Carrick invokes Arteta's early struggles to defend his position as United crisis deepens

Michael Carrick has pointed to Mikel Arteta’s turbulent beginnings at Arsenal as justification for continued patience at Manchester United, insisting he ‘loves’ the pressure bearing down on him after a wretched start to the Premier League season.

United have won just one of their opening six league games — a stark reversal from the end of last season, when a run of strong form secured Champions League football and earned Carrick the permanent managerial role at Old Trafford. The contrast has intensified scrutiny on the 43-year-old, but he showed no sign of anxiety speaking ahead of United’s Champions League fixture against Atlético Madrid.

“I love this part, of sometimes when it’s not quite going for you, you see who’s really there,” Carrick said. “You see within the group, the players, the squad, the club, who’s really there and who wants to be here for the long term. The supporters are there, they’re desperate for it, and we’ve got to give them something. I think you’ve got to embrace the challenges to get to where you want to be. We’re right there now in the middle of it, but totally believe that we’ll work through it.”

Carrick drew a direct line to Arteta, who finished eighth and seventh in his first two seasons at Arsenal before going on to win the Premier League title. Speaking alongside Atlético Madrid’s Diego Simeone — himself a long-serving manager who has built a dynasty at the Spanish club — Carrick used the setting to reinforce his argument.

“It pains me to say, but the one that won the league in our country last season has been there for a long period of time,” Carrick said. “It’s seven years, and the first two seasons were, correct me if I’m wrong, maybe eighth or seventh. I think he’s done an incredible job, Mikel, and that’s another example. We’re talking about Sir Alex and Diego Simeone who’ve gone on for a lot longer than that and built something incredibly special at both football clubs.”

Carrick acknowledged that the current climate at Old Trafford demands results, but maintained that sustainable success requires a longer runway than a handful of difficult early fixtures. “Building something takes a journey and you’ve got to overcome things,” he said. “We’ve got teams in our league that have had success, but it hasn’t necessarily all been in one direction. I understand when it’s not going too well there’s a real clamour, and a real feeling of it’s a disaster, and everything needs to be changed.”

Whether the club’s hierarchy shares his patience remains to be seen. United’s Champions League campaign offers an immediate opportunity to shift the narrative, with Atlético Madrid providing a stern early test of Carrick’s ability to deliver on the biggest stage.