Amorim sees signs of Manchester United progress
Ruben Amorim capped an encouraging week for Manchester United with a win over Arsenal in the FA Cup after a difficult start to his tenure.
Amorim suffered the first defeat of his United tenure at the Emirates Stadium at the start of December, but avenged that loss with a battling display against the Gunners.
Bruno Fernandes fired the visitor into the lead in the second half, only for Diogo Dalot to be shown a second yellow card nine minutes later for a mistimed tackle, with Gabriel Magalhaes netting the equaliser.
Altay Bayindir then saved a penalty from Martin Odegaard, before the United goalkeeper's penalty shootout heroics saw the holders progress to the next round.
United has eliminated Arsenal from the FA Cup for the ninth time, more often than any other team. Meanwhile, the Red Devils have only progressed in the competition more often at the expense of Aston Villa (11), Liverpool (11) and Reading (10) than the Gunners.
They have also won three of their last four penalty shootouts in all competitions, after only winning one of their eight shootouts between April 2009 and February 2022.
The win marked the end of a positive week for Amorim, who oversaw a 2-2 draw against Premier League leaders Liverpool at Anfield.
Amorim acknowledged the difficulties his side faced, but was keen to look at the bigger picture in the hopes of turning their poor start to the season around.
"Thankfully the players were there, they fought. Sometimes what we talk about before the match is not tactical or technical, it's this," The Portuguese said.
"We have to compete no matter what, no matter what the situation we competed today. We deserved to win, Arsenal didn't deserve to lose, but we deserved to win.
"The way we played, the way we fought was really tough since the beginning. We didn't have the ball too much but we had control without the ball.
"I want to also say thank you to all the fans. It was unbelievable. I did not understand that all that area was our supporters, so it was a good day for us now we have to rest the players, I'm already thinking about the next game they're really tired.
"Sometimes we have the feeling that everything in the end is going to be okay. I felt that since the beginning of the second half, even after the penalty.
"I think the Arsenal team felt that maybe today is not their day. I'm really pleased for the way they controlled the game without the ball.
"We defended very well, set pieces we were really strong. It was a good day but now I'm thinking about the next game and worried about the next game.
"We were facing a great team and it was not just 90 minutes, it was more than that and then you feel like the players are really tired. They put in new players, they controlled the ball all the time, it was a sacrifice for my players.
"But we deserved to pass through this round because we suffered all together and we showed character and that's a very important thing."
