“I’m not sure they have that” - Owen Hargreaves tells Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim to change approach to avoid ‘difficult’ game against Arsenal

Owen Hargreaves has urged Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim to make a tactical change ahead of their Premier League clash against Arsenal on Wednesday (December 4). The pundit insists that Amorim must switch to a three-man midfield.

Amorim secured his first victory (3-2) as Manchester United boss against Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League on Thursday (November 28). The Portuguese boss' first game in charge against Ipswich Town in the Premier League last weekend (Sunday, November 24) ended in a 1-1 draw.

United hosted the Norwegian side at Old Trafford yesterday and won 3-2, courtesy of Alejandro Garnacho's opener within 60 seconds of kick-off and Rasmus Hojlund's subsequent brace.

Amorim has implemented a 3-4-3 formation at Manchester United, a system that brought him success at his former club Sporting CP. However, Hargreaves believes United's current roster does not possess the quality needed for a two-man midfield.

Speaking to TNT Sports, the pundit said (via Metro):

"I think they’ve got a lot of good players. Do they have the players capable of winning the Premier League or Champions League? Probably not. That’s going to take time to sort the recruitment out. The most important thing is that they get results. Obviously Everton at the weekend is a tough game but at home you’d expect them [United] to win that game."

"Tough fixtures, especially the Arsenal one coming up after that, but they need to find a way to get results. Today they didn’t play brilliantly but they found a way to win the game which is the most important thing. I don’t think he has the personnel that he had at Sporting. I think if you’re going to play two in there [midfield], they need to be two super-athletes and cover the distances," he added.

Hargreaves continued:

"I’m not sure they have that as such. I think they’ve got some really good players, different players but he might have to tweak it that maybe one of the No.10s drops in and one of the wing-backs gets a little bit higher for the width."

"But I think playing two in there against an Arsenal or a [Manchester] City, I think that’s going to be really, really difficult. I think it’s a work in progress, we need to be patient but we’re getting there," he concluded.

Manchester United will take on Everton at Old Trafford this Sunday (December 1) before traveling to north London to face Arsenal in their mid-week clash.

Owen Hargreaves says Manchester United star 'would walk into that midfield'

Owen Hargreaves has tipped Kobbie Mainoo to have a place in Ruben Amorim's starting lineup and play a crucial role for Manchester United during his tenure.

Mainoo was sidelined until the most recent international break after suffering a muscle injury against Aston Villa in early October. The England international was available for selection against Ipswich and Bodo/Glimt, but Amorim kept him on the bench for both fixtures.

Speaking about Mainoo to the aforementioned outlet, Owen Hargreaves said:

"It’ll be interesting to see what happens with Kobbie Mainoo, such a special young player, you’d think he’d kind of almost walk into that midfield."