Erik ten Hag continues to lament his side’s crippling injury list in Arsenal loss | OneFootball

Manchester United fell to a 0-1 defeat at Old Trafford to Arsenal in their 14th league defeat of the season. The result sees United stuck in eighth position, three points behind seventh with two matches left to contest.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Erik ten Hag praised his side’s reaction to Monday night’s mauling at Crystal Palace.

The recurring theme of the question and answer session was the massive injuries his team are suffering and Ten Hag opened up on the damage this has caused his side.

After an horrendous showing on Monday night, Casemiro was at fault for Arsenal’s goal as he lazily failed to get up to the rest of the team’s offside trap, gifting Kai Havertz oceans of space to pick out a cross for Leandro Trossard to bundle in from close range.

Responding to a question on why he played Casemiro again at centre back, Ten Hag said, “I didn’t have options. [Kambwala] was not fit, he was just returning from injury and not fit to start.”

When asked if Scott McTominay could be an option as he has been for Scotland in the past he claimed, “I haven’t seen it but what I heard was not always a success. I think he’s better in that advanced position, higher up the pitch.”

Ten Hag was then asked if being so positive after losing to Arsenal highlighted the state the club was in, to which he retorted, “it shouldn’t be like this. You’re absolutely right. But I return to all the problems we have. When you analyse the performance, you have to see that we were competitive, but not in the way we want of course.”

“We have to win every game but as a club we are not in a position and definitely not with this team with all the injuries we have.”

Elaborating further on the damage injuries have had to his teams progress he stated, “I am now two years here and only one time have I had a full group of players. You can’t progress a team when you have so many injuries, especially in a particular key area.”

“It’s like swimming with your hands on your back. You have to keep your head above the water level and that is what we are trying to do.”

The Red Devils currently occupy eighth place in the table which would mean the Europa Conference League would even beyond them. When asked about the how harmful no European football next season could be he claimed it would be very damaging to the club but stressed that the team still has the opportunity to secure it in spite of the massive problems they face.

Ten Hag did mention two positive issues from the game, the first being the performance of Amad Diallo. When asked about giving the player his first start of the season he said, “I think Amad deserved it.”

The coach claimed that there was much competition in that area of the pitch with Alejandro Garnacho, Antony and Marcus Rashford all having minutes on the right, but he was impressed with what he saw from the Ivorian. “He played very well. He was brave, he was creative, he defended very well. We were pleased with his performance,” Ten Hag stated.

Finally, like Monday night, the Dutchman praised the support that the fans showed the team in challenging circumstances: “They understand the situation we are in. Today from the first to the final whistle they were behind us and they see what the problems are and that the team needs backing. So we are united and this is very good.”

If United are to have any chance of salvaging European football, at least from a league position, they need to defeat Newcastle United at Old Trafford on Wednesday night. There is still the prospect of securing Europa League qualification with an FA Cup win against Manchester City but the trajectories of the two teams suggest this will be an incredibly challenging objective.

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