Michael Carrick says he will be involved in the summer transfer business at Manchester United.<\/p>\n
Carrick was speaking in the embargoed section of the pre-match press conference ahead of tomorrow\u2019s Premier League clash with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.<\/p>\n
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The first question in this section was \u201cIn your four games in charge of this club, you\u2019ve unbeaten against now Guardiola, two clubs, Henry and Arteta. That has to give you confidence going into a game like Sunday?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carrick replied:<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be honest with you, I think the confidence I\u2019m taking going into the game is what we\u2019ve seen since I\u2019ve been here, between me and my staff in the terms of the game itself, training, how the boys have gone about it. Games from three or four years ago, it\u2019s done, it\u2019s in the past. So as much as the experience helps you in certain moments, I think it\u2019s a totally different game on Sunday. Two teams going into it, I\u2019m looking forward to it in good shape.\u201d<\/p>\n
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On Ole Gunnar Solskjaer\u2019s involvement<\/p>\n
The interim boss was then asked whether he had had any discussions with former manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who was the last United manager to win at the Emirates.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I spoke to him,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m close. We\u2019ve been through a lot together. He\u2019s been fully supportive, as you\u2019d expect. He\u2019s some man and I respect him a lot. So, yeah, he wished us all the best and he was happy that we got the right result.\u201d<\/p>\n
The reporter asked \u201cWould you pick his brains as well, or does he keep a respectful distance there?\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cI think, friendships, you have conversations,\u201d Carrick replied. \u201cI\u2019ve got a lot of friends in places that I can pick on if I need to be. I\u2019m not one that bothers a lot of people, to be honest. But he\u2019s certainly there if ever I need him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Will he set up his team to play proactively against the Gunners as he did against City?<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s playing to what we feel the game needs, really,\u201d he answered. \u201cI think, yeah, we\u2019ll have to wait and see. But as I said, they\u2019re a good team, and City is a good team. And attacking-wise, they\u2019ve got different ways of \u2026 I think they are good when they attack the box and cover the width of the box very well. They ask questions with different ways of entering the box, down the sides, opposite side, crosses. They\u2019re very well organised, they\u2019re well drilled, you can see that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cSo I thought we defend the box when we had to, particularly well last week. We didn\u2019t have to defend the box maybe as long as people expected. I think we kept the game in good places for what we wanted to, and credit to the boys for that. Every game is different. There\u2019s an element to that. It\u2019s never the same. Even you come on in half-time and you\u2019ve had a good performance for 45 minutes, I\u2019m never one that likes to see them again because it\u2019s never ever the same again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to build on it. So it won\u2019t be copy and paste. I think there\u2019s new elements that need to come into it. We need to be ready. We need to be our best. And if we\u2019re our best and we\u2019re there, we feel we\u2019ve got a good chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick Dorgu: winger or wing-back?<\/p>\n
The next question was \u201cPatrick Dorgu<\/a> has been very good over the last few weeks. Do you think his long-term future lies on the wing instead of a traditional fullback? He seems to be enjoying himself a bit further forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Carrick replied:<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, I think he can do both, to be honest. Pat, I think he was immense last week. He\u2019s worked great in the way he played the position, but the threat, constant threat, and the goal was the obvious one. But I think his general player was something we were really pleased about. So I wouldn\u2019t want to pin him down, to be honest. I think he can do both, but certainly, attacking-wise, in that threat, he was pretty impressive last week.\u201d<\/p>\n The final question was:<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, Casemiro<\/a>, as mentioned, is going to be at the end of the season. I think deep in midfield is an area that the club will very much look to reinforce in the summer. It\u2019s not something you get to the end of the season. Who are we going to sign? It\u2019s obviously a progressive thing. Is your opinion going to be canvased over the coming months about the identity, if possible, of midfielders? Obviously, you\u2019ve been seen as a goal. You\u2019ve watched the club for years. A lot of fans feel that the team has missed the character you showed in midfield.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou probably weren\u2019t saying that when I was playing,\u201d Carrick joked. \u201cI\u2019m certainly in this position to do that. And as I said, I think making decisions for the club moving forward, whatever that may be, I\u2019m fully committed to that. Naturally, as a midfielder, then there\u2019s a big tendency towards that anyway. But taking that away from it and now being where I am in the position I am certainly going to be part of those conversations and moving forward because it\u2019s important we get the next steps right in terms of moving forward as a team and as a squad and putting the right things in place. So I\u2019ll be part of that in the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n Details of the first part of the presser can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images<\/p>\n