“I am a big fan” – Thierry Henry makes honest admission on Erik ten Hag after Man United’s 3-2 loss vs Arsenal

Thierry Henry has admitted that he is a “big fan” of Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag after The Reds narrowly lost against Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.

It was a last-minute goal through Eddie Nketiah which sealed the three points for Mikel Arteta’s side but Ten Hag’s United provided a valiant effort considering they were without Casemiro and had played mid-week.

Henry, 45, is an Arsenal legend but believes that the Dutch manager is the man to take United forward after he was surprised by the challenge his team gave the Premier League leaders.

“I am happy that Arsenal won and they deserved to win after the performance in the second half but boy, Manchester United look different under Ten Hag,” said Henry. “I will be honest, I am a big fan of Ten Hag. He is the coach I recommended to Laporta at Barcelona after Ronald Koeman was sacked. He is a genius.

“Today, we saw a team with three years development vs a team with six months. Also, a team with a full week of rest against a team with two days rest, and still Manchester United went toe to toe, which was surprising. I thought Arsenal would be all over United from kick-off and United’s players would sit back. I was wrong. United in fact had better control in the first half.”

The 3-2 loss against The Gunners ended a 10-game unbeaten run for Ten Hag’s men, who won nine of those encounters. They now look like favourites to finish in the top four and were even touted for a title race before the last two games.

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Those results were reminders of where United are in the process that Ten Hag continues to cite in interviews and press conferences. It was only months ago that a top-four charge looked unlikely for a team that was struggling to find the back of the net.

Henry believes that Ten Hag will be a success at Old Trafford as long as he is properly backed.

“You give Ten Hag one more year and back him in the market, then United will be a force to reckon with. No disrespect to Sir Alex, but if Ten Hag gets it right at United, they will play more attractive football than under Alex Ferguson.”

The United manager has received high praise from many inside the game since his arrival in Manchester and his insistence on perfection is a good indicator of what will come in the years to come at the Theatre of Dreams.

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Similarly to Arteta, the Dutchman could find himself winning a trophy early in his tenure, which would go a long way to restoring faith amongst the fanbase that United can find themselves fighting for the top prizes once again.

Ten Hag’s men will face Nottingham Forest over two legs in the next week as they aim to progress to the Carabao Cup final, where they would face either Newcastle or Southampton at Wembley.