Although Ruben Amorim was happy with his team’s defensive form against Arsenal, he expressed his irritation with their attacking play seven minutes before the end of the game.

Andre Onana had passed a ball between two Arsenal players to find Bruno Fernandes, who advanced into midfield with four teammates in front of him. Marcus Rashford dropped deep to win the ball rather than run into the ambush and that seemed to irritate Amorim as he turned back to the bench. Rashford turned and played a pass to Amad on the wing, but the ball flew across the turf and this caused Amorim to throw his water bottle on the ground, much to the delight of the Arsenal fans.

Amorim had, as always, been his brooding, whirring presence on the touchline, but this was the moment – heading towards his first defeat as Manchester United manager (2-0) – that brought about a real peak of emotion.

Defeat was largely expected at a ground where United had lost on their previous three visits, against a Mikel Arteta-led team far more advanced than them. And for much of the contest, United were well placed, stifling Arsenal in the first half to the point where the home crowd went into a frenzy.

Amorim was excited by his team’s attacking performance (Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)

But Amorim wants his team to be an attacking threat, so being outnumbered 35-6 due to touches of the ball in the opposition penalty area was not on the agenda. The only real chances came from two Fernandes free-kicks in the second half, one requiring an excellent save from David Raya to deny Matthijs de Ligt and the other an easier stop from Antony.

Amorim said that due to the reduced training minutes, it was difficult to create plays in open play.

“We didn’t have time,” Amorim said when asked about his visible frustration. “We’re working a lot on building it up. You can see the structure, you can see the idea, you can see the bounce as the center backs get into the midfielders. But in the last part or the last third you see that we need to improve, be more aggressive and come up with more ideas. But that part is harder to improve without a lot of training.”

After three goals against Bodo/Glimt and four goals against Everton, this was a game that was a reminder of United’s problems in front of goal. As long as there are changes of sides, there will be fluctuations.

Amorim named six different players from the squad that faced Everton, including Harry Maguire for his first start in two months and Tyrell Malacia for his first Premier League start since May 2023.

Amad was rested and started on the bench, but came on as a half-time substitute for Malacia, with Diogo Dalot moving to left-back. After Arsenal opened the scoring in the 54th minute through Jurrien Timber, Amorim made a triple substitution, bringing on Rashford, Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro for his first competitive minutes as a United player.

This meant that De Ligt moved from right center back to center. When Antony substituted Rasmus Hojlund in the 79th minute when the score was 2-0, Zirkzee moved from number 10 to the front.

In total, Amorim made five substitutions, resulting in three position changes, in addition to a lineup that featured six changes compared to the previous game. It requires players to quickly adapt to their role and that of their teammates.

As well as trying to see players in different situations, Amorim says his decisions will be dictated by fitness and with another 15 games in 57 days until February 1, a game every 3.8 days, it won’t be give a break.

“It’s not because I’m constantly changing, it’s because we have to make sure the entire team is fit,” said Amorim. “For example, Harry Maguire has a time limit, Ty Malacia has a time limit. Mason Mount has a time limit, Leny Yoro has a real time limit. So we have to manage to win games, have a different methodology, a different way of playing, press more meters. We have to assess that the guys who are at some risk of injury wouldn’t play.”

Malacia made their first Premier League start in 19 months (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

This rotation inevitably leads to a certain degree of uncertainty during games. Early on, Amorim Noussair pleaded with Mazraoui, playing in another new position due to Lisandro Martinez’s suspension and Luke Shaw’s injury, this time as a left centre-back, to push past Martin Odegaard when Arsenal had the ball. Mazraoui, looking towards the dugout from a somewhat unusual spot on the pitch, seemed unsure whether that was the best course of action.

There were other instances where United were too conservative for Amorim’s tastes. He waved his arms before the break as another promising break was dashed. Hojlund found Alejandro Garnacho after Thomas Partey gave the ball away, but the Argentine checked back and the ball ended up going to Manuel Ugarte.

Amad was right on the baseline after getting involved and Amorim shouted at him to join the attack shortly after the second half kicked off. A short time later, however, Amad had advanced while De Ligt was lost in midfield, leaving Maguire one-on-one with Gabriel Martinelli. Maguire stayed under control and blocked the shot.

Amad did more of what Amorim did does For example, sprinting to jump at Oleksandr Zinchenko and win the ball, as he did against Jarrad Branthwaite and James Tarkowski on Sunday. The Ivorian stormed towards the penalty area and forced a foul from Zinchenko. On the following free kick, Fernandes found De Ligt, whose great header was deflected wide by Raya’s outstretched hand.

It was so close that United could score. Instead, it was Arsenal’s set pieces that decided the game, with Amorim suggesting Bukayo Saka and Martinelli aimed to go out to win corners. With this result, Arsenal beat United 13-0.

Amorim said he expected a storm to brew, but he may not have expected those treacherous conditions to exist exclusively in Onana’s six-yard box when Declan Rice or Saka punched in the ball. Despite his first defeat, the rest of the Premier League can expect him to keep the personnel carousel going.

(Photo above: Amorim, second from left, prepares to introduce Yoro, Rashford and Zirkzee from left. Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)