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RUBEN AMORIM has hit back over claims that Manchester United made a mistake by selling Anthony Elanga.Elanga, 22, was the match-winner on Tuesday as Nottingham Forest beat Man Utd 1-0.Ruben Amorim has hit back at claims Man Utd made a mistake by selling Anthony ElangaCredit: PAElanga came back to haunt his old club as he scored the winner for Nottingham Forest against themCredit: RexElanga was sold by United in 2023 for £15m and has a better record than winger at the club in the last two seasonsCredit: GettyThe former Red Devils star, sold in 2023 for £15million, dribbled with the ball from well inside his own half after getting on to the end of a header away at a corner by Ryan Yates.Elanga brushed off a tackle from Alejandro Garnacho with Noussair Mazraoui and Patrick Dorgu unable to get the ball off him before he shot the ball into the bottom right corner past Andre Onana.He has been in stunning form for Nuno Espirito Santo’s Forest this season, scoring six goals and adding nine assists in all 34 appearances.Speaking after the match at the City Ground, Amorim was asked whether the club had made a mistake in selling the winger.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLHowever, the ex-Sporting Lisbon boss dismissed those claims and insisted he had his chance to prove himself at United before he was sold, although he did admit there is often not enough time to succeed at the Old Trafford club.Amorim said: “We are talking about a lot of front players for Manchester United that are doing right but they had the chance here.”At Manchester United you don’t have the time. I will not have the time. We have to get it right fast.Elanga is one of a number of former United stars who have left the club before going on to thrive elsewhere, with Scott McTominay and loanees Antony and Marcus Rashford examples coming from this season.Most read in FootballAmorim added: “You are not talking about players that didn’t play for Manchester United. They were here playing for Manchester United. “In here the pressure is too big sometimes and sometimes you don’t get time and you should have time for these kids to develop.’Leaving Man Utd works wonders’ – Fans love Antony’s wild Real Betis celebrations as he goes topless and waves huge flag”But for that you need a strong base to support all these kids and if you don’t have strong base we are not going to help our kids. “They had their chances and sometimes football is like that and the pressure of playing for Manchester United is really big.”Elanga’s goal against his former club means he now has 28 Premier League goal contributions in his Forest career, better than any Man Utd winger over the last two seasons.The Swede had originally joined United at the age of 12 before going on to make his debut aged 19 in 2021 under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.He became a more regular player under interim boss Ralf Rangnick in 2022, but ultimately became frustrated by the lack of opportunities then presented to him under Erik ten Hag.On leaving the club, he told The Times in 2024: “It was difficult [to leave] but it was needed because I wanted to play and I didn’t want to spend another season just playing 10 minutes or not playing for 10 games,’ he explained.”I wanted a fresh start but I knew it wouldn’t be easy leaving a club that I had been at for nine years.”Sometimes football is like that, it might not always work somewhere.”I had seen what he (Erik ten Hag) did at Ajax (with young players) so I was looking forward to it but I just didn’t get the opportunities.”Elanga’s winner strengthened his club’s position in terms of qualifying for the Champions League next season.Assuming the Premier League is handed a fifth Champions League spot due to good performances from teams in Europe this season, Forest currently have a 10-point advantage to falling out of the qualifying spots this season with eight games to go.Meanwhile, Man Utd remain on the hunt for back-to-back league wins this season.Read More on The SunThey had more of the ball and had more than 20 shots at goal but struggled to create clear-cut chances other than a goal-line clearance at the end of the game.Forest travel to Aston Villa in their next league game, while United host Manchester City in the Manchester Derby.Man Utd player ratings vs Nottingham ForestMANCHESTER UNITED’S woes continue after another disappointing loss to Nottingham Forest.Forest picked up a 1-0 victory at the City Ground thanks to ex-United ace Anthony Elanga’s winner after just five minutes.United remain 13th in the Premier League table and look set for their worst ever Premier League finish.That is at least what their performance at Forest showed, as Ruben Amorim’s men don’t show signs of really understanding the Portuguese tactician’s preferred 3-4-2-1 formation.But who stood out for a poor United’s side? And who was the biggest disappointment?Check out Kostas Lianos’ players ratings below and find out…Andre Onana – 5Can’t blame him for Nottingham Forest’s winner as Anthony Elanga’s shot was too good. Made a stunning save to deny Ryan Yates’ header without knowing the Forest ace was offside.Leny Yoro – 5Should have been more aware before Elanga’s goal that came straight after a Man Utd corner-kick in which he had moved forward.One could argue Yoro made up for it when he stopped a fine run by Elanga in the second half with an amazing and well-timed challenge to save United from a second.Matthijs de Ligt – 4The centre-back was also nowhere to be seen before Elanga’s goal. No other major errors but should have done better on the rebound after Diogo Dalot’s header hit the crossbar.Noussair Mazraoui – 4Completely hopeless during Elanga’s run that led to the goal and struggled in his defensive duties, especially in the first half. Not sure if the full-back fits in a defensive trio as part of Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 formation…Diogo Dalot – 6A strong performance down the right wing with some fine runs and good crosses. Registered United’s best chance in the first half when his header rattled Forest’s crossbar.Casemiro – 4At fault for Elanga’s goal as there was absolutely no midfield presence during Forest’s counter.Loads of inaccurate passes and got booked for a reckless challenge on Yates before complaining in a very unjust way. Registered three shots but didn’t cause concern for Matz Sels.Manuel Ugarte – 4Cut a rather anonymous figure, among the guilty parties for Elanga’s goal as Man Utd’s midfield was caught sleeping. Rightly substituted at half-time.Patrick Dorgu – 5A fine display during the first half as he cut a strong presence down the left flank, even though he was completely outrun by Elanga before the goal.But the versatile full-back was the complete opposite in the second half with a series of errors against a stunning Neco Williams.Bruno Fernandes – 6Registered the game’s first shot on target with a powerful effort that required a lunge from Sels, and that was basically United’s best shot throughout the entire match.Fernandes produced some fine long balls and upgraded Man Utd’s midfield after Ugarte and Casemiro’s exits.Alejandro Garnacho – 2Very disappointing performance from the winger. Completely hopeless before Elanga’s goal with a desperate tackle and was lucky to avoid a booking for a ridiculous challenge on Yates while the Argentina international was on the attack.A game riddled with heavy touches, failed dribbles, wrong passes, blocked shots and a silly yellow card as he kicked the ball away in frustration. Had a good shot on 69 minutes as a saving grace.Joshua Zirkzee – 3Was supposed to be a striker but was often seen playing too deep and didn’t register a chance in front of Forest’s goal. Didn’t inspire any danger even after Rasmus Hojlund came on to help him up front.SUBSRasmus Hojlund – 5Was much better than a woeful Zirkzee up front for Man Utd. But didn’t cause any significant danger and never looked like a goalscoring threat. Harry Maguire looked far more lethal as a false nine after he entered the pitch with a lot more presence inside the box.Christian Eriksen – 4Didn’t really elevate United’s midfield after Ugarte and Casemiro’s exit. The sort of performance that makes one wonder about his Old Trafford future…Harry Maguire – 5Only played nine minutes as a false nine and was by far Man Utd’s best forward. Brought on as a desperation move that almost paid off with the best chance of the match as his last-gasp effort was cleared by Murillo just off the line.Mason Mount – N/A More

THIS summer transfer window for Arsenal has been five years in the making.And according to boss Mikel Arteta, it is going to be a “big one”.Mikel Arteta is planning to splash big on a new strikerCredit: GettyArsenal could move for Newcastle’s Alexander Isak who could cost around £100mCredit: GettyThere are younger talents such as Hugo Ekitike could go for even moreCredit: AFPTaking over in December 2019, Arteta muddled his way through a roller-coaster first term in charge — one that ended with an eighth-placed Premier League finish and FA Cup glory.In September 2020, his title then changed from head coach to manager, and the Spaniard set out his five-year plan to transform the club back into challengers for major honours.Four summer windows have come and gone since then, plus a huge gutting and rebuilding process that sees the North Londoners’ squad unrecognisable from the start of Arteta’s reign.Summer No 5 is just two months away, and finds the Gunners agonisingly close to ending their title drought, looking likely to fall just short for a third year in a row with Liverpool 12 points ahead of them with nine games to go.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLAs a result, this window will be all about the missing pieces of the jigsaw.The first piece has potentially already walked through the door — new sporting director Andrea Berta who begins work at London Colney this week.And the Italian, alongside a leadership team that includes Arteta, will now be tasked with doing what his predecessor Edu never managed — landing that elite yet elusive game-changing No 9.Splash £100million or more for Newcastle star Alexander Isak, 25? Most read in FootballEven more for 22-year-old Hugo Ekitike of Eintracht Frankfurt?Between £50m and £60m for Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokeres, 26, or 25-year-old Wolves star Matheus Cunha?Arsenal star Kai Havertz gets haircut for wedding before marrying wife SophiaOr in the region of £70m to £80m for Red Bull Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko who is still only 21? Whoever it is, Arteta is ready to go big this summer.He explained: “It’s going to be a big one and we are very excited about it.“The way we planned the five first summers, they were going to be very big and they were going to have different objectives.“In the beginning there were a lot of players with three, four or five-year contracts, so the turnaround of the squad and how you visualise the next  five years was very dependent on that.“There are certain positions we didn’t expect to have someone like  Ethan Nwaneri or Myles Lewis-Skelly contributing to, which has been great.“The way you start to evolve, you start to master certain things then the changes cannot be that much. That’s where we are.“The line now is thinner, the margins are smaller. But the cost of that, as well, increases. So it goes a little bit in a different direction.“We want to increase the depth of the squad, but as well, we want to increase the quality and the skills we need to go to the next step.“It’s a big summer for many things because first of all we have to maintain the good foundations that we have and then obviously how can we improve and evolve the team.”’A big addition’Berta, 53, introduced himself to journalists at London Colney ahead of Arteta’s press conference previewing tonight’s home clash with Fulham.He is a quiet, unassuming man, preferring to stay out of the spotlight and has his work do the talking, just like he did for over a decade at Atletico Madrid, recruiting players and building squads that won LaLiga in 2014 and 2021 and reached two Champions League finals.Berta is ready to shake up the status quo of the transfer team that includes managing director Richard Garlick, executive vice-chair Tim Lewis, co-owners Stan and Josh Kroenke and director of football operations James King.Arteta said: “It’s a big addition to the club, to the team, a team that is already formed with a lot of great people. That’s what we need. New blood with people that are so ambitious.“He’s got this personality, this charisma and this drive to win that is going to be very contagious.“What we want to do is clear, for [Berta] to jump on board and hopefully twist it and make it better. I’m very confident he is going to make everyone better. I want to add value.“Straight away the words that come out of Berta’s mouth are always winning, improving and demanding. He’s very honest, very straightforward.“There’s a very clear vision of what he wants to do.“He was so willing to join us, which is a very positive thing as well because he had many other possibilities and he’s chosen to come to us.“And now it’s about us giving him the support and the understanding of the situation and context straight away. “And to start to do what he’s already done for many, many years at the highest level, which has been very impressive.Read More on The Sun“To have people with different expertise, experiences, and they have already done it. It’s very, very helpful.”Arsenal have confirmed they will play the first North London Derby outside the UK in a pre-season clash against Tottenham in Hong Kong on July 31.Viktor Gyokeres is one of Europe’s most lethal forwards at the momentCredit: ReutersWolves’ Matheus Cunha has made himself available on the market and could cost around the same amountCredit: PAArsenal have already been linked with Benjamin SeskoCredit: AFP More