Carrick warns bigger tests still await United

• Carrick says United have “bigger games to come” after a 3 2 win at Arsenal
• United climb into the Champions League places as Carrick keeps his perfect start
• Carrick plays down permanent job talk and offers Dorgu injury update

Michael Carrick said Manchester United have “bigger games to come” after their 3-2 win against Premier League leaders Arsenal, a result that kept his winning start as head coach rolling and had away fans at the Emirates singing “We’re gonna win the league”.

United moved into the Champions League qualification places after goals from Bryan Mbeumo, Patrick Dorgu and Matheus Cunha sealed their first league win away to Arsenal since December 2017.

The victory followed United’s 2-0 derby win over Manchester City last week, Carrick’s first match in charge after he replaced Ruben Amorim until the end of the season. United now sit 12 points behind Arsenal, with 15 league matches left.

Carrick said the focus has to stay on the next game, starting with Fulham at Old Trafford next Sunday.

“I’m not getting carried away,” Carrick told reporters. “We’ve got some big games, bigger games, coming up, because every next game is the bigger game.

“So we’re not getting carried away. We’ve got really important things coming up that we need to keep improving with.

“But there’s a lot of emotion, a lot of energy and a lot of confidence that you can take from that [beating City and Arsenal], but be humble and understand how we’ve got these results. That’s really important moving forward.”

Carrick again resisted being drawn into questions about whether he wants the job beyond this season, saying he is not interested in turning it into a weekly debate.

“What happens next [manager position] I’m not going to be answering it every week,” Carrick said.

“I’m enjoying it and I’ll continue to do what I can.

“I know from our perspective it’s just about moving forward to the next game. It’s been less than two weeks that we’ve been together, so it’s just keep getting good habits and good routines. The boys have been fantastic with that.

“But I don’t think we can look too far ahead. We certainly won’t be anyway, so we’ll finish where we finish by getting the results.

“I know that’s kind of obvious, but looking too far ahead can come back and bite you. We’ve taken this week by week, game by game and we’ll certainly continue to do that, but we’ve got to ride it, you’ve got to use the emotion, you’ve got to use the energy, you’ve got to use the confidence.

“But it’s a clear focus. Everything is in front of us now, it’s a good start, but we’ve just got to keep building.”

United’s afternoon ended with concern when Denmark international Dorgu limped off late on, though Carrick said the early signs pointed to cramp rather than anything worse.

“Pat’s been a big player for us over last couple of games, in so many ways attacking wise, but defensively he has been immense as well against two teams that ask a lot of questions,” Carrick said.

“I’m delighted for him because he has put so much into his performances. It’s nice to see him smiling.

“He came off with a bit of cramp, so hopefully it’s not much more than that.”

WRITTEN BY

Jarrod

Jarrod Partridge is the Founder of Futbol Chronicle and an accredited journalist with over 30 years of experience following international football. A member of the AIPS International Sports Press Association, Jarrod has covered matches at stadiums around the world, bringing first-hand insight to every match report, player profile, and tactical analysis he writes.

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