How Ruben Amorim can overhaul Man Utd squad with a helpful lesson from Mikel Arteta
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The Portuguese boss has encountered a tricky situation in his bid to revolutionise the Red Devils but Arteta endured a similar challenge at Arsenal and prevailed, providing a blueprint for a similar rebuild at Old Trafford. Manchester United have received informal contact for homegrown stars like Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo but, so far, nothing has come close to anything the club would find acceptable. That’s just one complication to this transfer window.
![[Ruben Amorim has big decisions to make at Old Trafford]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/09/16/GettyImages-2192515540.jpg)
Another is what happened when a European club learned of United’s interest in one of their players. He was told to “forget the Champions League or proper European competition, and you won’t even be competing for the domestic league”. It's been a consideration for other targets, putting players off Old Trafford. United won’t even have to deal with such hurdles until they can make sales, of course, which isn’t guaranteed.
![[Mikel Arteta made a bold call over Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2023/03/09/21/GettyImages-1348130691.jpg)
If Ruben Amorim is frustrated, he might find a sympathetic ear at Arsenal on Sunday. Mikel Arteta was in exactly this situation five years ago. Arsenal, to use the term from within the game, were “a basketcase”. Years of institutional lethargy had allowed a build-up of issues, especially in the dressing room. Wages were high but morale was rock-bottom, as Arteta attempted to reshape what insiders described as a “plain group” in a toxic atmosphere. “There were some guys who just didn’t give a s**t,” in the words of one source.
![[Amorim has not been enamoured by Marcus Rashford so far]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/03/14/442fca093eee6add702df02f19065341Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM1OTk5ODA1-2.78592379.jpg)
Arsenal couldn’t find buyers for overpaid squad members, with that slowing their own recruitment, for the players that wanted to go to them. Their own questionable decisions compounded this. Arsenal would be highly unlikely to sign Willian on that kind of contract now.
![[Man Utd would entertain offers for some of their biggest names]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/05/18/INGLATERRA-LIGA_96746.jpg)
