Arteta claims Man United’s uncertainties means Arsenal must focus ‘on ourselves’ | OneFootball

Arsenal will face Manchester United at Old Trafford tomorrow under the guise of Michael Carrick, who will be in charge for only his third game as the boss.

The Red Devils decided to part ways with Ole Gunnar Solksjaer after the recent 4-1 loss to Watford, and the former England international has been in charge since.

Carrick is yet to taste defeat, guiding his side to a crucial 2-0 win over Villarreal to seal their qualification to the knockout rounds of the Champions League, before denying the league leaders Chelsea a win at Stamford Bridge at the weekend.

There was confusion in the run-up as to whether Ole’s successor Ralf Rangnick would be in place in time to face us, but delays with his visa are believed to have held that up, and we must now prepare to take on Carrick’s side.

Arteta insists that the above leaves him with some uncertainty as to how to expect United to play, but knows that the atmosphere at Old Trafford will bring a challenge in itself.

“You know what to expect when you got to that stadium and play in front of that crowd,” Arteta said ahead of his side’s clash with Man United as quoted on Arsenal.com. “They are a team, a squad that is one of the most talented in the league. You know the situation you are going to face. It is very difficult tactically because you don’t know how they are going to prepare the game, the options that they can play, the formation they can [have] so it’s focused more on ourselves, on what we have to do and make sure the team is prepared to go there and beat them.”

Even when United appear to be playing badly, they always seem to find a way to perform against us, especially at Old Trafford. It would be naive to believe that this is going to be an easy game in any shape or form, although they are definitely there for the taking.

If we play the way we have been, and raise our game to the challenge, they are very beatable, and Chelsea’s dire finishing let them off at the weekend. If they play the same tomorrow, I expect us to claim all three points, although it is never as cut-and-dry as that unfortunately.

Patrick