Every word from Ten Hag’s pre-Arsenal press conference

The Premier League's current pacesetters are the visitors to Old Trafford for Sunday's 16:30 BST kick-off, when United could make it four wins on the spin in the competition. 

Speaking at the King Power Stadium in the aftermath of our victory over Leicester, Ten Hag fielded questions on our recent defensive play, absentees, Antony’s availability and more in the first part of the briefing, which you can watch in the video below…

It seemed quite clear [against Leicester] that there was movement and understanding on the pitch that had been worked on, on the training ground. I just wondered, is that what you saw?
“Yes, I have seen some good stuff but it’s more than details. I see structures are coming, we are constructing. That is good to see but we have to do that and improve from game to game and [do that with] work on the training ground, work on the video and work in the games.”

In terms of the spaces you want to exploit better, how can they do that? What should they improve?
“I think it’s about formation, about getting and creating lines and then making the right decisions. Also, the decisions on the ball, but also out of possession, we are making a good step, we have a base but there is still a lot of room for improvement.”

How are you feeling about your defenders at the moment, individually and collectively?
“Collectively, I see the whole team as defending. That makes it easier for our defenders. But I think what they do well is they cooperate, they do it together, they support each other, and then they have a good performance. It’s difficult for opponents to create chances, that is what we see at this moment on the pitch.”

Just wondering what the situation is with Anthony Martial? Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka were not in the squad tonight, so what’s their availability for Sunday as well?
“It’s difficult to say when I talk about Luke Shaw and Aaron but Anthony Martial will not be involved on Sunday.”

When do you think you will have him available again?
“I cannot tell at this moment.”

In terms of Antony, do you see him being able to feature in the game on Sunday? Have you seen enough of him to know that his condition is strong enough for that?
“Today, he did his first training, individual[ly]. Tomorrow, we have a team session and Saturday we have a team session, so I will think about it and then we will take a decision.”

There was plenty of surprise that Casemiro didn’t start tonight, but now you’re going to see Thursday and Sunday games, is that a new challenge for you -  having to select for games on Thursday when you’ve got important league games on Sunday as well?
“No, it is an option but also, I have to think, I have seen Arsenal, a tough opponent, they have started really well as we all know in the season and you can see there is a team who are [a] long [time] together, with a coach who brings his philosophy in the team. So, this is a good test and I’m really looking forward [to it]. We will pick the right XI to start but as you see, it’s not only a team, we have a squad and also, today, the subs who came on did really well so I’m happy with that. That is what we have to construct further.”