FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester United v Everton - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - December 1, 2024 Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim reacts REUTERS/Molly Darlington/File Photo
MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - Manchester United are unbeaten in their first three games under Ruben Amorim and have climbed into the top half of the Premier League table but the Portuguese faces the first real test of his managerial skills at high-flying Arsenal on Wednesday.
United, who are in ninth place 15 points adrift of leaders Liverpool, have struggled to score this season with 13 goals in their first 12 league matches, but the floodgates finally opened on Sunday when they thumped Everton 4-0 at Old Trafford.
However, they travel to the Emirates knowing full well the scale of the task at hand, having lost their last three meetings with Arsenal, who are in second spot, six points above United.
"It's the best team that we have faced by far. But a test is every game. If you saw the last game (against Everton), it was really tough...," Amorim told reporters on Monday.
"It's important to be brave (on Wednesday), when I say it's brave it's not pressing all the time higher. It's not the same. You have to understand the game, the moments of the game. We need to have the ball, that is a key point.
"We want to have the ball, we want to dominate some moments of the game, because you know these matches it's hard to control all the game. We have to be brave and play the game."
Amorim said captain Bruno Fernandes, who was taken off in the 66th minute on Sunday, trained with the team and would be fit, adding: "I saw him already (on Monday) morning. He's fit and he doesn't need a lot of rest. He's prepared to play."
Amorim also praised 19-year-old defender Leny Yoro, who was signed from Lille this year but has yet to play in a competitive fixture for United after picking up a foot injury in pre-season.
"His fitness is better. I think he's going to be in the squad. The rest I have to see because some players are tired. We have to assess them in tomorrow's training," Amorim said.
"I think he (Yoro) is a special talent. We have to be careful in these first moments because we didn't have too many training (sessions) together. He's been training, not alone but in a small group of players.
"He's really fast he's a modern defender, that is good when you want to press high and you leave a lot of strikers – especially in this league - one v one. I think he can manage that. He's very good with the ball, I'm really excited."
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
