Erik ten Hag was left impressed by Manchester United players’ agility and ability to press hard as they beat Arsenal in a pre-season friendly.
- Ten Hag happy with his players after Arsenal win
- Praised the players’ agility on the pitch
- Manchester United beat Arsenal 2-0 in a friendly
WHAT HAPPENED? The Red Devils eased past the Gunners 2-0 thanks to goals from Bruno Fernandes and Jadon Sancho. They also triumphed in a pre-arranged penalty shootout after regulation time.
After the game the United boss revealed that he was happy to see his players’ agility on the pitch and how they were able to remain active throughout the game, something he hopes his players to carry on with when the season starts.
WHAT THEY SAID: Speaking to MUTV after the Arsenal match, the Dutch coach said: “I think it’s very good. The way we played, I was really pleased, how active we were in and out of possession. That is the way we want to play and that is the only period of the year you can really work in training and translate it to games without it having consequences. But still, we want to win, and I think the lads showed we played a good game.
“I think we did well (pressing), and we want to be like that: we want to be a pressing machine, so then you have to do everything in togetherness. That is so important, and today, we did it in both halves.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: New arrival Andre Onana did not feature against Arsenal as Tom Heaton took up the goalkeeping duties. Mason Mount did play, however, with Bruno Fernandes wearing the armband for the first time since being appointed captain on a permanent basis.
IN TWO PHOTOS:
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WHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER UNITED? Ten Hag’s side will be next seen in action on July 25 when they face Wrexham in a pre-season friendly at the Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego.
From Ritabrata Banerjee (Goal.com)