Ruben Amorim tasted defeat for the first time as United manager after his side's disappointing (but not entirely unexpected) 2-0 loss at Arsenal.

There were a lot of things for him to takeaway from this match both in a good and bad sense but I believe that a game like this will help him a lot more than had we gone there and won.

This will allow him to see more of the problems sooner rather than later.

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1. First half was positive

The result wasn't what we wanted but the setup and game plan worked wonders in that first 45.

While the starting lineup wasn't exactly what we all had in mind, they did however, do exactly as the manager asked.

Arsenal were frustrated and created nothing of note (other than from corners) for 45 minutes and more than that, we controlled the possession as United had 52% of the ball compared to Arsenal's 48%.

When was the last time we did that?

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The difference was that I believe we didn't allow the home side to have possession rather than them giving it up. That is also not Arsenal's game.

I think how quickly United recovered the ball was impressive which also allowed us to regain that control.

This was different to the normal frustrating of an opponent in that it wasn't a low block, defensive masterclass that made Arsenal look a little lost but rather the fact that we frustrated them with the ball.

As I said, we regained it back quickly and then proceeded to just rotate it all about the pitch. United kept it very simple and didn't look to force the issue as per us. If the pass wasn't there, we simply went sideways or backwards to keep that possession and have a chance to go again. Bruno in particular was a lot more disciplined in his passing and ball retention.

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The way Amorim set the team up in terms of organization was also crucial to keeping Arsenal at bay. Defensively, the team were in a good structure with and without the ball and we did a great job in keeping the likes of Saka and Odegaard quiet throughout the 90 minutes.

All of this in the first half was something to build upon.

The only real issue is that despite all of this possession, we didn't actually do anything with it. Which leads me to my second point,

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2. Lacking ideas in final third

We truly did. United looked very flat going forward compared to recent games. We had no idea what to do or how to get in behind the Arsenal back line or how to find passes through the lines. Without certain players on the field, we also weren't quite as effectual in the high press which hampered us even further.

This was something that we struggled with throughout the game as United had just the 5 attempts at goal with only 2 on target. The only one that truly caused Arteta's side any problems was the De Ligt header which came from a free kick.

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But this solitary great opportunity came because of good work once again by Amad. The 22-year-old had to be content with a place on the bench ahead of this match which was a surprise to all and no doubt a surprise to himself.

Given his recent performances, he was a shoo in to start.

As ever with a lot of players though, one actually sees the difference in the team when they're not in it. That was the case with Amad as we had nothing going forward. He has been our best attacker this season and after Erik ten Hag's sacking, took it up a level. Actually, he took things up quite a few levels.

When he came on, we saw that he was direct and looked to try and cause Arsenal problems. He took Oleksandr Zinchenko on to give us that free kick which led to De Ligt's header in the first place after some good wing play down the right. That was the only time we did something like that. We didn't get him the ball enough for him to do this more often which was also a problem.

No Amad. No party, right? He needs to start every game.

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Not having Bruno further forward also took away from that attacking threat. With him deeper, his influence in the final third was non-existent due to him being further away from that area of the pitch.

The attackers had no creativity to help them out and as a result, meant we were toothless in attack.

We know that the captain can be frustrating but there's no denying that without his creativity, we do struggle to make things happen up top as there's no one else who has that quality in the final third.

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3. Losing composure in second half

We knew that Arsenal couldn't be as bad in the second period as they were in the first. We knew that they were going to come out all guns blazing (excuse the pun) and so, we'd need to keep doing what we were doing in the first half and maintain that composure.

But as with United, as soon as the going gets tough, we tend to lose our heads, and do that (even just a little) against the better sides, we're going to find ourselves in trouble.

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Arsenal began the second half with a lot more energy and oomph in the final third. They started to create more chances and found themselves in and around our box a lot more.

The 54th minute was when they took the lead and from then on, we absolutely weren't the same.

We still didn't concede too many chances but the control we had in the first half had disappeared as we started to lose the ball a lot more and a lot more easily, and that rotation of it had gone out the window.

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More old habits returned as we started to look for long balls more often and even saw a long shot by Dalot which while it wasn't too far off, wasn't close enough and ended up giving away cheap possession.

We didn't see any of that in the first half.

This just played into Arsenal's hands even more and in the second period, the home team had more possession with 54% to 46%. Our heads did drop particularly after the first goal. That is something Amorim needs to address fast.

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4. Zonal marking doesn't work

This doesn't work against Southampton let alone Arsenal.

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For a long time, United have used zonal marking from set pieces and for most of that time, finds us in trouble as we always look very suspect when it comes to defending them. I never truly trust the team to keep them out as more often that not, it leads to an opportunity for the opposition if not a goal.

Every corner Arsenal had gave us problems. Every time they had a corner, it felt like they could score. This isn't something new with the Gunners as they have been good at corners for a long time. We should've been a lot better prepared for them or tried to do something different when defending them as we had ample opportunities.

Arteta's team had 13 corners to our 0. They could've scored 4 or 5 goals from them.

We were really naive at giving away so many corners knowing that we could be punished from them. A few of them were also preventable. The two that led two that led to the goals came from a poor giveaway by Garnacho in the defensive third leading to the first goal from the corner, and the second was Rashford trying to do something extravagent when it is was much too risky.

We deserved to lose based on how many (stupid) corners we gave away.

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5. This defeat was needed

I know that it sucks that we lost but I think this was better for us and especially for Amorim. This type of result and performance is closer to who we truly are, similar to the draw at Ipswich.

Had we had won this game and the other three, we would all be thinking that maybe things are starting to change and that this manager is the next Sir Alex Ferguson. Perhaps Amorim himself would've been feeling a lot more positive.

However, having seen that sort of a thing before, us fans have become a lot wiser to it but as Amorim is a new coach, would he have been wise to it should we have won every game under him so far?

This is why it was important for him to see the real United so early on. This will help him to understand his players a lot better and to understand them in many different ways: which players are good, which are not; who suits his style better, who doesn't; who has the right attitude, who doesn't. As much as we are learning about Amorim, he too is learning a lot about United.

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I didn't actually agree with the amount of rotation he made nor with some of his substitutions but I could understand why he did them. But in him making all these changes, it may have (inadvertently or advertently) allowed him to see his team a lot clearer.

At this point, everyone has played for Amorim. Whoever has been available, they've been involved at some point across his four matches. Even Antony had a chance.

This would've given the manager the opportunity to see which players are absolute starters, who has a chance, who are bench players and those who need to be moved on.

It's better that he sees the real United early on instead of being blinded by good early results and performances and we all start singing 'Amorim's at the wheel' thinking that we're going to win the title.

This was better.

Short term pain for long term gain.

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