Michael Carrick faces a stern test in his second game in charge of Manchester United as they travel to Premier League leaders Arsenal this afternoon
Jermaine Jenas has backed Manchester United to catch Arsenal out this afternoon. The Reds have the chance to climb into the top four with a victory over the Gunners thanks to Liverpool’s defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday evening.
Michael Carrick and Co. will take on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium as they look to claim another three points after their victory over Manchester City last weekend. And Jenas, speaking on the Wildcards Podcast, believes: “Watching that game against Man City, the first thing I saw was well-drilled, organisation and partnerships were developing
“Up top with Mbeumo and Fernandes, they were linking up loads, obviously got that assist for Mbeumo for the first goal of the game.
“Defensively, the Martinez and Maguire situation looks solid as well. Casemiro in the midfield with Kobbie Mainoo – all of a sudden, there were some partnerships that you looked at and said, ‘Oh, they could be tough to play against’.
Jenas then continued: “And I think against Arsenal, whenever I watch Arsenal, I don’t feel like they break teams down easily.
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“Obviously, they have the set-pieces which helps and Gabriel Jesus might help that situation, but you can’t help but look at it and see United playing counterattacking football.
“And if they do, Mbeumo and Fernandes are great options because of the style of play and the way this game is going to play out.
“If Arsenal don’t sort out the counterattack situation very well, they could get caught out. And I think those players, whether it’s Amad Diallo, Fernandes or Mbeumo, I think they will cause problems.”
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United will welcome back Noussair Mazraoui to their matchday squad for the clash against Arsenal, with the defender spotted making the trip to the capital alongside his teammates.
Mazraoui has been unavailable for more than a month for United after featuring for Morocco during their run to the Africa Cup of Nations final and is now back in the squad for the Reds and could feature against Arsenal.
However, there is no place in the squad for Joshua Zirkzee and Matthijs de Ligt, who are both sidelined with injuries.
Zirkzee is expected to be unavailable for a couple of weeks, while De Ligt is still recovering from a back injury that has kept him on the sidelines since November.
“He [De Ligt] had a bit of setback before I arrived, only small, but he was a little bit slower than we had liked,” Carrick stated on Friday. “He’s getting closer and hopefully in the next couple of weeks he will be back and around it.”
