CThis Thursday marks precisely one month to the day that Manchester United decided to move towards dismissing Ruben Amorim, following a first half of the 2025/26 season that fell short of expectations, which culminated in a 1-1 draw against Leeds United, at Elland Road.
Even so, the Portuguese coach (he only lasted 14 months in the position, after being acquired from Sporting, in exchange for a fee of around 11 million euros) continues to make people talk in England, and was even the target of ridicule by former England international Paul Merson, during his participation in the ‘Stick to Football’ podcast, broadcast on the YouTube channel ‘The Overlap‘.
The now 57-year-old sports commentator was analyzing the recent performances of ‘his’ Arsenal (the club he represented on 425 occasions between 1986 and 1997), including the defeat suffered by the Red Devils, already under the command of Michael Carrick, at the Emirates Stadium, by 2-3, taking the opportunity to criticize the work of his predecessor.
“They played against Manchester United at the wrong time. There are ‘timings’. At the end of the season, everything has to do with ‘timings’. Five weeks ago, playing against Manchester United, at home, was a guaranteed victory, you know. They were all playing in the wrong positions, they had no idea, and the coach was still in his own lane”, he began by stating.
“He wanted to be fired. Every Saturday, he was sitting at the airport, with his suitcases in his hands, waiting, and then they told him he had to come back. That was the feeling, wasn’t it? Every time he showed up, it was as if he was saying ‘I would say goodbye if I could. Who wouldn’t say goodbye?'”, he continued, laughing.
“Then, he would go to the airport, sit there, his wife would call him and ask ‘How long will it take’, and he would reply ‘I’m just waiting’. Then the airport would close and he would have to go back”, he added.
Still, Paul Merson stressed that not everything is bad at Manchester United, and, to illustrate this, he ‘got it’ from another Portuguese. In this case, Bruno Fernandes, a player whose characteristics, he assumed, could come in handy for Arsenal, due to the difficulties experienced against teams that play with lower blocks.
“I think all positions are open. If they visited Leeds United at the weekend, I would play with [Gabriel] Martinelli, because there would be a lot of space and Leeds United wouldn’t try to attack. If they played at home, against someone who lined up with ten players behind the ball line, I don’t think Martinelli would have the agility of a [Leandro] Trossard”, he reflected.
“I think that would be when I would play with Trossard, who will only be as good as the striker he can combine with. We saw that, at Manchester United, the other day. [Bruno] Fernandes scores his goals with combinations, you know? At Arsenal, there is no such connection, and I think that is where they experience difficulties, and will continue to do so, at home. I love Declan Rice, but he’s not going to put the ball through the eye of the needle, you know?” he concluded.
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