Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag tells his stars they can beat league leaders Arsenal again… even without suspended Casemiro
ERIK TEN HAG has told his players ‘you’ve beaten them once now do it again’ as they prepare to face table-toppers Arsenal.
Manchester United are the only team to win against Mikel Arteta’s side in the Premier League this season when they triumphed 3-1 at Old Trafford back on September 4.
The Gunners have gone on a run of ten league wins and two draws since then to sit five points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand.
But Red Devils boss Ten Hag said: “They are in a great run. There is a really good spirit in their team so we know what to do.
“It is up to us to beat their run and we will do everything to do that.
“We have to be really good. We need a really good performance. But if we do, I think we have a good chance also to get out of that performance a good result.”
Ten Hag has been quick to dismiss the impact of Casemiro’s suspension for Sunday’s game at The Emirates.
He picked up another yellow card in the 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace on Wednesday that ended United’s nine-game winning run.
But Ten Hag said: “We beat Arsenal last time without Casemiro. We have an idea of how to deal with that.”
While many think Arsenal will falter in the second half of the season, Ten Hag says he is not surprised to see them top and could even spot their potential while beating them in September.
He said: “In the moment we played them, you could already see that the manager and the coaching staff were already working for a long time on the team.
“I think they deserve the position where they are now. It is a really good structure, how they play. It is a really good mentality and a winning attitude in the team. That is why they are top.”
Diogo Dalot and Anthony Martial will be checked before travelling to London, where Jadon Sancho is unlikely to feature despite returning to training on Tuesday.
Last month Ten Hag said the 22-year-old was “not in the right status or fitness state” having done an individual fitness programme in the Netherlands rather than travel to the squad’s winter camp in Spain.
Asked when Sancho will make a first-team return, Ten Hag said: “I can’t answer that.
“He is making the next step. because it’s true (Tuesday) he was for the first time in team training, but team training is the final day before the game. So, we will extend that in the coming days, the coming week and then go step by step.”