Manchester United’s head honcho, Erik ten Hag, has laid it bare – improvement is the need of the hour as the Red Devils gear up to face Arsenal this Sunday. Despite registering wins against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest, their Premier League journey this season has been far from flawless, marked by a defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
In a candid conversation ahead of their clash with Arsenal, Ten Hag acknowledged that it’s commonplace for teams to experience growing pains in the early stages of a campaign. It’s about finding their rhythm, tweaking their strategies, and ultimately getting better.
“I have seen a lot of the games already in the Premier League. None of the teams are yet in the right shape and in the right form. That is normal at the start of a season. Everything has to settle in and to improve. That is our job as managers,” Ten Hag remarked.
Drawing on the lessons learned from their recent encounter against Nottingham Forest, where they mounted a thrilling comeback from a two-goal deficit to win 3-2, Ten Hag emphasized the importance of attitude, resilience, and determination.
“We improved in attitude, resilience, determination. The way we did it, really dominating. For parts of the game, we even had 90 per cent of possession, so we pinned them back and even though they were very compact, we created many chances.”
Yet, the glaring spotlight has often been on Manchester United’s midfield, a subject of criticism during the early weeks of the season. Ten Hag, however, was quick to shift the focus from the engine room to the collective responsibility of the team.
“It was absolutely a team problem,” he affirmed. “We analyzed and we showed the team where the problem was. It had to do from the back by squeezing. It had to do from the front by late responding or not responding. Act as a team. Not every player matched the standards that they are supposed to do. We worked a lot in the last two weeks on that factor.”
As the clash with Arsenal looms, Ten Hag highlighted the importance of adhering to high standards, particularly when facing a quality team like the Gunners.
“We have to improve. Especially when you face Arsenal who have such a quality team. When you are not in the right organization, you will get problems. We have to avoid such problems by doing the right stuff. We have to demand more from the players. We have to match high standards in those moments in games. It is about the front not matching those standards, as well as the back. When you do not match the standards from the rules then we have a problem. Every team would have a problem.”
Pressed on whether a win over Arsenal would be a statement, Ten Hag responded with humility and focus on the task at hand. “I do not think in terms of statements. I think in terms of what we have to do to win the game. We like the challenge. To go there and rise to the occasion. To battle them. And to win, of course.”
In their quest for improvement, Manchester United has made strategic moves, securing the services of Altay Bayindir, Sergio Reguilon, and Sofyan Amrabat on deadline day. While Bayindir and Reguilon are set to be in contention for Sunday’s game, Amrabat’s debut will have to wait for another day.