Mikel Arteta has warned Arsenal must guard against a Manchester United side “lethal” on transitions in Sunday’s Premier League clash at Emirates Stadium.
United have endured a difficult campaign and sacked head coach Ruben Amorim earlier this month but produced their finest display of the season when beating Manchester City 2-0 last weekend under interim boss Michael Carrick.
There were signs of United returning to their counter-attacking best and Arteta was wary of the threat they pose when speaking at his pre-match news conference on Friday.
“They are so good in a lot of departments, it is clear that when that team has the space to run and certain players to activate their runs, they become lethal and you saw that a few days ago in Manchester,” Arteta said.
“But they have a lot of attributes to cause you problems. As well, like every team they have their weaknesses. Historically there has always been something very linked to [counter-attacking] and the profile of the players that they always have and as I said in the beginning they are so good at activating those spaces.
“I don’t know the stats exactly but for sure they are one of the best.”
Riccardo Calafiori (muscular) and Piero Hincapié (thigh) have returned to training while Arteta explained how the club had to be cautious with Kai Havertz‘s return following hamstring and knee problems which have left him waiting since Feb. 5 to start a match in any competition.
“Obviously he has been out for a long time, almost a year for different reasons and now we have to be very smart in the manner that we manage that load, the minutes,” Arteta said.
“I am sure in the next few weeks he is going to play minutes. I cannot tell you which competition because that will depend as well on the game context and it is a context that is positive to throw him in or not with his qualities. It is great that we have him. We can use him in different positions.
“After a long-term injury it is not only the period that you come in it is what happens in the next six to eight weeks and we want to maintain that and manage that really well.”
Arteta also confirmed Ethan Nwaneri is closing in on a loan move to Marseille as the club seek the best way to continue the 18-year-old’s development.
Nwaneri has started just four matches this season as the arrivals of Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze pushed him further down the pecking order and Arteta said: “I think the deal is quite close. It is something that we constantly have to be monitoring: the talented young players that we have, they need minutes.
“And in this case, Ethan wasn’t having enough minutes. After having a discussion with him, his father, the agent and the club, we decided that the best thing to do was to leave and go on loan.
“And then we have to pick the right place. Having all the options, understanding the experience that we had in Marseille as well as with Willy [Saliba], the fact that [manager] Roberto [De Zerbi] is there and he’s an incredible developer of young talent and is a really courageous man in the way he plays.
“A lot of players, they have these kind of situations and just understanding how he’s going to feel because when they talk about the opportunity and the clubs that are interested in you to go the first thing is excitement.
“You are willing to play, you speak to the manager, he’s very keen on you and you’re going to play at the weekend and you’re going to start a lot of games and this is all very good. But one day you have to go, ‘OK, pack your bags, this is the flight tickets and you have to go to Marseille.’
“And that is fear, insecurity, getting out of a place that has been really comfortable for him around his family but then this is the thing, at the end you have to be thrown there into the sharks in an incredible football culture and atmosphere and club and it’s going to make him so much better.”
