchman steered the ball away from goal and he celebrated accordingly with a passionate roar to the crowd.
Ian Wright believes that one De Ligt moment summed up the improvement in United’s mentality under Amorim.
Speaking on The Overlap [30:30], Wright said: “What was evident with United, and we heard Amorim say it a few weeks ago when he first started, he said about the mentality, the strength of mentality and digging in.
“But what I saw against Arsenal was a togetherness, to the point where when De Ligt made that block, there is a clear togetherness now where they’re starting to believe.
“Obviously they were down to 10 men and were going for it. Amorim said that’s what he wanted to get instilled early doors and it seems like that has instilled.”
Ruben Amorim delivering on his Man United promise
Ever since arriving at Carrington, Amorim has challenged United’s mentality. Changing that has been just as important as his tactical shift to 3-4-3.
Amorim called for leaders to step up in the dressing room and several players have responded to that challenge in recent weeks, including De Ligt.
A lack of physicality and desire to track back is something that the Portuguese head coach has criticised. Amorim wants United to ‘run like mad dogs’ if they plan on winning the Premier League. There is a long way to go, but there are promising signs that his message is getting across to the squad.
As mentioned by Wright, the togetherness and team spirit at United has visibly improved. Amorim knows United must dominate matches rather than rely on counter-attacks, but that transformation is only possible with players that give 100 percent every match.
The big test for United now is to show they can maintain their energy levels against weaker opposition. Fans – and Amorim – will find out if that is the case when United face Southampton on Thursday evening.
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