Arsenal
Man Utd Team News: van Gaal Confirms Major Injury Boost Ahead Of Arsenal Trip
Louis van Gaal has confirmed a major injury boost ahead of Manchester United’s trip to the Emirates to play Arsenal on Sunday. See what he’s said here
Manchester United head to London this weekend to take on Arsenal looking to maintain their place at the top of the Premier League table.
Ahead of the game, Louis van Gaal has been speaking to the media at his pre-match press conference this evening and has given ManUtd.com a team news and injury update.
The Dutchman was pleased to confirm a major injury boost with Michael Carrick fit to start against the Gunners this weekend, if selected.
Carrick missed the 2-1 win over Wolfsburg on Wednesday night due to a minor knock but has now been declared available for selection.
van Gaal also told the clubs website that the squad picked up no fresh injury concerns following last night’s Champions League victory at Old Trafford.
“Carrick can play so I have a choice,”
“I am happy to say there are no injuries from last night.”
It’s a big boost for United to have Carrick available again and the 34-year-old could come straight back in to the starting eleven on Sunday with either Morgan Schneiderlin or Bastian Schweinsteiger dropping to the bench.
van Gaal said after the game last night that he was concerned about fatigue heading to the Emirates and he now says he’ll assess the fitness of his players over the next 48 hours before deciding on his final team to face this Gunners on Sunday.
“The solution is recovery, recovery, recovery. That is why it’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 there’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 they’ve already had two weeks with no day off. We have to wait and see for Saturday and then I can make decisions.”
United head to North London sitting top of the Premier League table but with Arsenal just three points adrift in fourth place, it’s all to play for at the Emirates on Sunday.
