Three things Richard Arnold got wrong at Man United that meant he had to leave

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To say that Richard Arnold’s year stewardship of Manchester United has been a rocky road would be a massive understatement.

It always seemed to be a marriage of convenience, Richard Arnold was appointed CEO of Manchester United in 2022 when much-maligned former Chief Executive Officer Ed Woodward left his role at the club.

However, few could have predicted the sheer carnage Arnold had to preside over since his appointment to the role.

Here are three things the 52-year-old got wrong during his time at Old Trafford which meant the writing was always on the wall for his departure from the club.

Mason Greenwood saga

The handling of the Greenwood saga was a disgrace. It was always clear from the off that the 22-year-old forward, who was suspended by the club pending an internal investigation, should not be allowed back at Old Trafford.

The fanbase, including Rachel Riley, made that point perfectly clear but a flurry of rather bizarre statements made by the club meant it was heading in a different direction.

A report from The Athletic stated that United had drawn up a plan to allow the forward to return to the club and had listed domestic abuse charities as ‘hostile’ figures.

The decision, unsurprisingly, was reverted which really undermined Arnold, and it always seemed the clock was ticking on his future at the club at that point and so it has transpired.

Ralf Rangnick

There was palpable excitement from the fanbase when Ralf Rangnick was given the interim role at the club before moving into an advisory role.

However, that never worked out. The open heart surgery that Rangnick recommended for the club to undertake in the following summer never came to fruition with the powers that be at Old Trafford wanting to go in a different direction.

Instead, Rangnick left to join Austria as their national team head coach and this open heart surgery that was needed back then is still yet to have taken place.

Letting the German go was always a mistake but the club followed through with it and they empowered Ten Hag with the transfer decisions at the club, which hasn’t worked out as expected.

Having Rangnick at the club, a man with experience at the highest level and the ability to spot transfer bargains could have been a powerful ace up their sleeve but instead, the club kept the status quo, which was bound to fail.

Arnold deserves the blame for this as does current director of football John Murtough.

The transfers

The one big reason that fans may well have the biggest gripe against Arnold, and indeed Murtough, is the transfers. Signing Lisandro Martinez for £50 million was a great deal, signing Antony for £86 million, however, was a catastrophic deal.

Perhaps the stape of Arnold and Murtough’s time at the club will be a picture that emerged from the summer of 2022. The pair of them in Barcelona, almost comically, trying to frantically complete a deal for a player in Frenkie De Jong, who never wanted to join the club.

The YouTube video captured by fans of Arnold promising an open dialogue with fans at a pub in Cheshire was well received but always seemed like a one-time thing, and so it has transpired.

In that speech, Arnold promised he would back Ten Hag and that he has, but perhaps too much. Having a third voice, one who could counter Ten Hag’s choices would have been wise but instead, Murtough seemed to bow to Ten Hag’s every demand.

Arnold’s time in Manchester will, like his predecessor, go down as a catastrophic failure.