Same spirit must be shown at Old Trafford

Head coach Ruben Amorim recently bemoaned a lack of leadership qualities within the side and the harsh words have had the desired effect.

Of course, 2024 ended in dismal circumstances for the Reds with the deserved home loss to Newcastle United ensuring a fourth defeat, in all competitions, on the spin to finish the year off.

Out of the Carabao Cup, so much hinged on this meeting with the Gunners but, before then, was the daunting trip to Premier League leaders Liverpool. I saw most people write these two fixtures off and many of the more incendiary pundits were keen to suggest United should be focusing primarily on the 'relegation battle' with Southampton.

Arne Slot's pre-match press conference started with a question asking if he would rest players for the Anfield game because this was "one of the worst Manchester United sides ever" in the words of the reporter. The Dutchman laughed it off but this was the tone approaching the battle between England's two biggest clubs.

Such hyperbole can be expected but the Reds were excellent on Merseyside and should really have left with all three points. Nonetheless, battling back from going behind to a harshly awarded penalty was something to behold and provided a platform to spark a major change in mindset and mood.

Tellingly, both Amorim and skipper Bruno Fernandes delivered the same message after the draw at Liverpool - this is the standard that needs to be set every game. There was almost anger from the Portuguese pair, and certainly frustration, that raising levels for a tough assignment against your fiercest foes is one thing when it is really about replicating that effort consistently.

Going to Arsenal, the hardest of third-round draws, was always going to be an almighty test. The home fans, and bookmakers, appeared to think Mikel Arteta's men would comfortably progress.

United faced the very real prospect of being out of both domestic cup competitions before reaching the halfway stage of January, on the back of a league campaign that sees us currently sitting in 13th spot, well adrift of the European places.

I'm quite convinced some will have been researching when this was last the case, waiting for an exit that would increase the noise and heighten the pressure around the Reds.

When Diogo Dalot was sent off, after we had worked so hard to get in front at the Emirates Stadium, few would have given us a prayer of keeping a grip on the trophy won so gloriously last May against Manchester City. Even fewer would have retained any hope when Gabriel's shot deflected in for the equaliser within a couple of minutes.

Nobody would have given even the slenderest of chances of progressing when referee Andy Madley pointed to the spot after Kai Havertz went down inside the area.

Sir Alex Ferguson's teams could always be galvanised in the face of such adversity. The parallels with the famous 1999 FA Cup semi-final with the north Londoners were obvious, once Altay Bayindir superbly saved Martin Odegaard's spot-kick, apparently the first he has missed.

There is little doubt Altay's save, and the sense of injustice at the penalty award, helped fuel the fire in the United bellies and the character displayed helped inspire the renewed belief and noise among the away end. Creating chances ourselves, despite the numerical disadvantage, the shootout was reward for a resilient defensive display, and a determination to keep the Gunners at bay.

Shooting in front of our supporters, there was optimism about the penalties themselves and this paid off when Bayindir became the hero by saving another kick, this time from Havertz.

Fittingly, Joshua Zirkzee kept his cool to net the decisive effort and the celebrations that followed should remind everybody that this is what this club is all about, and how we crave more moments of such unity, joy and elation.

And this is now the main point. The cup run is parked until next month, when Ruud van Nistelrooy will make another emotional return to Old Trafford, with his Leicester City team.

The focus is firmly on the Premier League, starting with Thursday night's clash with Southampton. Fernandes said at Anfield the Saints would be another hard game, and he meant it, despite the south-coast side currently languishing at the bottom of the table.

They may be eight points behind 19th-placed Leicester but the visitors have a new manager, in Ivan Juric, and warmed up for the game with a morale-boosting 3-0 victory over Swansea City in the FA Cup on Sunday.

Failure to beat the Saints would inevitably spark more talk being involved in a battle to beat the drop and the onus is undoubtedly on United to get the job done, in front of our own supporters. 

Old Trafford regulars may have been scarred by the nature of the defeats to Bournemouth and Newcastle but will hope to play their part in ensuring we can continue the positive form since the turn of the year. Maybe there will be more tension, increased pressure and the weight of expectation. Yet all of this simply has to be overcome.

Another home game soon follows, against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday, and then it's a battle of Britain with Rangers, that could go a long way to ensuring a place in the last 16 of the Europa League, a competition we should have ambitions of doing really well in. Let's be honest, Bilbao hosting thousands of Reds on 21 May would be a quite wonderful climax to a challenging campaign.

Things could be looking rosier in no time at all, and that is the very nature of football. Highs and lows, ups and downs. We all woke up this morning feeling good about the Reds but it will count for little if we do not maintain this level of spirit and determination. The players fighting for each other and the badge.

Thankfully, this is something our head coach is completely aware of and at pains to point out to his squad. On to Thursday...

The opinions in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Manchester United Football Club.