Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal has revealed the team news ahead of the Red Devils’ trip to North London to take on Arsenal FC.
English midfielder Michael Carrick has returned to training after missing out on the 2-1 win over Wolfsburg in the Champions League. The 34-year-old was sidelined with a minor knock, but is available for selection for the crunch clash against the Gunners. The return of Carrick will provide Van Gaal with a lot of options in midfield ahead of the tie.
Manchester United are currently top of the English Premier League, one point ahead of arch-rivals Manchester City. The Red Devils would be hoping to get all the three points against Arsene Wenger’s side, who have been unconvincing this season.
The Old Trafford outfit are without the services of talented fullback Luke Shaw, who suffered a horrific injury in the loss to PSV and is the only long term absentee. Marcos Rojo, who is nursing a hamstring injury will also be unavailable for the fixture. However, Van Gaal revealed that there were no fresh concerns following the win over Wolfsburg.
Ita s so difficult to prepare for the match against Arsenal – Van Gaal on fatigue
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, as quoted by the club’s official website, Van Gaal said:
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“Carrick can play so I have a choice.
“I am happy to say there are no injuries from last night.”
The Manchester United squad were given a days off on Friday to recuperate following the midweek clash. The Dutchman also explained that squad rotation or recovery are the only two options to ensure that the squad remains fresh for crucial games.
“The solution is recovery, recovery, recovery.
“That is why ita s so difficult to prepare for the match against Arsenal. As a manager, you want to prepare on the pitch and you cannot do it because you need freshness of the players, so then therea s also another solution – to change your squad.
“So we have to see how the evaluation is from my fatigue specialist. I cannot tell that because the press conference is one day after the match. Tomorrow, they have a day off because theya ve already had two weeks with no day off. We have to wait and see for Saturday and then I can make decisions.”
