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Carrick hails ‘big moment’ for Manchester United after win at Arsenal

The Red Devils boss was full of praise for his players after the victory in North London

Manchester United interim boss Michael Carrick has hailed his side after their 3-2 win over Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday.

The Red Devils fought back to come from behind and picked up a crucial three points as they look to stay in the hunt for the Premier League’s European places.

For Arsenal, it was a massive dent in their title charge, with the gap to Manchester City and Aston Villa now only four points.

But the focus was on the celebrations in the away end at full-time, and Carrick had plenty to say after the match.

He said: “We understood the start of the game was going to be like that as much as we tried to turn the momentum in our favour. I think we understood how the game was going to go and the flow of it. I thought we started to take the ball and connections through the pitch, had that composure and a few moments gaining a bit of confidence as well.

“We were having a decent spell and seemed to be coming into the game when they scored, which was disappointing. Again, we showed the character to come back and there were stages in the game where you have to defend. They make you defend the box really and it’s challenging at times, but I thought we had enough in the game to keep believing in the confidence and I always fancied us to score.

🗣️ "It's Carrick, you knowwwww…" pic.twitter.com/SVN2WLvW7d

“Today, coming away we had to create own energy between us, and the away fans in the corner were incredible. There’s that element, playing away from home and understanding the phases of the game really, how it’s going to develop and being patient, be disciplined at the right time. We took the ball well at times and played forward and really positive and got rewards from it.

“It’s only been 10 days we know it’s not going to be perfect. You can’t expect to come here and dominate the ball. We’re just starting off and it’s a good starting point but we need to start putting some layers on top, and we’ll try to do that in the coming weeks.

“I give a lot of credit to the staff and players in terms of how much they’ve invested and how much they’ve bought into it. It’s alright trying to help them and say certain things but they’ve got to live it and they have done.

“You can see that with boys coming off the bench and it’s a collective feeling. It’s great when it comes together and everyone’s in it and we can celebrate with the fans at the end. It’s important and a big moment. My kids were in there, they’re not kids anymore, that in itself is emotional, it’s the passion, the excitement of these types of games and to come out on top is fantastic.”

Topics:

• Arsenal F.C.
• Manchester United F.C.
• Michael Carrick

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Mitch is a freelance sports journalist with experience working for LiveScore, GOAL and Colchester United. He has experience working from both his desk at home and in the press box at games covering the Champions League and international football.

Mitch is a freelance sports journalist with experience working for LiveScore, GOAL and Colchester United. He has experience working from both his desk at home and in the press box at games covering the Champions League and international football.

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