At first glance, it seems almost absurd to suggest that Mikel Arteta, Arsenal’s manager, is feeling the heat as much as Manchester United’s Ruben Amorim ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup third round clash at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal sit second in the English Premier League and are realistically the only team that can stop Liverpool and Arne Slot from winning a record-equalling 20th title. They’re also third in the new-look UEFA Champions League, poised for an automatic place in the last 16. And though Newcastle United shocked them in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final, Arsenal more than have the firepower to turn things around in the NorthEast in February.
In contrast, United sit 13th in the league table, with a goal difference of -5. They’re closer to the relegation places than a spot in Europe and, but for the unexpected draw against Liverpool at Anfield, Amorim would have spent the lead-up to this game fielding uncomfortable questions about his future.
Instead, that almost-freakish result in snow and rain – United played their best game of the season, Liverpool their worst – has brought forth a surge of optimism about the Amorim project. At Arsenal, despite the team’s lofty status, there are more than a few murmurs of discontent.
Having pushed Manchester City to the final day in last season’s title race, this was supposed to be the campaign in which Arsenal made the decisive move. Once Rodri limped off with a season-ending knee injury when the two teams drew 2-2 at the Etihad in late September, it looked to be Arsenal’s title to lose. Instead, they lie six points behind Liverpool, who also have a game in hand.
The football, with Martin Odegaard missing a chunk of games and Bukayo Saka injured again, has often been turgid and uninspired. Till their holiday-season stutter, Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea looked the team better equipped to challenge Liverpool. Arsenal’s failure to take advantage of Liverpool’s slip-ups – home draws against Fulham and United, and a 3-3 thriller away to Newcastle – has only added to the frustration.
While many praise the job Arteta has done in making Arsenal title contenders again, not everyone is convinced by the coach who cut his coaching teeth under Pep Guardiola at City. “Why are we giving this Arsenal team a lot of credit by saying how well they’ve done?” asked Roy Keane on the Stick To Football podcast not long ago. “This Arsenal team’s done nothing, they haven’t won anything. The FA Cup was five years ago. There’s no evidence to suggest that Arsenal can get over the line.”
And while Gabriel Jesus has discovered a rich vein of scoring form over the holidays, Arteta’s failure to sign a blue-chip striker – Alexander Isak’s opportunistic finishing in Newcastle’s Carabao Cup win was salt in the wound – has come in for increasing scrutiny. Arsenal have the funds, but will they break the bank in January to try and lure an Isak or an Omar Marmoush?
For Amorim, such spending is a pipedream right now. Unless United sell some big-name players, Amorim will not be able to make high-quality additions to a squad that is ill-equipped to play his chosen 3-4-3. There is considerable talk of Marcus Rashford leaving on loan, but if the likes of Kobbie Mainoo or Alejandro Garnacho were to be sold to balance the books, there would be a mutiny at the Stretford End.
The draw at Liverpool has bought Amorim time, but with only Manuel Ugarte of the summer signings looking a definite upgrade on what was there earlier, it’s hard to see a challenge for the European places. Missing out on the Champions League for a second successive season would then mean a catastrophic impact on the finances and the war chest available to spend next summer.
This is the 16th FA Cup meeting between the two most successful sides in the competition’s history – only Everton and Liverpool (19) have played more – but the match is almost a sideshow next to the questions being asked of both Iberian managers. United and Amorim need a trophy to salvage what has been a disastrous season so far, but Arteta’s need, after years of being the nearly man, is no less.