Nigel Winterburn has drawn parallels between Ruben Amorim’s challenge at Manchester United and the task Mikel Arteta faced upon arriving at Arsenal.. The 39-year-old Portuguese head coach took charge at Old Trafford last November following Erik ten Hag’s departure after a less than stellar start to the season followed an eighth-place finish in the 2023/24 Premier League campaign. As a result, the Dutchman joins a growing list of managers who haven’t managed to find long-term success following Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013 – a line-up that includes David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.. With United currently sitting 13th in the table after six victories, nine draws, and five defeats, Amorim has his work cut out to restore the team’s fortunes. Nonetheless, according to Arsenal icon Winterburn, substantial improvements cannot be expected immediately.. READ MORE: Man United’s Nuno Mendes transfer stance emerges after stumbling block. READ MORE: Manchester United’s most important signing could be a free transfer. Speaking told the Mirror via William Hill: “I said all along from when Mikel Arteta joined, I thought it would be a fairly long process for Arsenal – at least two seasons to modify the squad, move out the players that he didn’t want, wasn’t going to fit into his plans.. “And with that as well, also with players not getting game time, they want to move on as well. And then start to implement how he wants to play. Try and bring players in that he wants to improve the football club and get us back to where we’ve been really in the last couple of seasons, which is challenging for the Premier League,” reports the Mirror.. Winterburn, who won three titles and two FA Cups with the north London side, added: “We haven’t quite managed it yet so it’s still a work in process, but I think Amorim is exactly the same. I think Manchester United have got some individual talent, but I don’t know what’s going on – there seems something missing. We saw at the weekend that they can pull out that odd performance, but there’s too much disappointment for a club of Manchester United’s status to be sitting really where they are sitting.. Nigel Winterburn (centre) believes Ruben Amorim has quite the task at hand (Image: Getty Images). “I think Amorim’s right, he’s not hiding, he’s not saying it’s anybody else’s fault. ‘Basically, we’re in a bit of a mess and I’ve been brought in to try to sort it out and I’m going to do the best I can’. And he’s also said, ‘There could be a lot of pain along the way before we get it right’.”. After serving as an assistant under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City for nearly three seasons, Arteta took over the reins at Arsenal midway through the 2019/20 season following Unai Emery’s departure. Since then, the Spaniard has revitalised the north London squad, transforming Arsenal into serious contenders for the title.. In 2022/23 the Gunners fell short of the Premier League title by five points, finishing behind City, while the following campaign saw them once again narrowly miss out on their first league title in twenty years, trailing Guardiola’s Cityzens by a mere two points.. Mikel Arteta has worked wonders with Arsenal – but a league title still eludes him (Image: Getty Images). With title contention almost certainly out of the picture for United, and having been dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Tottenham Hotspur, the FA Cup presents Amorim’s last hope of domestic silverware. The holders face Arsenal at the Emirates tomorrow (January 12) and will want to avoid a repeat of their 2-0 Premier League reverse at the same ground in December.. However, with key players like Bukayo Saka, Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Ethan Nwaneri missing from the Arsenal squad through injury, and with some momentum off the back of a 2-2 draw with fierce rivals Liverpool last weekend, United are more than capable of holding their own against the Gunners.
