Manchester United travel to the capital to face Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday, but could be forced to do battle with Mikel Arteta's table-topping side without a couple of key players
Michael Carrick looks on
Michael Carrick may have some injuries to navigate this weekend(Image: PA)
View 3 Images
Joshua Zirkzee and Matthijs de Ligt have sparked Manchester United injury concerns as both were missing from training on Wednesday morning. Zirkzee was forced out of the Manchester derby at the weekend as a result of a knock, while De Ligt has been unavailable for selection in the last 10 for United owing to a back injury.
Cameras at Carrington captured Michael Carrick instructing his squad on the turf, assisted by Jonathan Woodgate, Steve Holland, Jonny Evans and Travis Binnion. However, with no Zirkzee and De Ligt present, it could spell trouble for this weekend's Premier League clash.
Carrick will hope to build a fine run of form when the Reds travel to north London to face Arsenal on Sunday afternoon. The 44-year-old has stepped in as an interim head coach until the end of the season following the sacking of Ruben Amorim earlier this month.
The former United midfielder's first game in charge saw him secure a convincing 2-0 win over Manchester City on Saturday, with goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu. Speaking after securing all three points at Old Trafford, Carrick said: "It's a great start, there's no getting away from that.
"To be fair, before the game we coaches spoke and we said the boys were in a good place, we were quite happy with the days that we prepared for it. Emotionally where the boys were, they state they were at leaving the changing room - I was quite happy with that leading into the game.
"But then City are an unbelievable team with talent and they can rotate and change things, so there's a plan and then you've got to go plan b and c and work around it. You never really know how the game's going to go, but for it to pan out like that, the boys were fantastic today in so many ways. And to manage it emotionally with the information we've given them, and pulling it together, it was pretty good."
Joshua Zirkzee looks on
Joshua Zirkzee missed the Manchester derby(Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)
View 3 Images
Sunday's match, however, will arguably give United their toughest test this season. At present, Arsenal sit top of the Premier League with 15 wins, five draws and just two losses to show for their efforts.
They also enjoyed a 1-0 win over the Reds on opening weekend thanks to Riccardo Calafiori's decisive 13th-minute strike, which United will be eager to get back at the Emirates Stadium. Currently fifth in the standings and with high hopes of stamping their place in Europe for 2026/27, United should be able to deploy a near full-strength first-team against the Gunners this weekend, albeit potentially without Zirkzee and De Ligt.
Mbeumo, Amad and Noussair Mazraoui have now returned from the Africa Cup Of Nations, in a major triple boost for the Reds going forward. And with Kobbie Mainoo slotting in alongside Casemiro against City, Bruno Fernandes should be free to thrive in an attacking-role he has been starved of for most of the season under Amorim.
Matthijs De Ligt applauds
Matthijs De Ligt has been absent for some time(Image: Getty Images)
View 3 Images
It comes as Carrick looks likely to stick with the squad he has inherited for the second-half of the season, with minimal talk of incomings and outgoings on United's part in the January transfer window. While Zirkzee and Mainoo were linked with loan moves to Roma and Napoli respectively, it appears as though they will now stay put until at least the end of the season.