Solskjaer: My players can handle the pressure

Monday night’s clash against the Gunners will be our second meeting with a traditional top-six rival this season, following the 4-0 win over Chelsea on the opening weekend.

With some senior players set to miss the game, including Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial, Ole will again need to rely on other members of the squad to step up to the occasion. 

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, the boss discussed his responsibility as manager to motivate the team, and insisted that his men can handle the pressure ahead of our floodlit encounter with Unai Emery’s side.

“My job is to lead them, guide them and tell them that we trust them,” the boss said. "At any football club, the state of affairs is always the manager's responsibility. It's [down to] my decisions.

"The players are here because they're good players and we trust them. I'm sure they can handle it.”

So far this season, United’s defence has been one of the sturdiest in the Premier League. Ahead of this weekend’s fixtures, only Liverpool and Leicester City had conceded fewer goals. 

However, Ole acknowledged that the Reds have lacked some firepower at the opposite end of the pitch, with a tally of six goals in seven matches across all competitions since four were put past Chelsea.

“We need to score more, definitely,” admitted the manager. "We're working on improving the relationships, the patterns, the understanding [between players].

"I think that we've done great defensively, but of course we're not happy with the return going forward.”

Consistency seems to be a cornerstone of Ole's game plan - in the Premier League, only four alterations have been made to the XI that started against Chelsea on 11 August, with three of those changes being forced due to injury.

For last week's match against West Ham, the Norwegian named an unchanged XI for the second time this season, following our 1-0 success over Leicester City

"We're getting more and more settled in the way we want to play," Ole said. "We don't chop and change as much. Last season when I came in we had to change a bit more.

“When you decide on this as a long-term project, you need to find a way that you want to play and that's why I think it's easier for the players. [We tell them] 'OK, these are the principles we are going to play by.'”

2 - Man Utd have named an unchanged starting XI in the Premier League for the second time this season - they didn't name a single unchanged side in this competition in 2018-19. Order. pic.twitter.com/a8zlZLdtKc

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 22, 2019

When asked about potentially changing his style, Ole affirmed: "I'm not doubting myself. If I doubt myself, then I think the rest of the world would [doubt me] as well. We have had loads of discussions, so we believe in what we're doing."

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