Manchester United will face old rivals Arsenal in their first pre-season friendly in the USA. Ahead of the game, United manager Erik ten Hag said in an interview that the competition in the Premier League next season will reach a new level of intensity and difficulty, and he will lead United to “catch up” in terms of squad depth.
At the press conference in UCLA, Ten Hag said: “We’ve made two very good signings (Zirkzee and Joro), so when everyone is fit I have a squad that can beat anyone, but we must continue to catch up on squad depth because we are very vulnerable when hit by injuries. We must avoid the situation of last season by reducing injuries. In addition, we need to work on the quality of the squad, to be better than last season, because the Premier League next season will be a survival of the fittest.”
The left-back position is a concern for current Manchester United, as Tyrell Malacia is still not fully fit after a year out with injury and Luke Shaw was also sidelined for a long period last season. Ten Hag believes this is something the management needs to focus on and improve. Ten Hag said: “We are looking at opportunities to strengthen in all positions, adding to the squad is already in the plan to ensure we always have enough players. For a club like Manchester United, we must always be looking for better opportunities. We still have time until the transfer deadline of August 30th. The new format of the European leagues means players will be under immense pressure and burden. As I just mentioned, this is a survival of the fittest. We are now entering the new season, and I’ve never thought of myself as being in a strong or weak position. Individual strength cannot accomplish everything, players, staff, management need to come together, and I believe we will achieve greater success.”
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