Man Utd’s Arsenal win could be turning point… but playing like plucky Championship side shows how far club have fallen
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RUBEN AMORIM knew he had walked into a mess at Manchester United. But the sheer size of that debacle has only become clearer BECAUSE of the club’s two best results of the season. United are supposed to play with a swagger, with composure and class. Control and poise . . . “the United way”.
![[Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim with his hands on his face.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/manchester-uniteds-manager-ruben-amorim-961301281_71fce5.jpg?strip=all&w=894)
Matches when victory was a given, the only question being the scoreline. You know . . . “Glory, Glory, Man United”. Not gory, gory. Not relying on defensive desire and determination, a missed penalty and opponents whose radar in front of goal disappeared when it really mattered.
![[Manchester United players celebrating a goal.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/bruno-fernandes-manchester-united-celebrates-963524705.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Not playing like an out-gunned Championship side happy to ride the Good Luck Express. Getting through to the fourth round of the FA Cup, eliminating Arsenal, might be seen as proof of a United turning point. Maybe so, in time. Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt, in particular, gave absolutely everything, Bruno Fernandes played like a captain.
![[Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim at the Emirates Stadium.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/emirates-stadium-manchester-united-manager-963509673.jpg?strip=all&w=773)
Yet such an attitude should be the MINIMUM expectation, not something worthy of praise. As the travelling supporters celebrated Joshua Zirkzee rolling into the huge hole left vacant by the last of David Raya’s bizarre early dives in the penalty shootout at the Emirates on Sunday — rare to see a corner flag under so much threat — it actually showed how far United have fallen.
![[Illustration of Man Utd 2024-25 wages.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/DD-GRAPHIC-man-utd-wages-10_01-v2_d969d1.jpg?strip=all&w=541)
