Ruben Amorim says the only thing that matters is that Manchester United have prepared well enough to win against Arsenal on Sunday, and he is confident his team will deliver in that respect.
Our head coach addressed the press at Carrington and, in the second part of his media conference, he outlined why he has more belief this season, after landing players who can change games in a single moment - such as Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo.
When the Reds come under pressure against a talented Gunners side, the boss expects any apprehension in the crowd can be overcome by an explosion of energy going forward, transforming the mood in an instant.
With the acknowledgement that 2024/25 was an extremely difficult campaign, comes the hope and anticipation that things will be better this term. And victory over Arsenal would be the perfect way to kick things off and provide a massive shot of positivity.
When asked how he was feeling ahead of our Premier League opener, Ruben replied: “Confident. I know that we are going to struggle in some moments. It’s a game against Arsenal, so we will struggle in some moments.
”We are more prepared, and I think, again, I feel that we have more players that can help us, in one moment, to change the momentum of the game and that can give you confidence. And we have more options if things are not working well, we can change things. So that gives me more confidence for every game.
“It’s that feeling that we could struggle here or there, in the way we play, but we can score. I think Cunha can – and you saw it last two seasons – catch the ball, and he create something, Bryan can make one run and he’s there to score a goal. These kinds of things can help us a lot, especially in moments that we are struggling, one guy can change the momentum of the game in the stadium.”
Getting off to a winning start against one of the favourites to win the title would be a huge boost and that is not lost on Amorim, who feels the preparations have gone well.
United won the Premier League Summer Series in the US and defeated Fiorentina, on penalties, in the last of our warm-up games, to earn the Snapdragon Cup at Old Trafford last weekend.
“We are ready for the season,”
he declared. “We prepared well during the pre-season.
”Pre-season is pre-season. We are going to start, we are going to struggle, but what we are going to see on Sunday, then we are going to work to improve, then we are going to improve during the season, but we are prepared to win against Arsenal.
“That is the only thing that matters.”