Ruben Amorim admitted that Manchester United showed “different spirit” in Sunday’s FA Cup third round triumph over Arsenal, compared to last month’s Premier League loss against the Gunners.

United fell to a 2-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium in early December, conceding both goals from corners. It marked the start of a difficult period for the squad in which set-piece shortcomings were repeatedly exposed.

But Amorim’s team started 2025 with a much-improved performance against Liverpool at Anfield and then managed to knock Arsenal out of the cup on penalties, despite playing for an hour with only ten players through extra-time after Diogo Dalot was sent off.

“I think we played, especially in the first half, better [than] in the first game [against Arsenal]. We were better in set-pieces, more aggressive. We show different spirit, even with ten men. We are improving on that aspect,” he said.

“I think we had a lot of difficulties in the beginning of the game to control the game with the ball and then we suffered, not big opportunities, but we suffered running after the ball, especially to switch of play, to win the first pressure of Arsenal.

“But then we can take in this moment, take the game to a different level when we talk about aggressivity. And that is a very good thing. We managed to score and then I felt in that moment we were able to improve with the ball, but with the [player] sent off [it] was really hard on us. And then we suffered all together, defending very well, with some opportunities from Arsenal.

“The players were really tired, but I felt since the first minute that today was our day. And I felt also a connection with our fans, our staff. It was a very good day for us in that aspect. We need to improve the way we play football.”

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