‘We beat them last time without him’: Erik ten Hag downplayed Casemiro’s suspension with star midfielder set to miss Sunday’s crunch game against Arsenal… by pointing out his side know how to beat the league leaders
- Casemiro will miss Manchester United’s trip to Arsenal through suspension
- He was shown his fifth yellow card of the season against Crystal Palace
- Erik ten Hag says his United side ‘have an idea’ of how to cope without him
- He also praised the Gunners, saying Mikel Arteta’s side have a ‘winning attitude’
Erik ten Hag insists Manchester United ‘have an idea’ of how to beat Arsenal without star midfielder Casemiro at the weekend.
The Brazilian picked up his fifth booking of the season against Crystal Palace on Wednesday, meaning he is now suspended for the Red Devils’ game against the league leaders.
But ten Hag was quick to remind fans that his side ‘beat Arsenal last time without Casemiro’, and that he has a plan to deal with the Gunners’ threats.
Manchester United will be without star midfielder Casemiro for their game against league leaders Arsenal this weekend
Manager Erik ten Hag says he has an ‘idea’ on how to help his side get through the game
United handed Arsenal their only defeat of the Premier League season earlier in the campaign when they were beaten 3-1 at Old Trafford.
Casemiro, then newly singled, only came off the bench for the last 10 minutes of the match, with Scott McTominay and Christian Eriksen in midfield for most of the game.
But Arsenal have been in scintillating form since then, moving five points clear at the top of the Premier League with a game in hand against Manchester City in second.
The Brazilian picked up his fifth booking of the season in midweek against Crystal Palace
ten Hag was full of praise for Mikel Arteta’s side and their ‘winning attitude’, but assured fans that he will ‘do everything’ to win Sunday night’s match.
‘It is clear that they are in a good run and I think they deserve the position where they are now’, the Dutchman said. ‘It’s a good structure, how they play. It’s a really good mentality and a winning attitude to the team. That’s why they top the list.
‘They are on a good run. It’s up to us to beat their run and we’ll do everything we can to do that.
ten Hag was full of praise for the job Mikel Arteta has done with the Gunners this campaign
Arsenal are five points clear at the top of the Premier League table with a game in hand
‘As soon as we played them, you could see that the manager and the coaching staff had been working for a long time with the team. They even improved in the first half of the season.
‘There’s a really good spirit in their team so we know what to do. We have to be really good. We need a good performance. But if we do, I think we have a good chance of coming off that performance with a good result.’
Meanwhile, ten Hag said he ‘can’t answer’ when Jadon Sancho will return, but said the club is ‘step by step’ as he reintroduces him to the fold after a few hours off.
