‘Refurbished’ Manchester United give Arsenal a reality check in the title race: Is Michael Carrick United's permanent solution?

Manchester United are favourites to finish in the top four this season. (Image credits – CommonsWikipedia, Licence Details

Manchester United landed a heavy blow to Arsenal in the Premier League title race as the Red Devils stunned the Emirates with a 3-2 victory on Sunday.

The Gunners have now dropped points in two consecutive fixtures, and now the lead at the top is down to just four points. Manchester City and Aston Villa are lurking right behind the north London giants in the table.

Michael Carrick has won two consecutive games in charge of the club since taking it over from Ruben Amorim. The derby victory against Manchester City and the victory on Sunday was the first one at the Emirates since 2017.

While Amorim's side looked destined for disaster, Carrick has turned the side into genuine top-four contenders after just two games in charge.

Arsenal did start the game in a strong fashion but were disastrous on the ball. Martin Zubimendi gifted the visitors their equaliser when his pass was caught by Bryan Mbuemo, who rounded off a helpless David Raya in goal and scored.

Patrick Dorgu impressed yet again on the wings, scoring a sensational goal after getting played on by Bruno Fernandes. Arteta's side took advantage of a set-piece situation as usual to equalise late on, but the game had more twists to follow.

Matheus Cunha banged a sensational goal from distance just before full time to salvage all three points for the Red Devils and pile on Arsenal's misery as they are getting haunted by the ghosts of the past.

United are finally getting their identity back, and one of the most underrated players for them has been Senne Lammens who has been a wall at Old Trafford ever since his arrival

Should Manchester United give Michael Carrick a permanent contract?

Michael Carrick has been appointed as the interim manager for Manchester United, and as per the contract, his role would end at the end of the season. 

Pundits had criticised the board’s decision to appoint someone who had only managed Middlesbrough before in his career. With around 15 games to go, fans were skeptical about this appointment.

However, Carrick has shown clarity in his gameplan and has picked all six points against Manchester City and Arsenal consecutively which is a massive feat for someone who barely has any coaching experience.

The Englishman hasn't done anything ‘rocket science' in the team, but simply adapted the lineup to a 4-2-3-1 formation which has allowed Patrick Dorgu to find his full potential as a winger. Bryan Mbuemo has been deployed as the no.10, which gives him more freedom than what he used to under Amorim who put him as a no.9.

What makes Michael Carrick different from previous other managers who perished is that he has focused on the basics and brought the best out of the talent he has got in the team. Manchester United is no place for experiments, and he's showing that now.

United have been pressing way more aggressively under Carrick; the defending has improved, and the frontline has started to click finally. The Red Devils are able to quickly transition and counterattack the opposition due to the shift from the 3-4-3 formation to the classic 4-2-3-1.

Should Manchester United sign Carrick permanently? Well, for the answer, we have to wait until the season ends because Ole Solskjær had done a brilliant job during his interim role, but he flopped when he was tasked with assembling a quality team. The Red Devils' are firmly in the race for top four and are favourites to achieve it if they do not drop silly points in the journey.