Paul Scholes tells Erik ten Hag to copy Arsenal when he takes charge of Manchester United

Scholes said Ten Hag should follow Mikel Arteta’s approach as he looks to turn things around at Old Trafford

Jamie Braidwood
Wednesday 27 April 2022 06:13 EDT
Comments
Erik ten Hag will become Manchester United’s next manager at the end of the season (Adam Davy/PA)
Erik ten Hag will become Manchester United’s next manager at the end of the season (Adam Davy/PA) (PA Archive)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

New Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag should follow the example set by Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta as he looks to turn the Old Trafford club’s fortunes around, Paul Scholes has claimed.

Ten Hag has been appointed United’s new manager and will take charge at the end of the season. He is set to inherit a struggling team and an imbalanced squad, with United out of the race to finish in the top four and qualify for the Champions League.

The Dutchman is United’s fifth permanent manager since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 and former midfielder Scholes says Ten Hag should take the same “no-nonsense” approach as Arteta since the Spaniard took charge at the Emirates.

Arsenal defeated United 3-1 on Saturday to strengthen their top-four hopes, with Arteta trusting youth and moving away from high-paid senior players such as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in his attempt to rebuild the club.

“It is certainly a big job for him, it is a big job for anybody,” Scholes told TalkSport. “I suppose there is an element of risk about it and there will be about any manager that you might appoint.

“He has done really well at Ajax, I think he has got a really good pedigree, working with Pep [Guardiola] at Bayern Munich as well. But he just has to believe in his methods. This job is 10 times the job of Ajax, we know they are the best team in Holland, and they always will be.

“Manchester United is a worldwide football club and he is going to have to take criticism at times because that’s the way it is going to come. I think he has got a group of players who are talented but just has to get this group of players to believe in his methods, I think it is quite obvious that this group of players, with the last manager especially, haven’t believed in what they have been coached and haven’t believed in the way they have been playing.

“He has to be a tough manager, a little bit like Arteta at Arsenal, he has done a big rebuilding job and took no-nonsense. I think this manager has to be exactly the same.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in