If Ruben Amorim is given the time he wants to rebuild Manchester United, there is every chance his line-up against Arsenal on Wednesday will come to look strangely incongruous in future.
Give it two or three years and it might be jarring to think that Harry Maguire or Mason Mount played under Amorim, just as it is odd now to recall that David Luiz played for Mikel Arteta's Arsenal.
Amorim, who suffered his first defeat as United head coach at the Emirates on Wednesday, has a huge rebuilding job on his hands, perhaps on a similar scale to Arsenal's under Arteta, and these early matches feel as much a learning exercise as anything else.
"I prefer to learn winning games," Amorim said after Jurrien Timber and William Saliba scored from corners in the second half. "That is really clear. But I learned the same last game 4-0. I learned a lot. I could see we had a lot to improve.
"Same today but I can take some positives today, especially the strategy and the way they blocked the game."
Amorim rotated his lineup from the resounding win over Everton, making six changes, including Harry Maguire's first start in two months and Tyrell Malacia's first Premier League start in 19 months. There is a sense that the new head coach is feeling out his squad, testing it for strength.
And in spite of the result, there were reasons for encouragement for the Portuguese in north London.
Amorim, plainly, is not Ange Postecoglou; he arrived in England with a reputation as a progressive coach, committed to modern principles, but more than happy to be pragmatic when deemed necessary.
That was obvious against Arsenal, as his side lined up with a back five out of possession, shielded by a four-man midfield, who pressed on triggers but were disciplined and compact.
Man Utd are a work in progress and Amorim's first step was always to assess the squad
Arsenal found it challenging to play through, their rhythm disrupted, and there were signs of frustration from the crowd at United's delaying tactics in the first half.
Relief was the overriding emotion when Timber headed home Declan Rice's corner nine minutes after the break, before a similar routine from the other side led to Saliba's clincher.
For United, being harder to beat is a start, and a noticeable improvement on Erik ten Hag's wide-open side, who were so easy for an opponent like Arsenal to rip through at will.
United, though, offered little at the other end, with Rasmus Hojlund receiving little change from a patched-up Arsenal back four, which was missing Gabriel and Riccardo Calafiori as well as Ben White.
Amorim, though, could point out that both Arsenal goals came from set-pieces and that United nearly grabbed an equaliser at 1-0 down from a dead-ball of their own, David Raya brilliantly saving Matthijs de Ligt's header from Bruno Fernandes' free-kick.
Plainly, United are a work in progress and Amorim's first step was always to assess the squad and give his side a more solid platform from which to build.
He appears to be doing just that but the summer - and a chance to begin reshaping the squad in his image - cannot come soon enough.
