Erik ten Hag is facing fresh calls to be sacked as Manchester United manager but Arsenal fans are hoping he is given at least a week longer in the job.
An injury-ravaged United side were taken apart by a rampant Crystal Palace team, rejuvenated under the guidance of new boss Oliver Glasner, at Selhurst Park last night.
A brace from the outstanding Michael Olise allied to goals from in-form Jean-Philippe Mateta and defender Tyrick Mitchell secured a 4-0 win, but the scoreline hardly did justice to the chasm in class that existed between both teams.
New United supremo Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his backroom team had been planning to give Ten Hag until the end of the season to prove he is worthy of a third term, but the INEOS chief may well have already seen enough to suggest urgent action needs to be taken.
Former Red Devils striker Michael Owen called for Ten Hag’s head in the aftermath of the Palace defeat and suggested current No.2 Steve McClaren should take over until the end of the campaign.
And while most United fans would reluctantly accept the writing is on the wall for Ten Hag, Arsenal supporters are desperate for the former Ajax manager to be given at least a week longer in his current role.
The title-chasing Gunners will head to Old Trafford on Sunday as overwhelming favourites to claim three points that would cement their place at the top of the table, heading into the final week of the season.
Arsenal’s record at the Theatre of Dreams, however, is anything but encouraging. Indeed, their only top flight win there since 2006 came three-and-a-half years ago when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s penalty proved decisive in a match that was played out in an empty stadium due to Covid restrictions.
With United’s confidence at such a low ebb, Arsenal would be justifiably confident of improving their terrible record at a particularly unhappy hunting ground, but the prospect of a new man in the dugout could provide the FA Cup finalists with a new lease of life.
The new manager bounce helped Everton cause a shock at Goodison Park last season when James Tarkowski’s header helped Sean Dyche celebrate his first match in charge of Everton with a win over Arsenal, and Gooners are desperate to avoid a similar scenario this weekend.
‘I keep telling y’all that Ten Hag is better than Arteta,’ wrote one fan, sarcastically, on X. ‘Give him time at United. Trust the process. Give him more money.’
‘He’ll be sacked by next week and we’ll have to deal with Interim Manager Bounce FC,’ wrote another supporter, concerned that Ten Hag will be given his marching orders imminently.
‘I’m Ten Hag IN, Poch IN and Ange IN,’ wrote another Arsenal supporter, who also appeared to be enjoying the disarray engulfing London rivals Chelsea and Spurs.
‘As an Arsenal fan, I’d love to see them handed 10 year contracts.’
Asked directly, meanwhile, whether or not he felt he was the right man to lead United into a new era, Ten Hag issued a defiant response last night.
‘Absolutely,’ he said. ‘If the right players are there, so available, then we have a good squad. But we miss almost the full back line, then we have problems.’
Ten Hag also added: ‘I will keep fighting. I prepared the team in the best way I could do.
‘It was not good enough, I have to take responsibility for that but I will find energy and prepare them for Sunday’s game.
‘It’s clear, it’s obvious, this is underperforming. We didn’t act how we wanted to and it’s not good enough. We are very disappointed.
‘Our fans were behind us and we should have kept fighting like the fans did. There are always reasons, everyone sees our backline, we have huge problems. At the end of the day, we have to deal with it and we should have done better.’
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