Ten Hag has three Man Utd midfield set-ups to take on Arsenal without Casemiro
Erik ten Hag echoed Sir Alf Ramsey when he addressed Casemiro's suspension from Manchester United's clash with Premier League leaders Arsenal tomorrow.
“Last time we beat Arsenal without Casemiro,” said Ten Hag. “So this time we have to do the same again.” After Germany equalised late on to send the 1966 World Cup final into extra-time, Ramsey famously told England's players, “You've won it once, now go out and win it again.”
Casmerio's enforced absence, after picking up a fifth booking of the season in United's 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace on Wednesday, is a huge blow ahead of the trip to Emirates Stadium.
Ten Hag often refers to the five-time Champions League winner as “the cement between the stones” and the experienced Brazilian has been a key factor in United's resurgence this season.
Casemiro has started United's last 12 Premier League games, a solitary defeat in that run underlining the importance of the 30-year-old to Ten Hag's side.
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The reality for Ten Hag is that he does not possess a specialist holding midfielder to replace Casemiro, certainly not one with his intelligent reading of the game and his passing range.
How do you think Man Utd should set up without Casemiro? Comment here.
Casemiro's yellow card against Crystal Palace has ruled him out of the trip to Arsenal (PA)The last time Fred played there, alongside Christian Eriksen, United lost 4-0 at Brentford, while the last time Scott McTominay was deployed in the role, United shipped six goals at Manchester City.
That underlines what a huge loss Casemiro will be for a game United cannot afford to lose if they are to maintain their unlikely title push and remain on course to secure a top-four place.
Ten Hag knows the scale of the task facing United at Arsenal, in particular the importance of winning the midfield battle. If United are overrun in the centre of the pitch, Arsenal will run amok.
Fred is likely to come into the Manchester United starting XI (Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)In Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka and Martin Odegaard, Arsenal possess arguably the most complete midfield in the Premier League, complemented by a formidable front three of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah, in for the injured Gabriel Jesus.
United will need to nullify Arsenal's midfield and stop the supply to the front three if they are to have any chance of leaving north London with something. One option for Ten Hag is to partner Fred with Eriksen, banking on the former's industry and work ethic to fill the void left by Casemiro.
Another option would be to get an extra midfielder in the centre, to match up to Arsenal, playing McTominay alongside Eriksen, with Fred slightly more advanced and able to drop back in to help defend, with a front three of Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and Antony.
Ten Hag could opt for a third, far more bold move, by moving Lisandro Martinez into central midfield, alongside Eriksen, keeping Luke Shaw in central defence and Tyrell Malacia at left-back, where they played against City last Saturday.
Whatever personnel and system Ten Hag deploys, he will remind his players they are the only side to beat Arsenal in the league this season, winning 3-1 at Old Trafford in September, with the Dutchman confident his players know they can match Mikel Arteta's side.
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"We know what to do," said Ten Hag. "We have to be really good and need a really good performance, but if we do, we have a good chance to get a good result."
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