“The goal has to be to win the Premier League. I know people will question me for saying that after last season, but that’s the way it is.” This was Luke Shaw’s statement to Sky Sports during Manchester United’s pre-season tour of the United States. United supporters liked what they heard, but with 15th place in the Premier League last season, even the most optimistic supporter took Shaw’s statement with a shrug. Three months later, Man Utd have breathed life into Shaw’s “hairy plan”.
United won just two of their first six Premier League games, a dismal 3-1 defeat to Brentford sent Amorim’s team to 14th place at the end of September, the vast majority of fans demanding the Portuguese manager’s sacking. Then the Red Devils woke up with three Premier League wins in a row.
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Goal has also called for Amorim’s dismissal, but after the 4-2 draw against Brighton, the English media highlights six factors that together could give Manchester United the impossible Premier League trophy – already this season.
Here’s the full analysis, we’ll settle for the headlines and the last factor:
“Deadly” combination of Mbeumo and Amad
“Special” Cunha
De Ligt Finally Grown Up
Goalkeeper problems finally solved
Massive cultural shift from Ten Hag’s time
Drop in quality elsewhere at other clubs:
“United don’t have the same strength in depth as Arsenal, City or Liverpool, but with no European commitments to worry about, Amorim doesn’t have to stretch his squad to the limit. That could give the Red Devils a significant advantage in the playoffs.”
“They can also benefit from the indisputable drop in quality at the top of the table. City are now a shadow of the all-conquering team that won four titles in a row under Pep Guardiola, and have become far too reliant on the incredible assists of Erling Haaland. As we saw on Sunday in the loss to Villa, if Haaland is kept quiet, City no longer have the tools to deal with it.”
“Reigning champions Liverpool, meanwhile, have found themselves in a crisis just two months after completing their £446m summer transfer investment with the record purchase of Alexander Isak. Arne Slot has had four league defeats in a row, with Isak and other summer signings such as Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong failing to live up to expectations. The Reds have lost all cohesion, and it remains to be seen if Slot can turn the tide before his position is seriously scrutinized.”
“It therefore seems that the way is clear for Arsenal to secure their first Premier League title since 2004. The Gunners are currently four points adrift of seven wins and just three behind, but this version of Arsenal can’t compare to any of Arsène Wenger’s title-winning teams, as United can attest to, having completely outplayed them on the opening weekend of the season. Arteta, once a purveyor of Guardiola’s ball possession-based mindset, is now obsessed with marginal gains rather than fluid football. In fact, the Gunners have only scored five goals from open play so far in 2025-26, with the remaining 11 coming from set-pieces.”
“United have more power than Arsenal in the final third of the pitch. Only time will tell if that translates into a sustained title fight, but it feels like Amorim has made a big breakthrough. The good times are coming back to Old Trafford, and tangible rewards will follow, sooner rather than later,” Goal concludes.
