Wayne Rooney has revealed what he was told by Michael Carrick before Manchester United’s incredible win against Arsenal.
Manchester United battled their way to a dramatic 3–2 Premier League win over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday evening.
Arsenal controlled much of the early play, forcing United to defend deep before opening the scoring through an own goal.
United responded strongly, though, as Bryan Mbeumo punished a defensive error to bring his side back on level terms.
The visitors ended the first half with momentum and continued to press after the interval, with Patrick Dorgu curling in a brilliant effort to put them ahead.
Arsenal later equalised from a corner, but substitute Matheus Cunha struck late to clinch victory for the Reds.
Rooney reveals what Carrick told him before United vs Arsenal
Carrick has been under pressure by various ex-players since he took charge at Old Trafford but Wayne Rooney has been a strong defender of his friend and former teammate.
The pair lifted the 2016 FA Cup trophy together and Rooney is delighted that Carrick has had a perfect start to life in the United hot-seat.
They were both sat together on Friday evening at Old Trafford as Rooney’s oldest son, Kai, made his debut at the historic stadium during an FA Youth Cup clash.
Rooney has now detailed a message Carrick sent him before the weekend’s win over Arsenal and it is a good sign for the future.
“Michael actually said to me yesterday morning, he told me how good the players were in training,” Rooney said after full-time on his podcast.
“He felt he had to stop the session early because they were that good and he wanted to bottle it up, and that was proven today.”
Carrick is doing all of the right things
It is still early days, but Carrick seems like he is doing all of the right things at United right now. Whether that be dodging questions in a press conference like he used to dodge challenges in midfield, installing confidence in his players or making attack-minded substitutions.
He is even attending as many youth games as possible. These are small things but can be ‘easy wins’ for a head coach entering a difficult job.
The real test for Carrick and this United side will come in the following games, where the Reds will not be the underdogs and will be expected to create chances against deeper defences.
But, for now, it is clear that the new United boss is bringing back some much needed confidence at Old Trafford and that will only grow if they continue to win games.
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