SOCCER: Carrick says Man Utd must ride wave of confidence

LONDON — Manchester United’s stand-in manager Michael Carrick continued his dream start to his second stint in charge with a victory at Arsenal on Sunday. Carrick said his team must keep riding the wave of confidence that has lifted the mood at Old Trafford.

The former midfielder stepped in after Ruben Amorim’s dismissal earlier this month. In his two matches as manager, United have delivered a 2-0 win against Manchester City and a thrilling 3-2 victory over Premier League leaders Arsenal.

“We’ve got to ride it and use the emotion,” Carrick said. “You have to use the energy and the confidence. You also have to be humble enough to understand how big these results are. They don’t come easy, so we need to continue and build on this.”

United had to fight hard on Sunday after Arsenal dominated the opening half-hour. The Gunners took the lead through a Lisandro Martinez own goal. However, Bryan Mbeumo later scored an equalizer, and stunning second-half goals from Patrick Dorgu and Matheus Cunha secured United’s first league win at Arsenal since 2017.

“The goals were fantastic, and some of the football was very good,” Carrick added. “We looked dangerous at times. Other times we had to defend, but overall it was a performance with a bit of everything.”

Carrick also remained unbeaten during his previous caretaker stint in 2021, which included a 3-2 win against Arsenal, before handing over the role to Ralf Rangnick.

This time, Carrick is set to remain in charge until the end of the season, giving him a chance to make a strong case for the role permanently. His reputation has risen sharply after the recent results.

“What happens next I’m not going to answer every week,” Carrick said when asked about his long-term ambitions. “I’m enjoying it and will keep doing what I can. From our perspective, it’s all about the next game. We’ve only been together for less than two weeks, so we need to keep building good habits and routines. The boys have been fantastic with that.”

“But we can’t look too far ahead. We’ll finish where we finish by getting the results.”

-Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Toby Davis/Reuters