Mikel Arteta has responded to Rúben Amorim’s comments about Manchester United stealing tactics from other Premier League managers.
Rúben Amorim caused quite a stir online last week when speaking about Manchester United’s improvement in set pieces.
The Reds have scored ten set-piece goals this season, with their latest two coming against Crystal Palace, both of which were free-kick assists from Bruno Fernandes. Last campaign, United were very weak from dead-ball scenarios, but have improved this season.
Speaking after the win in South London last weekend, Amorim mentioned that he and his coaching staff had been stealing ideas from other Premier League sides.
“We work a lot [on set pieces],” Amorim said on Sunday. “When you come to the Premier League, you learn a lot [from] other teams how to do it. “We are stealing a lot of things to score goals.”
Arteta agrees with Amorim’s stealing assessment
Speaking earlier this week ahead of Arsenal’s fixture against Brentford, the Gunners boss admitted that it’s not just Amorim who is taking ideas and inspiration from elsewhere – it’s a trait common among all managers.
However, he also hinted that he was surprised that the United boss was so open with it, stating that not all bosses would talk so freely about such moves.
“We are all doing that, but it’s not about copying and pasting,” Arteta said. “Every manager tries to learn from other teams, their tactics, but it’s whether we talk openly [about it] or not.
“You see certain patterns in other teams and go, ‘this looks familiar’. That’s part of the evolution of any manager and every team, I think.”
Amorim showing signs of growth and adaption
During his first year in charge at Old Trafford, Amorim has been consistently berated for his lack of flexibility on the field. Far too often, he has seemingly stuck to his three-at-the-back formation, with little change on the pitch.
However, in the last two months, the United boss has slowly started to make adjustments on the pitch, which have helped foster an uptick in results.
Amorim has played to his players’ strengths more often, such as playing more route-one football when Benjamin Šeško starts up front, and giving Amad more agency at wing-back, which has led United to losing just two of their last nine fixtures.
But, a recent loss against a ten-man Everton reminded many that while the side is looking a little more stable on the pitch compared to last season, a lot of work still needs to be done before consistency can be held.
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