Ole Gunnar Solskjaer declared Manchester United have put their humiliating 6-1 defeat to Tottenham behind them as he prepares for his 100th game in charge this afternoon.
The Norwegian says the battering at the hands of former United manager Jose Mourinho was dealt with “internally” – but three wins out of four since that match is the response he wanted from his players.
Ahead of Sunday’s meeting with Arsenal, which see him take charge of a century of games, he believes United are looking themselves again after the 5-1 Champions League win against RB Leipzig midweek.
“I think any result as brutal as a 6-1 would have to get a response and, of course, it has been dealt with internally,” he said.
“We’ve tweaked a couple of things, got players fit and I think the manner of defeat wasn’t something we should ever have to be confronted with again.
“Things happen in football these days and the response has been fantastic, we wanted to finish that off as soon as we could and move forward.
“At the moment, we are looking like a Man United squad because I’ve got opportunities, I’ve got options for places.
“Any successful team in the modern era of football has had that option to rest players and to rotate.
“That’s probably the only way you can last in this, the most intense league in the world, for me, and also in the Champions League. You want to go for the trophies.”
United are without the suspended Anthony Martial and new signing Alex Telles, who tested positive for Coronavirus.
Donny van de Beek impressed on a rare start against Leipzig, but Bruno Fernandes comes back into the starting line up with Paul Pogba also returning in a 4-4-2.
“The squad looks good,” he told MUTV.
“There were no injuries from Wednesday which of course is a big plus when you think of every game we play and the intensity. We’re getting better and better, I think everyone is seeing now that our fitness and sharpness is more up to speed and we should be ready for that game.”
Manchester United line-up (4-2-3-1): De Gea, Wan Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw, Fred, McTominay, Pogba, Bruno Fernandes, Rashford, Greenwood
Subs: Cavani, Mata, Henderson, Matic, Williams, van de Beek, Tuanzebe
Date and time: Sunday, November 1, 4.30pm
Venue: Old Trafford
Referee: Mike Dean
TV: Sky Sports Main Event
Last meeting: Arsenal 2-0 United
United squad: David de Gea, Lee Grant, Dean Henderson, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Brandon Williams, Axel Tuanzebe, Ethan Laird, Teden Mengi, Paul Pogba, Juan Mata, Fred, Bruno Fernandes, Daniel James, Facundo Pellistri, Nemanja Matic, Donny van de Beek, Scott McTominay, Edinson Cavani, Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood, Odion Ighalo
Injured: Bailly (hamstring), Lingard (hamstring), Telles (Covid)
Suspended: Martial
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