Man United executed Ruben Amorim’s biggest demand by topping Arsenal in one ‘key’ area

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Ruben Amorim suffered his first defeat as Manchester United head coach against Arsenal.

A trip to North London was by far Ruben Amorim’s biggest test since his appointment last month, and he cut a frustrated figure on the sidelines as United lost 2-0 to Arsenal.

• Five things we learned as Manchester United lose 2-0 to Arsenal

There was plenty that Amorim wouldn’t have liked about his United side. Mason Mount struggled to make an impact and Marcus Rashford irritated Amorim late on.

But it is very early days under Amorim, who was keen to point out that United are very much in a different position to Arsenal at this stage of the season.

There were some silver linings from the defeat, including an impressive debut display from Leny Yoro, who came on as a substitute in the second half.

Ruben Amorim will be delighted with Man United’s possession

Ahead of the Arsenal trip, Amorim urged United to be “brave” against the Gunners by getting on the ball and going toe-to-toe with Mikel Arteta’s side.

In his pre-match press conference, Amorim said: “It’s important to be brave. When I say brave, it’s not pressing all the time higher. It’s not the same. You have to understand the moments of the game.

“We need to have the ball, that is a key point. We want to have the ball, we want also to dominate some moments of the game because we know that in these matches it’s hard to control all the game.”

United were ultimately undone by two set pieces, but in open play, the Red Devils were able to match Arsenal in almost every area of the pitch.

By the full-time whistle, United had 50% possession and completed 476 passes – 13 more than Arsenal managed at home.

United may have been on the losing side, and there will be concerns about the lack of threat going forward, but Amorim’s desire to control the ball and keep possession is slowly but surely getting across to the squad.

What Ruben Amorim said after 2-0 Arsenal defeat

Amorim refused to get carried away after United beat Everton 4-0 on the weekend and he has also kept calm after his first defeat.

The Portuguese head coach was able to take away some key learning points from the loss, including how to get a better result against Arsenal next time.

After the full-time whistle, Amorim said: “Set pieces. That is important. And we have to be aggressive in the opponent’s box. We have a lot of areas to improve.”

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Amorim was quick to praise Yoro after the game and explained the reasoning behind the six changes he made to the starting lineup.

He explained that there are four United players still managing their minutes after recovering from injuries, so Amorim and his staff have had to closely monitor their involvement.