“Of course…” – Mikel Arteta disagrees with Jamie Carragher on Erik ten Hag and Man Utd

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has shared his opinion on Manchester United and Erik ten Hag’s situation ahead of the Premier League clash at Old Trafford.

The Reds host Arteta’s title-chasing Arsenal side on Sunday afternoon with minimal confidence going into the encounter.

Last time out, Erik ten Hag’s side lost 4-0 against Crystal Palace, which led to extreme criticism from the likes of Jamie Carragher.

Carragher told Sky Sports: “This is one of the most poorly-coached teams in the Premier League. It’s not an opinion, that’s a fact.

“I get that [the backline was unavailable against Palace]; I understand your performance level will drop, and your results will not be as good when you miss your best players; that’s obvious.

But Erik ten Hag needs performances. If he was to lose his job, I don’t think he could have any complaints.”

However, ahead of the trip to Manchester, Arteta has shared his opinion on Ten Hag’s situation.

The Arsenal boss has admitted that he sympathises with the Dutchman and explains that “margins are so small” in football. He experienced similar criticism during his early time at The Emirates, although some would argue that the situations were too different.

“For sure [I sympathise with Ten Hag] because, at this level, that’s the reality. The margins are so small,” he told reporters.

“And momentum shifts in relation to an action sometimes in the game, sometimes in a season because you need that moment for something to click to start an unbelievable run, so of course I do.”

Then asked about the 3-1 win for his side against United earlier this season, Arteta added: “It was a game with a lot of alternatives. It was a difficult one, and there were small margins because they had a huge moment when the goal was disallowed.

“Then we turned the game around and scored two very good goals, so that tells you the quality of them and what we’re going to have to do to beat them.”