Manchester United fans had more than 24 hours to digest their encouraging 2-2 draw at Liverpool when the club’s X account signed off for the evening with a short message that encapsulated the mood around Ruben Amorim: ‘Trust the process.’ The three words were accompanied by a picture of a soaking wet Amorim at Anfield looking into the distance. Perhaps at a brighter future, when fans and pundits will be toasting the progress he has made and looking back at the dynamic display on Merseyside as a real turning point.
It did not take long, however, for users to recall that United’s social media team had produced an identical message in support of Amorim’s predecessor Erik ten Hag back in February 2023, after another 2-2 draw with a local rival in Leeds. Back then United were in the ascendancy and it was a little easier to trust in the process than it is now, with the Red Devils 13th in the Premier League table, 12 points off the top five and having won four out of 12 matches under their new coach.
But a look at United’s next opponents and their manager offers hope that they are following the right path under Amorim. Mikel Arteta is the manager most associated with ‘Trust the process’, a phrase he never actually used but came closest to saying when speaking after an FA Cup quarter-final win at Sheffield United in 2020. The Spaniard said back then: “We still have a massive gap to fill in, we have to improve a lot in many departments. We have to respect the process, it’s been really difficult, stop-start, stop-start but we’ll get it right, I’m convinced of that, we need a little bit of time as well.”
The phrase has been used as a stick with which to beat Arteta by Arsenal fans and rival supporters whenever things have taken a turn for the worse but, for all the mocking he has received for being associated with that particular slogan, the Spaniard has been proved right. In five years he has completely reshaped Arsenal and turned them from a club with no direction into one of the leading forces in English and European football. United fans would surely sign up to their team following a similar path under Amorim in a few years, challenging for the Premier League title and going deep in the Champions League.
Amorim has not yet been United manager for two months but there are already plenty of similarities between his style of management and Arteta’s which should give the Red Devils reason to keep the faith and trust the process…