How Ruben Amorim can overhaul Man Utd squad with a helpful lesson from Mikel Arteta

Ruben Amorim will be hoping that Mason Greenwood’s strong form continues ( Image: Getty Images)

Homegrown players like Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, and Kobbie Mainoo have been approached informally by Manchester United, but nothing has yet to approach what the team would consider acceptable. This transfer window has several complications, that being one of them.

What transpired when a European club found out that United was interested in one of their players is another. “You won’t even be competing for the domestic league, and forget about the Champions League or proper European competition,” he was warned. Other targets have taken that into account, deterring players from Old Trafford. Until United can generate sales, which isn’t a given, they won’t even have to deal with such obstacles.

At Arsenal on Sunday, Ruben Amorim could encounter someone who understands his frustration. Five years ago, Mikel Arteta was in a similar circumstance. According to the phrase used in the game, Arsenal was “a basketcase.” Problems had accumulated, particularly in the dressing room, as a result of years of institutional inertia. In a poisonous environment, Arteta tried to transform what insiders called a “plain group,” but wages were high and morale was at an all-time low. According to one insider, “there were some guys who just didn’t give a s**t.”

Arsenal’s recruiting of players who wanted to join them was slowed down by their inability to find buyers for its overpriced team members. This was made worse by their own dubious choices. It would be quite unlikely for Arsenal to sign Willian to such a contract at this time.

Amorim will recognise all of it. The necessity to update that dressing room is one of the reasons he wants this makeover. It goes beyond simply being appropriate for the methods. The goal is to change the entire atmosphere while letting the manager assemble a team that he believes reflects him. Arteta did just that. And despite all the complaints about a recent decline or dearth of awards, the Basque has turned Arsenal back into one of Europe’s top clubs. In his opinion, they also work as a team.

Similar to the Arsenal team, it isn’t actually true that United’s players are “bad eggs,” to borrow another phrase that is frequently used. Many are said to as the quintessential “good lads.” Simply said, there has been a gradual accumulation of characteristics and behaviours that aren’t precisely champions’ standards, as Arteta discovered with Arsenal. They must be broken.

Naturally, there is a clear resemblance to United’s own past. At which point Sir Alex Ferguson showed up. Even if United may be attempting to break free from its obsession with that period, there are still lessons to be learnt from its inception.

Ferguson said he could barely stand to think about the insinuation that the players involved did not give a shit about the fact that he was presenting himself the next morning when he arrived at a club where several of his players had attended the goodbye party of departing manager Ron Atkinson. After scolding them for it during a 2-0 loss to Oxford United, Ferguson eventually discovered that the team didn’t resemble him in any way.

“I was sure in my own mind that most of them lacked the resolve and endurance to challenge for a title,” he would later write in his first book. Small adjustments wouldn’t be enough.

Except for one crucial point, everything sounds similar once more. Ferguson has been certain that excessive drinking was the main issue, which is thankfully not the case in the current game.

However, there are additional challenges that come with modernity itself. According to insiders, “social media and indulgent entourages” are comparable to the old alcohol culture in that they can weaken a player’s motivation. A competitor company’s CEO recently rolled his eyes at the idea that clubs need to proactively consider this as it is what drives current talent, pointing to their phone. Mobile phone bans are no longer effective. In order to improve their ability to relate to players, Arteta has even asked that some of his employees be in their twenties. Given how the contemporary dressing room operates, that will require gaming knowledge. Card schools are less common.

Amorim’s forceful call out of it reminded me of Ferguson. This is also the reason why the Portuguese are making judgements in the dressing room that are perceived as “the right calls,” even though they will undoubtedly be controversial. There’s a certain chemistry in that dressing room. Ultimately, there is only one answer, as both Ferguson and Arteta discovered. That is to go to the market, which brings up the subject of United’s issues there.

Since the club is on the verge of PSR limits due to years of excessive spending, they must effectively adopt the position that they will consider nearly any offer. As Ferguson himself stated, that will need “hard decisions,” therefore it is nothing new.

Legends from the 1980s cup period were abandoned by the great Scot. Arteta had to make difficult financial decisions since Arsenal’s readiness to let go of players on large contracts may have represented more financial outlays than certain high-profile acquisitions. Naturally, the team followed Borussia Dortmund’s strategy of developing and hiring young players.

United must now deal with comparable situations, which is why they must essentially evaluate any offer. They aim to maximise what will probably result in fallow seasons this year and next, much like Arsenal did, and do it as fast as possible.

They have to play Arsenal on Sunday first. For the first time at United, Amorim has received just coaching for a whole week. Not only may that training ground work be important for the game, but it could also have a significant impact on who gets sent in January and beyond. It must be far more in line with Amorim’s standards.