Solskjaer wary of ‘impressive’ Arsenal, condemns racist attack of Martial, Tuanzebe

MANCHESTER United have to raise their game if they want to get a result against Arsenal on Saturday, Red Devils’ manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has admitted.

United are second in the Premier League table, 10 points ahead of ninth-place Arsenal, but it is the Gunners who are in better form.

While Sheffield United ended Solskjaer’s side’s 13-match unbeaten run with a shock win at Old Trafford on Wednesday, Arsenal have won five of their last six Premier League fixtures, drawing the other.

Solskjaer has urged his players to not dwell on Wednesday’s defeat as they visit the Gunners, who won 1-0 at Old Trafford in their first meeting this season.

“You never want to lose a game to learn from it, you want to learn from the games you win,” Solskjaer said on Friday during his pre-match press conference.

“I expect everyone to perform well and let’s hope the result comes thereafter. Arsenal has been in pretty impressive form lately. It’s always great to play them and hopefully we can get a result.

“United’s defending was a big letdown against the Blades on Wednesday and they have conceded more goals than any other side in the top half of the table.

However, Solskjaer refused to blame his defenders for the goals the team has conceded.”We defend as a team and we’ve got better and better over the last year,” the Norwegian noted.

“Let’s hope we can be a compact unit against Arsenal.”

Solskjaer also spoke about the racist abuse on social media directed at his players Axel Tuanzebe and Anthony Martial following Wednesday’s defeat.

“It’s just incredible we have these scenes still, this abuse in 2021,” he said.

“We’ve been campaigning for a long time now with the Premier League and I think it’s working, but there are still some people that haven’t got it. They hide behind social media, be anonymous and it’s unacceptable and it’s disgusting.

“They’re not Man United fans when this happens. We’re all standing behind every single one of our players”.

When he was asked about how the racially abused players felt, Solskjaer added: “Axel is fine. I’ve spoken to him and, of course, it’s not nice but he’s a strong boy, strong character, got support from his family. We’re a family in the club and his team-mates are family. It’s not something you expect to see now but we’re not surprised. You have to feel sorry for these individuals.”

Solskjaer, who won several trophies as a striker for United in the 1990s and 2000s, provided an update on his squad ahead of the visit to Arsenal.

Defender Eric Bailly picked up a knock in training and missed Wednesday’s game, while Martial fell heavily on his shoulder.“They’re okay,” he told MUTV.

“They should both be travelling down.“We’re still a good group all working together. Once in a while, we just hit a low like we did on Wednesday, but we’re good to go again.”