Amorim: Arsenal are the best team I will have faced since Man Utd move

Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has said that Arsenal will be the biggest challenge he has faced since joining the club ahead of their trip to the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.

“It’s the best team that we have faced by far. But a test is every game. If you saw the last game [against Everton], it was really tough,” Amorim told reporters on Monday.

Despite the size of the task facing Amorim and his new club, he suggested that his players should not be scared of what awaits them.

“It’s important to be brave [on Wednesday], when I say it’s brave it’s not pressing all the time higher. It’s not the same. You have to understand the game, the moments of the game. We need to have the ball, that is a key point.

“We want to have the ball, we want to dominate some moments of the game, because you know these matches it’s hard to control all the game. We have to be brave and play the game.”

Mikel Arteta, meanwhile, was complimentary about his opposite number ahead of Wednesday’s match, which will be Amorim’s third in the Premier League.

“You can see his fingerprints [on the club], you know what he wants to do straight away, I think he’s been very clear,” he told his pre-match press conference.

“He’s been very successful with Sporting, it’s remarkable after so many years what he achieved there, especially in the way he did it and the way his teams have been playing.

“He brings energy to the club, to the players, new ideas and that’s always something that’s positive but we have to focus on what we have to do.”

5 – Arsenal have scored 5+ goals in five away games in all competitions in 2024, a joint-record by an English top-flight team in a single calendar year, along with Sunderland in 1892 and Manchester City in 1937. Relentless. pic.twitter.com/1uWL5qexUr

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 30, 2024

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Arsenal – Bukayo Saka

Saka ranks second to Mohamed Salah for goal contributions in the Premier League this season, having scored five times and registered 10 assists.

Having registered 10 assists in 13 league matches for Arsenal, Saka is the fourth-quickest to reach double figures in assists in Premier League history.

Manchester United – Bruno Fernandes

Fernandes has scored four goals and provided four assists in the seven matches in all competitions since Erik ten Hag’s departure from Manchester United.

The 30-year-old has created 12 chances in his last four league appearances, which is a Premier League high for that period.

MATCH PREDICTION: ARSENAL WIN

Arsenal have beaten Manchester United in each of the last three league meetings between the pair, while they have also won five of their last six home games against United.

Mikel Arteta’s side come into this match having won each of their last three matches in all competitions by an aggregate score of 13-3.

They are second in the Premier League table behind Liverpool, having accrued 25 points in 13 matches and scored 26 goals – the equal second-most.

Manchester United have won just one away game this season in all competitions, coming against bottom club Southampton in September.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Arsenal – 62.9%

Draw – 19.8%

Manchester United – 17.3%