Ruben Amorim blames lack of 'training' as Man Utd are undone by Arsenal's set-piece wizardry in new boss' first defeat

Second-half goals from Jurrien Timber and William Saliba consigned Amorim to his first defeat in charge of the Red Devils. United defended well in the first period but couldn't handle Arsenal's corner-kick routines, which have proven so effective this season.

Amorim has only been in the job for four games and still has plenty of work to do with his players. They showed signs of progress in the 4-0 win over Everton but were humbled by the Gunners, who are much further along in their progression under Mikel Arteta.

Amorim said at full-time: “Tough game. We tried to play our game, especially in the first half. We need more trainings. The set pieces change everything, change the momentum. It was really hard for them. We tried, but we had two set pieces and didn’t score. They scored.”

“We have to understand that they have years of doing that [set pieces]. Even when you are here for so long, you can see how their set-pieces can change that. We tried to defend them in the space of two days to train.”

He added: “I learned that we are smart when we have the strategy. We are finding the way to press and the way to block. We will be better in time. We have to improve in every minute. We have to use every minute to try to improve and fight for the games.”

Nottingham Forest visit Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon as the Red Devils try to get back on track. Wednesday's defeat leaves them 11th in the table.