Ruben Amorim sent Mikel Arteta message as Man Utd boss is told he's right

Nigel Winterburn says Ruben Amorim has a similar task in rebuilding Manchester United that Mikel Arteta had with Arsenal.

The 39-year-old Portuguese boss was drafted in at Old Trafford in November in the wake of Erik ten Hag's dismissal following an eighth-place finish in the 2023/24 Premier League season, and a rocky start to the current campaign. Ten Hag joined a long list of managers who have failed to succeed at the Red Devils since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013 - including David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

With the club currently languishing at 13th in the Premier League standings courtesy of six wins, nine draws and five losses from 20 games this season, work certainly needs doing should Amorim be successful in turning the tide for United. However, Arsenal legend Winterburn believes that changes wont happen overnight - citing how it has taken Arteta years to do a similar job at the Emirates Stadium.

Speaking exclusively to Mirror Football via William Hill, Winterburn explained: "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.

"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.

"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'."

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After working as an assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City for the best part of three seasons, Arteta returned to Arsenal midway through the 2019/20 campaign as a manager, following the dismissal of Unai Emery. In the years since, the Spaniard has brought a new lease of life to the Emirates, while turning Arsenal into legitimate title contenders.

The Gunners finished five points shy of lifting the Premier League title behind Manchester City in the 2022/23 season. The 2023/24 campaign saw Arsenal once again miss out on their first league title in two decades by just two points, Guardiola's Cityzens once again reigning supreme.

With City struggling for form at present, Arsenal are proving to be the biggest threat to current league leaders Liverpool. They are currently sat in second once more, and are only trailing Arne Slot's side by six points. And while they will hope to bridge that gap further when they host Spurs in the north London derby on Wednesday evening (January 15), they'll be firmly focused on their FA Cup clash with United on Sunday (January 12).

Image: Getty Images) Getty Images)

Arsenal will hope to replicate their 2-0 win in the Premier League from December when the two sides clash once again - Jurrien Timber and William Saliba making the difference for the Gunners in that encounter. The Red Devils, on the other hand, will hope to capitalise on an injury-stricken north London outfit lacking stars such as Bukayo Saka, Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Ethan Nwaneri.

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