Sir Jim Ratcliffe, a shareholder of Manchester United, has voiced his strong support for Ruben Amorim at the club. He has defended his decision to give the Portuguese coach a lengthy contract despite his dismal start record by drawing a connection between Mikel Arteta and Arsenal.

At the club, there have been strong calls for Amorim to be fired. Similar pressure was placed on Arteta during his first two seasons, when he finished eighth in consecutive campaigns before narrowly missing out on fourth place and Champions League qualification in his second full season. But, inspired by his actions and the 2020 FA Cup win, the team continued to believe in him.

He stated on The Business podcast that "Ruben needs to prove he is a brilliant coach over three years." He responded, "Yes," when asked if Amorim would be granted the three years. And I would be there. Three years. Football takes time to develop.

"Three years have passed. You also consider Arsenal's [Mikel] Arteta. The first few years were a terrible time for him. We must exercise patience. We have a long-range strategy. It is not a switch for lights.

"A club like Manchester United cannot be governed on impulsive responses to a journalist who has a weekly outburst."

Ratcliffe seems to have overlooked the larger context of Arteta's time, even though the theory's foundation makes sense. In addition to having to persuade the team to undergo significant changes amid a worldwide epidemic to get things started, supporters were able to observe the changes as the team was restructured and the players were replaced.

During his first full summer in command, Arteta spent about £75 million, while Amorim spent over £200 million. After determining their main areas of weakness, the club made Arteta its only two significant investments in the first summer of 2020: Gabriel Magalhaes and Thomas Partey.

Amorim invested heavily in the attack rather than acquiring a senior centre-half or midfield player, despite serious defensive and midfield issues. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that United has given up the most goals among the top 15 teams in the league thus far this season. The only clubs that have given up more are the bottom five.

Compared to last season, when eight teams gave up more goals than United, this appears to be a regression. From the perspective of Arsenal, Arteta always intended to implement his 4-3-3 system in the long run.

To help reduce goals given up, he promptly switched to a 3-4-3 system after realising the defensive weaknesses.

By bringing on Gabriel and Partey, he was able to progressively advance toward his ideal system without having to deal with the fitness issues that have dogged his teams. Until this summer, there was little investment in the forward line, according to some. It is important to note, though, that he inherited a side that included Gabriel Martinelli, Emile Smith Rowe, and Bukayo Saka.

When he first arrived, he also had Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Since then, he has signed several centre-forward possibilities, including Viktor Gyokeres, Kai Havertz, and Gabriel Jesus.

Despite frequently lacking the necessary staff, Amorim has attempted to apply his three-at-the-back strategy from the beginning at United. Bruno Fernandes, in particular, has been successfully restrained from playing the attacking midfield role that made him so successful in favour of playing deeper. Players are frequently forced to play roles they are unfamiliar with.

The foundation is the most crucial component of any back-three or back-five formation, even with the addition of Patrick Dorgu, an offensive wingback option that works well with the system. Granted, some conditions have prevented investment in this area with hefty contracts for current players.

But in particular, the importance of the right-wing back has been largely disregarded. Examining Arteta's actions in 2021, a year after Gabriel and Partey joined, is crucial.

Albert Sambi Lokonga, Nuno Tavares, Aaron Ramsdale, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ben White, and Martin Odegaard. Premier League-proven players White and Ramsdale, as well as Odegaard, who had arrived on loan in January of last year, helped quickly address an ageing roster.

As the team continued to strengthen its spine, White, Ramsdale, and Tomiyasu were all starting defensively once more. Amorim must demonstrate that he can make better use of the resources available to him and, when the time comes, demand the important individuals that his team and system require if he is to be granted an additional 18 months at the very least.

As of right now, United is frequently regarded as one of the Premier League's worst-run teams. This would be supported by market data and managerial decisions, and while mentioning Arteta and Arsenal may seem like a good idea in theory, the two teams' plans and methods of implementation are completely different in reality.