Manchester United have suffered the first defeat of the Ruben Amorim era having lost 2-0 away at Arsenal on Wednesday night.
Ruben Amorim took seven points from his first three games as Manchester United boss against Premier League and Europa League games.
The results were decent but the performances were a little up-and-down with Amorim under no illusions about the job ahead of him.
Amorim faced his biggest challenge yet on Wednesday night, taking his United side to take on an Arsenal side still gunning for the Premier League title.
We called on United to be strong on set pieces but Amorim’s side were undone by two dead balls as Arsenal claimed a 2-0 win.
After a composed first half performance, United were flat in the second half and just didn’t have the firepower to get back into the game at 2-0 down.
Ruben Amorim on Luke Shaw
United were hit with a blow just 24 hours before heading to North London.
Left back Luke Shaw confirmed a new injury setback on Tuesday night, ruling him out of action against Arsenal and potentially for a number of games moving forward.
Shaw hasn’t started a single game for United this season and he would have been hoping to make an impact under Amorim.
The 29-year-old now faces yet another spell on the sidelines but has been given some supportive words by Amorim.
As quoted by United’s official website, Amorim praised Shaw for working hard in the gym and losing weight, believing that he was doing everything to get in the right shape to make a difference.
Shaw’s latest injury is unfortunate but Amorim feels that he can still play a vital role at Old Trafford if he continues to apply himself.
Amorim added that Shaw is ‘so important’ to United and he has the belief of the new coaching staff moving forward.
“What I said to him, as a coach is, that since I am here, I saw him in the medical department,” said Amorim.
“I saw him in the gym. I saw him losing weight. I saw him training. So he did everything right. Sometimes, when you have one or two injuries, it’s really hard to recover.
“If he continues with this behaviour, doing everything he can, I will be here. All the staff will be here, as long as it takes.
“We believe a lot in him, he’s so important for our team. For the future, I see in this team, Luke is a very important player for us,” he added.
Latest Shaw injury hammers home United transfer need
Shaw had been used as a left-sided centre back in his two substitute appearances under Amorim but he would have also offered an option at left wing back.
That position is a real area of concern for United and it’s no surprise to see a number of left wing backs being linked with move to Old Trafford.
United are keen on Alphonso Davies but the Bayern Munich superstar seems unlikely to make the move to Manchester in 2025.
Alvaro Fernandez has been linked with a United return whilst reports claim that United are interested in Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez.
Shaw is a quality player when fit and available but it is clear that he just can’t be relied upon consistently – and that may force United into the market more than 10 years after Shaw joined United for £31million.
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