Arnold bizarrely claims Man Utd are ‘closing in’ on Man City as he provides staff takeover update
Manchester United chief executive Richard Arnold has claimed that “making progress” towards their goal of “chasing down” Manchester City.
The Red Devils have had a poor start to the new Premier League season with their 3-1 loss to Brighton on Saturday their third defeat in their first five matches.
Erik ten Hag has come under pressure for the first time in his tenure as Man Utd boss after a positive first campaign in charge at Old Trafford.
Man Utd made a quick start to the summer transfer window but, by September 1, Gary Neville and others were left questioning whether they had strengthened their starting XI at all.
And their start to the new campaign sees them nine points behind early pace-setters Man City already but Man Utd CEO Arnold has made a bizarre claim during an ‘extraordinary all-staff meeting’.
The Athletic have revealed that Arnold was mainly there to answer ‘a series of pre-submitted questions related to United’s handling of the Greenwood matter’ but he touched on other subjects too.
Arnold bizarrely claimed that Man Utd are “closing in and making progress” towards Man City – who he acknowledged are setting the standard across Europe – with the Old Trafford outfit “chasing down” their rivals.
When asked about the huge debts at the club, The Athletic claim ‘Arnold answered the question by telling staff that the strategic review process is ongoing. He acknowledged the process has felt like a long time and he said that certainty would be helpful. He also sought to reassure staff that the club has sufficient funds in place to cover the current bills.’
The Athletic added: ‘A further question asked Arnold about the consequences of an outcome to the strategic review that saw no change of ownership. He essentially answered by saying that staff should run their affairs as business as usual, urging employees to “hang tight, show resilience and keep delivering.”‘
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also had an interview published by The Athletic on Wednesday and when asked about his thoughts on the Glazers’ ownership of the club he said: “In my conversations with them, they were honest and upfront. I had to be patient and mentally strong — and I was. And they’ve backed the manager now.”
On how he feels about the fans who turned up at the training ground to protest the Glazers’ ownership of the club, Solskjaer added: “It was their right — and I went to speak to them. Security didn’t want me to, but I wanted to go and speak to them. I listened and I felt we had a good conversation.
“Speaking to fans is part of being United manager. You’re encouraged to have security around you but I didn’t feel comfortable with that and usually wanted to be on my own.
“I’ve not been back much since the whole family moved to Norway last year. People give me the thumbs-up in Manchester, though they’re more likely to do that in real life. It’s easier to say, ‘You’re s***’ when you’re anonymous behind a keyboard.”
Asked whether he felt supported by the fans, the former Man Utd boss replied: “Apart from Watford away, I can’t remember any negativity at games, bar the odd comment.
“At Watford, I went to the away end after and remember thinking, ‘I really don’t have the backing of all of them’. Bruno was there too, but I knew I was finished. The 4-1 looked awful, but it was 2-1 after 90 minutes. We conceded two more. I understand how fans felt — 4-1 is 4-1.”