The last time Manchester United faced Arsenal was probably the highlight of the Ruben Amorim era. Just one week after holding runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool to a draw at Anfield – and almost beating them – the Red Devils took on the second best team in the country over the past three years and knocked them out of the FA Cup on penalties.
It truly was a spirited performance, playing with one man down for an hour after Diogo Dalot’s sending off. It was a day rich in narrative: Alejandro Garnacho set up Bruno Fernandes’ goal days after it was revealed the club were willing to sell him, Altay Bayindir produced some stunning saves during the 120 minutes after a harrowing previous appearance in north London at Tottenham, while Joshua Zirkzee scored the decisive penalty barely two weeks after being dragged off in the first half at Old Trafford to cheers from his own supporters.
The result was hailed as the great turning point for Amorim, the platform on which the team’s revival under the Portuguese coach would be built. But three months on from that defiant display at the Emirates Stadium, as United prepare to meet Arsenal again on Sunday, the great resurgence under Amorim is yet to take place. United are still 14th in the Premier League table but the gap between them and the top-four has widened to 14 points, while there are nine points between them and the top half of the standings. United have also been knocked out of the FA Cup by Fulham, with their good fortune in penalty shootouts running out.
Their only chance of salvaging the season lies in the Europa League but their chances of winning it look slim after failing to see off an unremarkable Real Sociedad in the first leg of their last-16 tie, ending a game in which they had been the better side clinging on for their lives. So why were Amorim’s side unable to build on the momentum of that memorable win at Arsenal?