“After a lot of thought and deliberation, I have decided that now is the right time for me to leave the club. It’s not been an easy decision to make, but I feel it’s the right one."
Unknown to most until the return to the dressing room after the final whistle, Thursday night's meeting with Arsenal would be Michael Carrick's farewell after 15 years as both a player and coach at United. The baton would be passed to Ralf Rangnick come Friday, with the climax of Carrick's caretaker spell at the helm also spelling the end to any role as a first team coach.
"It was 100% my decision," said the legendary former midfielder.
Despite Carrick knowing it was his last dance at United, he was still entirely focused on and "looking forward" to the task at hand. Undoubtedly, it was a dream come true for him to take charge of the club in front of a packed Old Trafford crowd.
The task at hand was to provide an upturn in fortunes for United against Arsenal, with Thursday's hosts winless in six Premier League matches against the North London outfit. Defeat would see United fall eight points adrift of Arsenal, possibly causing them to fall to as low as 11th in the standings. The home side were in search of their first league win at Old Trafford since the 4-1 victory against Newcastle in early September, hoping to respond to being outplayed by both Liverpool and Manchester City of late.
United were hit with a couple of new absentees. Aaron Wan-Bissaka's absence saw Diogo Dalot start for the first time in the Premier League for over two years, whilst Nemanja Matic's enforced omission saw Cristiano Ronaldo return to bolster the attacking numbers.
“Nemanja has picked up a little niggle, he felt his hamstring. Hudson-Odoi stood on Aaron’s hand the other day, so he’s in a fair bit of pain - it was touch and go but he didn’t make it."
Harry Maguire was the third change, with the captain returning from suspension in place of Eric Bailly. Alex Telles made his third consecutive start for United, with Carrick suggesting that the club are "just being careful" with relation to Luke Shaw's return from concussion, "assessing it day by day".
Matic's injury saw Scott McTominay and Fred stand alone in the midfield, with Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford starting again with Bruno Fernandes in the middle. No doubt, the starting side looked far more attack-minded.
Before things got underway, the Stretford End brandished the '20LEGEND' banner to thank Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the first match at Old Trafford since the Norwegian's sacking. A nice touch, it must be said.
The Theatre of Dreams was rocking, but United didn't follow suit immediately after the get-go. With less than a minute gone, a misplaced pass from Sancho deep in United's defensive third gifted Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang the ball inside the box. Maguire produced a firm block to deny the Gabonese international, with Rashford forced into getting a crucial foot onto the ball to deny it from sneaking over the line from the subsequent corner. United conceded 15 corners against Chelsea, and had to defend the onslaught of three in the opening 90 seconds on Thursday night.
United managed to cope with the early flurry from their opposition, with the game settling as the opening exchanges progressed. Nonetheless, the well-structured Arsenal shape continued to restrict an already very lacklustre home side. It was Arsenal who kept dominating the ball early in proceedings, with the majority of the action coming in United's own half. There were sighters both Dalot and Aubameyang, though no real clear-cut chances followed the frantic starting phase.
There were some early signs of more of a United press as Rangnick looked on from the stands, with one particular instance seeing Fred show real intent to dispossess Thomas Partey. In subsequence, the Brazilian sent Ronaldo on his way, but the eventual effort was wayward from the Portuguese on his weaker side. To the frustration of those within Old Trafford, the United number seven seemed to ignore the seemingly more favourable option of Rashford's run to his side.
The squandering of that opportunity proved quite costly for United, as they fell foul to a huge controversy to concede shortly after. It was a completely unprecedented situation that lead to the go-ahead goal, stemming from yet another Arsenal corner. Fred accidentally stood on David de Gea’s achilles, which left the United goalkeeper grounded clutching his foot. Referee Martin Atkinson didn’t seem to spot the United goalkeeper on the ground, nor was the ball put out of play. With De Gea lying on the floor of his goal, Emile Smith-Rowe was able to hit from outside the box into an essentially open goal after Mohamed Elneny recovered the ball from a headed clearance.
It seemed at one stage that the referee was about to blow his whistle but was halted with his eyes on the Smith-Rowe attempt, soon realising it was too late when he blew to signify a stoppage to play. It's likely that he thought it was a foul that left De Gea down and, by compliance to the law, had to wait for the ball to hit the net so VAR could come into operation to check for a foul.
Anyway, the ball was already in the net when Atkinson blew, and it seemed he knew had acknowledged De Gea's injury too late. Referees are supposed to be tasked with scanning the box for such instances after corners, and he must have been completely unsighted to have spotted De Gea down so late. By the rules of the game, it had to be given as a goal once the ball hit the back of the net. Atkinson did look extremely apologetic.
Could Arsenal have done anything more sporting? Firstly, surely someone spotted De Gea down; for all the opposing players (and officials) knew, it could’ve been a more serious injury. It was incredibly unsporting for Arsenal to then wheel away in celebration after the goal was awarded, with questions raised as to whether they should have given United a goal back under the circumstances (similar to the Leeds-Villa predicament a few years back). Nothing of that ilk occurred. It was a remarkably bizarre situation.
Football can be unjust, and United had to get on with business. Getting on with business they did, with Ronaldo at the heart of a number of responsive surges from his side. There were some good passages from the home side, but they did look systematically detached at times. Often, Carrick's side remained too slow and passive in possession, with an excessive number of passes played sideways and backwards. Arsenal were effective in their own high press, limiting United's capabilities against such discipline.
Those in red were cutting frustrated figures, even irritated by minor issues such as the ball.
There were no concrete chances materialising for United amidst some positive phases of possession, with the hosts dominant in extensive periods following the Arsenal goal. There was often a feeling that United were trying to force the issue, with overplaying proving costly on a few occasions. As time went by, you sensed the feeling of being robbed by the Smith-Rowe opener kept increasing. United were proving Arsenal as more and more undeserving of their advantage.
As unwarranted as the lead was, Arsenal could actually have doubled their advantage at one stage. Martin Odegaard was at the heart of some silky interplay, with Gabriel Martinelli cutting inside before wasting what was a big opportunity.
Otherwise, United maintained their control and eventually benefitted from such dominance. Following a high energy break, Fernandes converted for his first goal in 15 matches. Long overdue, it must be said.
The move commenced from Maguire pushing high and playing on the front foot, winning the ball back and finding Sancho; the centre back had proven a force playing out from the back, actually offering a surprise attacking presence in the first half. Anyway, once in possession, Sancho drew his man towards him and created space for Fred to run into. The Brazilian provided a clever run, cutting back to Fernandes inside the box after an incisive slotted ball by Sancho. Fernandes made no mistakes with his finish, placing out of Aaron Ramsdale's reach into the bottom corner with composure.
The serenity involved with the finish juxtaposed the reaction from Fernandes, grabbing the ball and blasting it into the air. He was in desperate need of a moment like that, and the game was back to square one heading into the break.
Half time came at an unfortunate time for United, with their momentum halted by the break in play. Arsenal had a big opportunity moments after the resumption, with De Gea forced into making a remarkable reflex save to deny Gabriel from close proximity following a corner.
Ramsdale's alertness was similarly tested early in the half, denying Ronaldo from an obscure angle before preventing a relatively untroubling Rashford effort following more intricate linkup play from Fred and Sancho. Pressure was soon back on the visiting side, with United managing to grab a game by the scruff of the neck for more sustained periods for the first time in a fair few domestic matches. The game was taken to Arsenal, much to the delight of an electric Old Trafford crowd.
Quite early in second half proceedings, United took a wholly deserved lead in stylish fashion. The move was again fast, commencing after dispossession of Arsenal - this time Dalot capitalised by playing a fantastically-weighted ball into Rashford's path having intervened. The United winger was well aware of Ronaldo's whereabouts in the box, cutting back for the striker to guide the ball pristinely past a helpless Ramsdale.
800 career goals, yet some still have the audacity to suggest he is the huge problem at the moment. Think again.
United never settled down after that goal, though, with Arsenal catching their opposition napping to level affairs after only around a minute and a half. The move was very similar to that which resulted in Ronaldo's goal at the opposite end moments prior, stemming from Martinelli on the right hand side after excellent distribution from Partey in the middle. The Arsenal wide man played a prompt first time ball across to Odegaard on the edge of the box, with the Norwegian steering the ball into the bottom corner with pinpoint accuracy.
Old Trafford was silenced, and any United momentum was diminished. Control was ceded by the hosts, with a loss to their previous cutting edge. Arsenal tried to take advantage of United's switch-off, gaining some joy but to no avail.
The home side showed good character to retaliate, gaining another foothold and soon finding themselves with only their second penalty of the season. Fred proved nifty to bypass Odegaard inside the area, with the second Arsenal goalscorer finding himself the wrong side of and ultimately fouling the United midfielder. Atkinson initially dismissed the claim, though VAR instructed a stop to play. The review was a simple one.
So, Fernandes or Ronaldo? There was no dispute. The former accepted that responsibility was to be diverted after he blazed into the Stretford End from 12 yards against Aston Villa in late September. Ronaldo was to step up to the task, and he indeed stepped up with the utmost certainty. To put it as it was, the United number seven absolutely fired the ball down the middle of the diving Ramsdale's goal. Confidence personified.
801.
From there, United were tasked with remaining firm against any Arsenal attack. The task started off in unsatisfactory fashion, as Martinelli's scuffed shot somehow fell to Aubameyang right in front of the United goal. De Gea came to the fore again to bail out his defence on this particular occasion, making himself a blockade to deny the Gabon international (who may well have been offside in hindsight).
Arsenal were suddenly seeing more of the ball as the climax of an enthralling match grew closer, but United were restrictive in their growingly more defensive approach. Fred had shown his attacking abilities throughout the match, but was forced to display his qualities at the other end to produce a crucial block to deny substitute Bukayo Saka.
It was clear that Carrick wanted his side to see the game out, so much so that any late attacking charges from his side just resulted in the discovery of countless dead ends. However, one outlier came in the form of a rapid break after an Arsenal corner; Sancho broke with the ball with Fernandes and Ronaldo busting a gut in support, though nothing materialised as the former of the trio lost the ball.
Talking of busting a gut, it seemed Ronaldo did that to such an extent that he had to be replaced with merely minutes left on the clock. Heavily scrutinised for his work rate, Opta stats showed that he made a personal season-high 27 pressures during the match (with his previous league average 14.4 per game). He quite literally ran himself into the ground.
That was that, and little did anyone inside the stadium know that had deeper meaning as Carrick bid farewell after 15 years at the club.
It has been a memorable time at the club for Carrick, both as a player and here ending in perfect fashion as an unbeaten caretaker manager. There were lots of doubters heading into his spell in charge, but he set his side up very well in each of the three matches. There have been some signs that he really knows how to organise a team towards a goal, which is an indication that he could genuinely have a future in management. In the words of Fernandes, “If he gets a chance, he can be a top coach.”
He was a refreshing presence over his week or so at the helm, always honest in front of the media. You really cannot fault his impact in restoring some poise after the chaos of Solskjaer’s sacking, keeping that unbeaten record through a tough European match in addition to meetings against league leaders Chelsea and a revitalised Arsenal side.
Heading into Rangnick's reign, Carrick has set the club in good stead once more.
"What a way to finish", he said.
“I’ve told the boys that I’ll be here and I’ll definitely be going in the away end and supporting them from there. I’m really looking forward to that side to be honest and enjoying football again."
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