TEN HAG KNEW GUNNERS WOULD BE TITLE CONTENDERS

JOHN CROSS

ERIK TEN HAG admitted he knew that Arsenal would be title contenders – even after beating them at Old Trafford.

Manchester United are the only side to defeat the leaders in the Premier League this season as the two giants go head-to-head again tomorrow.

United boss Ten Hag insists he has already hatched a plan to beat them again at the Emirates because he is without influential Brazil star Casemiro.

But Ten Hag says Gunners chief Mikel Arteta (both managers, right) and his team have built foundations for long-term success and it is reaping rewards. “In the moment we played them, you could already see the manager and the coaching staff were working for a long time on the team. You see good structures on the team,” said Ten Hag.

“They have even improved during the first half of the season. There is a really good spirit in their team so we know what to do. We have to be really good. We need a really good performance. And if we do that, we have a good chance to get a good result. It is obvious they are in a really good run and they deserve the position where they are now.

“It is a really good structure, how they play. It is a really good mentality and a winning attitude in the team. That is why they are top.

“They are in a great run. It is up to us to beat their run and we will do everything to do that.”

Casemiro will miss the Arsenal trip through suspension after his yellow card at Crystal Palace and the midfielder’s influence has been huge throughout United’s rise up the table.

Ten Hag confirmed Jadon Sancho’s return to training after the United winger’s extended absence through mental and physical health issues.

He said: “Jadon is making the next step. He has had his first day at team training, but team training is the final day before the game. So we will extend that in the coming days, the coming week, and go step by step.”