"I am not sure" - Erik ten Hag provides update on 2 Manchester United stars after they were substituted in Arsenal loss
Erik ten Hag provided an update on Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof after they were substituted in Manchester United's 3-1 Premier League loss at Arsenal on Sunday (September 3).
Raphael Varane was sidelined with an injury, so Ten Hag went with the centre-back pairing of Martinez and Lindelof against the Gunners. However, both of them had to be substituted early at the Emirates.
The Argentina international went down in the 66th minute with what looked like a concerning injury. He was taken off in place of former Red Devils captain Harry Maguire with the score at 1-1.
Lindelof, meanwhile, was withdrawn in the 84th minute with what seemed like a fitness concern. The 35-year-old Jonny Evans took his place at the back as Manchester United went on to concede twice in stoppage time to lose 3-1.
According to @UtdXclusive on X, Martinez wasn't wearing a protective boot or carrying crutches while leaving the Emirates. Journalist Gaston Edul also expects the former Ajax defender to play for Argentina later this month.
After the game, Ten Hag gave an update on the two centre-backs and said (h/t @lauriewhitwell on X):
"Victor (Lindelof) was ill, so he had to come off. Licha (Lisandro Martinez) had a problem on his foot, but I am not sure if it's an injury. We have to wait, to see, to make the diagnosis."
It doesn't seem like Lindelof and Martinez will be sidelined for a long time. They could be in the matchday squad for their next league game against Brighton & Hove Albion on September 16.
Erik ten Hag says Manchester United needed more luck against Arsenal
Erik ten Hag said that 'everything went against' Manchester United in their loss to Arsenal at the Emirates.
The Red Devils took the lead in the 27th minute through Marcus Rashford but conceded to Martin Odegaard only 35 seconds later. One of the most crucial moments of the game came in the 87th minute when Gabriel Magalhaes brought down Rasmus Hojlund inside the box to stop a goalscoring chance.
The referee waved play on, and the Red Devils weren't awarded a penalty. A few moments later, Casemiro set Alejandro Garnacho clean through on goal, and the Argentine made no mistake with his finish past Arsenal custodian Aaron Ramsdale.
However, Garnacho's strike was ruled out for offside by the finest of margins. Ten Hag said, via Sky Sports:
"I thought we played a very good game, but everything went against us - then you don't win the game. We needed a little bit more luck to win the game."
Arsenal kept 55% of the ball and had more shots on target (5) than the visitors (2).