^ ^ ‘It will never work’ – Gary Neville questions decision to start ‘limited’ Man Utd star

Carrick was left with very few options in midfield against Leeds (Picture: Getty Images)

Gary Neville has warned a midfield partnership of Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte was ‘never going to work’ after Manchester United’s defeat to Leeds United.

Michael Carrick suffered his second defeat since taking the reins at Old Trafford on Monday night with Leeds securing a famous 2-1 win to ease their Premier League relegation fears.

The United boss was forced into two changes last night with Kobbie Mainoo ruled out after picking up a knock in training. Ugarte started his first game under Carrick in his place in midfield.

Harry Maguire was suspended as a result of the red card he picked up against Bournemouth with Lisandro Martinez returning from injury to replace hm – before he himself was sent off in the second-half.

With Noussair Mazraoui also starting at right-back ahead of Diogo Dalot after a recent bout of illness, United were far from full strength with Neville admitting he had concerns the moment he saw the team sheet.

United have made rebuilding their midfield a top priority this summer with their limitations in a long-neglected area of the pitch on show against Leeds. Without Mainoo, their only other central midfield option was 19-year-old Tyler Fletcher with him and Mason Mount remaining among the subs.

While Neville saw problems elsewhere in the XI, midfield was his biggest concern, insisting Ugarte’s limitations on the ball meaning he and Casemiro together cannot be considered a viable partnership for the remainder of the season.

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Ugarte started his first game under Carrick last night (Picture: Getty)

‘When I saw the team, I wasn’t sure about it,’ Neville said on the Gary Neville Podcast.

‘Maybe it was Mainoo not in there, Maguire not in there, maybe because Mbeumo wasn’t playing. It just didn’t feel like it was a team that was going to connect together.

‘Maybe it was the Ugarte-Casemiro partnership in midfield which Carrick probably feels he has to use because it is the two he has got and it is the hand he has been dealt. But it’s not a partnership that is ever going to work.

Mainoo missed the defeat to Leeds through injury (Picture: Getty)

‘Casemiro has been a world class player and there were times he was driving the team forward and scored the goal but Ugarte has been well short since he came to the club and if he is to play alongside someone, he needs a football player beside him because he is really limited on the ball.

‘Carrick has not started him in a game, so that means your midfield is blocked. Sesko up front is more than a target than someone who links. I always think if you have Amad [Diallo], Mbeumo, [Matheus] Cunha and Fernandes there is a fluidity to it. When Sesko plays, United are very different.’

United will be desperate to have Mainoo available again in time for Saturday’s trip to Chelsea.

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^ ^ Paul Scholes makes confident title prediction ahead of Man City vs Arsenal showdown

Paul Scholes feels the momentum has decisively shifted in the Premier League title race

Paul Scholes fears there is no way back for Arsenal in the Premier League title race and is confident Manchester City will have their measure in Sunday’s top of the table clash.

The Gunners saw their nine-point lead reduced last weekend when their home defeat against Bournemouth was ruthlessly capitalised on by Pep Guardiola’s side who are hitting form at just the right point in the season.

A devastating second-half display at Stamford Bridge, decorated by quickfire goals from Nico O’Reilly, Marc Guehi and Jeremy Doku helped put Chelsea to the sword and piled the pressure on Arsenal.

Mikel Arteta’s side appear to be wilting in the face of mounting scrutiny and their record against the Premier League’s elite is hardly cause for optimism as they prepare to travel to the Etihad, a venue at which they haven’t won since 2015.

Faltering Arsenal must first overcome Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League tomorrow night before attention will turn to a potentially decisive clash with City, but Scholes fears the result is already something of a foregone conclusion.

‘I just think Arsenal have gone, me,’ the former Manchester United midfielder told  The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast

‘I just think all the momentum is with City. At some point, you have to beat your rivals. I’ve not seen them do it, they don’t win big games.’

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Arsenal were well beaten by Bournemouth last weekend (Picture: Getty)

Scholes’ former teammate and podcast co-presenter Nicky Butt agreed the writing appears to be on the wall for a group of players who are displaying the mental fragility that has reared its head in the past.

‘Until you’ve won it, or got over that hurdle, it is an absolute nightmare,’ he said.

‘You’re just thinking that you’re going to let them down again, and you can see that now with Arsenal and City, especially with Pep in charge, the amount of times he’s won the title.’

Pep Guardiola’s side are hitting form at just the right time in the season (Picture: Getty)

A third former United midfield general and multiple title winner Roy Keane, meanwhile, argued it us up to the senior players in the Arsenal dressing room, including Declan Rice, to get a grip of the current situation and display some much-needed leadership.

He said: ‘Rice has to show more leadership skills. That was a nervous performance. It’s okay being nervous, it’s how you deal with it.

‘When a team is pressing you – and Bournemouth really were – when it goes back to the goalkeeper and you’re showing for it, don’t; you’ve got a big target man.

‘Don’t complicate it, especially if you’re nervous. I’d rather be nervous up the field than giving the ball away cheaply in our own half.

Roy Keane believes Declan Rice needs to show more leadership at Arsenal (Picture: Getty)

‘You have to smell these things. It’s not like Arsenal learned from the first half, they were doing it in the second half too.

‘People like Rice, talking about leadership skills, they’ve got to get a grip of people.

‘People are looking at Arteta, the fans are nervous, no – this is on the players.

‘The fans aren’t going to do it for you, the manager can only do so much, he’s got a great squad together in a brilliant position.

‘Arsenal have got to get a grip – or it will slip by.’

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^ ^ Gary Lineker makes Man City vs Arsenal prediction for Premier League title decider

Gary Lineker has discussed the Premier League title race (Picture: Getty)

Gary Lineker has changed his Premier League title prediction after Manchester City took advantage of Arsenal’s defeat to Bournemouth by beating Chelsea.

Arsenal had the chance to open up a 12-point lead at the top of the table on Saturday but slipped to a 2-1 defeat at home to Bournemouth.

Man City took full advantage of their title rivals’ setback, thumping Chelsea 3-0 on Sunday to cut Arsenal’s lead in the title race to just six points.

Pep Guardiola’s side have a game in hand to pull even closer to Arsenal and a monumental home match against the Gunners next weekend.

England legend Lineker has repeatedly backed Arsenal to become Premier League champions but has changed his mind after a potentially defining weekend in the title race. 

‘They had nothing against Bournemouth, no creativity whatsoever,’ Lineker said on The Rest is Football podcast. ‘They didn’t seem to have any belief at all.

Arsenal lost at home to Bournemouth (Picture: Getty)

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‘They weren’t even very good defensively and they’ve pretty much been able to guarantee that this season.

‘It was the first time I thought they might not win the title, particularly following Man City’s performance against Chelsea in the second half when I thought they were absolutely brilliant. 

‘I just thought to myself, for the first time I’m actually not sure Arsenal are going to do it. I’ve been convinced for months but I’m not sure now. Next week’s game is a monster, isn’t it? 

Manchester City thumped Chelsea at Stamford Bridge (Picture: Getty)

‘I’ve been telling everyone I know that Arsenal will be fine and that they’re not going to choke. But they’re stuttering, they’ve lost their form at the moment and we know how important momentum is. 

‘And all the momentum now is with Man City. It’s so tough to call now but if you said you need to put your life on the line, which I’d hate to have to do under these circumstances, I’d probably now go City because I think they will win next week.’

Meanwhile, Gary Neville – who won eight Premier League titles at Manchester United – believes it will be ‘traumatic’ for Arsenal if they miss out on the title once again.

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‘I said a few months ago that Arsenal have to win this title from the position that they’re in and I still believe they have to because it’s a long road back at the end of the season,’ Neville told Sky Sports.

‘If they don’t win it this year, it will really be traumatic. We know the build-up to the game next week, what the narrative is going to be against Arsenal – that Man City are going to catch you, and there seems to be a sense of joy watching Arsenal collapse.

‘They’ve got to try and swim against the tide and hold their nerve. They’ve got a job to do in midweek in the Champions League, which actually might be helpful for them.

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‘If Arsenal had a week to think about this match [against Man City], I don’t think it would help them at all. They can maybe get some confidence through progressing to the Champions League semi-final.

‘But before next Sunday, they’ve got to find a balance of that emotion that you need, which is passion and fight to win a football match, but not becoming too desperate.

‘Arsenal losing on Saturday isn’t because they don’t want it – it’s because they want it too much and their legs have started to get heavy.

‘You’re going for your first title, you start to become consumed, and it’s the mentally emotional drain that means your legs physically appear tired.

‘That’s a bit of what we saw against Bournemouth – the expectation of ‘we’re going to win this match, we’re going to win a title, and we’re desperate to do it’.

‘They’re not saying that themselves, it’s the noise around the club, the emotion in the stadium, the expectation, the fact they’ve not done it in the last two or three years when they’ve been in this position.

‘This is where it gets real. This is the title race now, and they’ve got to somehow clear their minds and get that emotional balance correct.’

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^ ^ Arsenal legend Paul Merson makes Manchester United title prediction

Ex-Arsenal and England winger Paul Merson (Picture: Getty)

Paul Merson has rated Manchester United’s chances of winning the Premier League next season following their impressive revival under Michael Carrick.

Sitting sixth at the time of Ruben Amorim’s sacking in January, United have climbed to third in the Premier League since Carrick’s appointment as caretaker manager.

Manchester United have been one of most in-form teams in Europe since Carrick took over, losing just one of their last ten games.

With the top-five Premier League teams qualifying for next season’s Champions League, United look set to return to Europe’s top club competition.

It has also been suggested that Manchester United could once again challenge for the Premier League title, a trophy they have not won since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013.

But Merson says United are still ‘not ready’ to ‘fight for the title’, insisting they need to bolster their squad this summer and prove they can be a more competitive force before being regarded as title contenders.

The ex-Arsenal and England winger does expect Manchester United to qualify for the Champions League but has predicted they will drop points against relegation-battlers Leeds United in their next outing on Monday night.

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Man Utd caretaker manager Michael Carrick (Picture: Getty)

The Red Devils have had almost a whole month off since their last game, a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth back on March 20.

‘This is a big rivalry,’ Merson told Sportskeeda. ‘Leeds are playing well at the moment, but they can’t find a goal.

‘I thought they did well against Manchester City, couldn’t score. Same with the Sunderland game as well.

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‘If you look at the fixtures, Manchester United should have enough to qualify for the Champions League next season. But this is still a difficult game.

‘If Chelsea beat Manchester City and United drew with Leeds, a win for the Blues in the match against them next weekend would mean they are just two points ahead of Rosenior’s team! That’s how tight it is.

‘I don’t think Manchester United are ready to fight for the title next season. They need a few more players to come in. I don’t see them being competitive over 38 games with the same team.

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Is Bruno the best midfielder in the world? 🌍 Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes made another two assists against the USA in Portugal’s 2-0 victory in their international friendly, which takes his goal contribution tally to 30 in all competitions for club and country this season! #brunofernandes #manchesterunited #portugal #usmnt #assists

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‘Manchester United’s focus should only be on getting back in the Champions League. If they can stay in that competition, it gives them good money to build their squad

‘Now we’re used to seeing them play just once a week, but that isn’t where this club belongs and they need to get back up there quick.

‘I have a feeling Leeds will get a point here, I’ll go with a 1-1 draw.’

Despite Manchester United’s impressive revival under Carrick, Old Trafford bosses are yet to decide on their next permanent manager.

United’s Amad Diallo recently backed Carrick for the role, saying: ‘From a personal view he’s the right man. He has a lot of experience; he knows the club and has the DNA.

‘His relationship with every player is very good. Sometimes this kind of manager can bring the club where they belong.

‘It’s not the players who decide but my honest opinion is we’re really happy to have Michael Carrick as a manager.’

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