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Michael Carrick says he will be involved in Manchester United’s summer transfer activities.
Carrick was speaking in the embargo portion of the pre-match press conference ahead of tomorrow’s Premier League clash with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
The first question in this section was: “In the four games in which you have been in charge of this club, you are now unbeaten against Guardiola, two clubs, Henry and Arteta. Should that give you confidence going into a game like Sunday?”
Carrick replied:
“I’ll be honest with you, I think the confidence I have going into the game is what we’ve seen since I’ve been here, between me and my staff in terms of the game itself, the training and how the boys have gone about it. Games from three or four years ago are done, it’s in the past. So as much as the experience helps you at certain times, I think it’s a completely different game on Sunday. There are two teams going into the game, I’m looking forward to it in good spirits.” form.”
On Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s involvement
The interim boss was then asked whether he had had conversations with former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the last United manager to win at the Emirates.
“Yes, I spoke to him,” he said. “I’m close. We’ve been through a lot together. He’s been completely supportive, as you would expect. He’s a man and I respect him a lot. So yes, he wished us all the best and he was happy that we got the right result.”
The reporter asked: “Would you also pick his brains out, or does he keep a respectful distance?”
“I think, friendships, you have conversations,” Carrick replied. “I have a lot of friends to choose from when I need to. To be honest, I’m not one to bother a lot of people. But he’s definitely there if I ever need him.”
Will he set up his team to play proactively against the Gunners, just as he did against City?
“I think it plays to what we think the game needs,” he replied. “I think we have to wait and see. But like I said, they are a good team and City are a good team. And attacking-wise they have different ways to… I think they are good when they attack the box and cover the width of the box very well. They ask questions with different ways to get into the box, down the sides, the other side, crosses. They are very well organised, they are well practiced, you can see that.”
“So I thought we defended the penalty area when we had to, especially last week. We maybe didn’t have to defend the penalty area for as long as people expected. I think we kept the game in good places for what we wanted and we have the boys to thank for that. Every game is different. There’s an element of that. It’s never the same. Even if you come on at half-time and put in a good performance for 45 minutes, I’m never one to look forward to seeing them again because it is never again.” the same again.”
“You have to build on it. So it won’t be copy and paste. I think there have to be new elements in it. We have to be ready. We have to be our best. And if we are our best and we are there, then we think we have a good chance.”
Patrick Dorgu: winger or full-back?
The next question was: “Patrick Dorgu has been very good in recent weeks. Do you think his long-term future lies on the wing rather than as a traditional full-back? He seems to be enjoying himself further forward.”
Carrick replied:
“Yes, I think he can do both, to be honest. Pat, I think he was huge last week. He did a great job in the way he played the position, but the threat, the constant threat and the goal was obvious. But I think his overall player was something we were very happy with. So I wouldn’t want to pin him down, to be honest. I think he can do both, but offensively he was certainly quite impressive with that threat last week.”
The last question was:
“It’s clear that Casemiro, as mentioned, will be there at the end of the season. I think deep midfield is an area that the club will really want to strengthen in the summer. It’s not something you get at the end of the season. Who are we going to sign? It’s clearly something progressive. Will your opinion be gauged in the coming months on the identity, if possible, of midfielders? It’s clear that you are seen as a target. You have kept an eye on the club.” Many fans feel that the team has missed the character you showed in midfield.”
“You probably didn’t say that when I was playing,” Carrick joked. “I’m certainly in this position to do that. And like I said, I think I’m fully committed to that when making decisions for the club, whatever that may be. Obviously, as a midfielder, there’s a big tendency to do that anyway. But taking that away and now that I’m in the position, I’ll definitely be part of those conversations and moving forward because it’s important that we get the next steps right in terms of progressing as a team and as a squad and putting the right things in place.” So I’ll be a part of that in the right way.
Details of the first part of the press can be found here.
Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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