Manchester United ‘want to win FA Cup’ says Amorim


Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim says he wants to win the FA Cup in his first season at the club.

United travel to Arsenal on Sunday afternoon in a tough tie in the third round, but the former Sporting boss says the history of the trophy makes it important to him and United.

He said: “I see what everyone else sees. It is a very old competition with a long history.

“I remember watching some of the finals, including when we won the Treble in 1999.

“We won a few cups and we want to continue. At this stage we already have a very strong match that we want to win and we want to improve the image and performance.

“We are in a difficult moment. We are improving, we will put out the best team to try to win. I will pick the best team to win. We want to win the cup.”

Amorim confirmed that Altay Bayindir will start in goal and play as hard as they can.

United are the holders after shocking rivals Manchester City at Wembley last season and have won the Cup 13 times – one fewer than Arsenal.

Amorim will not be drawn on the immediate future of Marcus Rashford, who is reportedly keen to leave Old Trafford, but says he wants to continue the club’s tradition of bringing in players from the academy.

He said: “We need to improve recruitment so that when we target players we are sure they can cope with the demands.

“We also need to improve our academy. Young guys who feel the club in the right way and do some jobs to have money to invest in the team.

“Our idea is always to keep the best players and build for this club, but I’m very happy and I like our players, especially the academy guys.”

United last met Arsenal in the cup in 2019, with Jesse Lingard on target in a 3-1 win at the Emirates.