Arsenal boss feels Ten Hag should be given more time at United
ARSENAL manager Mikel Arteta believes Manchester United counterpart Erik ten Hag is an excellent coach who deserves more time to get things right at Old Trafford.
United host the title-chasing Gunners today – the penultimate weekend of the Premier League season.
While Arteta retains hope of delivering a first league title to north London in 20 years, United face a fight to even qualify for Europe after a 4-0 thrashing at Crystal Palace on Monday night. That result has seen pressure mount on United boss Ten Hag, but Arteta feels the Dutchman needs backing.
“I can only talk about what I think about him as a coach. He’s an excellent coach. I admire his teams, both Ajax and United,” Arteta replied when asked about Ten Hag’s position. “I know what he’s trying to do, I know how he does it, I know how difficult it is to prepare against him, so I have huge respect for him.
“Hopefully, yes, he gets the time because we are colleagues and we know how difficult it is in this league and what the margins are.
“If you want to win the Premier League and big trophies, you have to go to these grounds and impose yourself and beat them. That’s the journey we are on and that’s for sure what we are going to try to do on Sunday.”
This is the second successive season where Arsenal have harboured title hopes, having ultimately been usurped by Manchester City last year despite leading the way for much of the campaign. But even victory at United and in their last game at home to Everton does not guarantee a first Premier League crown since Arsene Wenger’s unbeaten Invincibles of 2004.
Arteta, though, has long held the belief that his team are good enough to end that run saying: “I started to have that feeling last season, when we started to be very consistent and very ambitious. I could see that the standards weren’t dropping day by day. Obviously the moment that you start to add other pieces to the puzzle and players start to have more experience, start to keep improving, you build some momentum.
“Around the club as well there is that sense that we can do it, that we are good enough to do it. It has been a journey.”
Ten Hag himself has questioned the knowledge and understanding of impatient onlookers calling for him to be sacked.
“I think the fans have the patience you’ve seen it on Monday,” he said, referring to the travelling support who stuck with the injury-hit team in that Selhurst Park shellacking.
“But when I see some comments, they don’t. And either they don’t have any knowledge about football, or they don’t have any knowledge about managing a football team. It’s possible, or they just are up to it.
“But I think there are many people that see the problems and they are patient.”
Ten Hag believes “common sense” will prevail as the club’s decision-makers consider his future, brushing aside talk he could be sacked even if United win the FA Cup like Louis van Gaal in 2016.
“If I see the problems we have faced, all the injuries, and in almost every game they fought,” Ten Hag said.
“Not on Monday, that is why I was so disappointed. But all the other games we fought, had good team spirit, so, no, I can’t have any doubt about this.”