Michael Carrick confident Manchester United's fortunes will turn

20 November 2016 20:52

Michael Carrick has no doubt results will soon start going Manchester United's way after once again failing to turn Old Trafford dominance into victory.

Much was expected of Jose Mourinho's men after starting the season with three straight wins, yet they have won just two of the subsequent nine Premier League matches.

The latest frustration came on Saturday lunchtime, when Juan Mata deservedly gave the hosts a lead that substitute Olivier Giroud cancelled out in the 89th minute to earn Arsenal a fortuitous 1-1 draw.

It was the Gunners' only attempt on target and meant United stuttered to a third straight league draw on home turf for the first time since 1992, having wasted the chance to win all of those matches.

Mourinho claims his side are the unluckiest in the league and Carrick, captaining the side with Wayne Rooney starting on the bench, believes United are not far off from things turning.

"Any game you look to take positives from - you have to, you have to go away and take something," the midfielder told MUTV.

"But it is a lot sort of easier to deal with a result like that when you know you've played well, you've done everything you can and you deserve to win.

"I think the problem is when you come away and it hasn't gone to plan and you think we could have been so much better, we should have been so much better and there's problems there we need to solve.

"I don't really see problems we need to solve. I think, of course, the result aren't (ideal) and that's the major thing, but playing like that more often than not we are going to win games.

"I am sure that will happen between now and the end of the season."

Giroud's last-gasp header means a six-point gap remains between United and fourth-placed Arsenal, who rode their luck at Old Trafford but were rewarded for digging deep at the end.

The France striker came off the bench in the 73rd minute to power home a cross from fellow substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, which Francis Coquelin says underlines the impressive options at Arsene Wenger's disposal.

"It's a massive relief because it was a tough game," the midfielder told the club website. "We were 1-0 down so to come back and get a point at Old Trafford is a great result for us.

"We've shown this with the depth of our squad. Every time someone comes on, it puts quality in the team.

"Alex came on at right-back which isn't his favoured position but he did extremely well. We've also seen Olivier's quality as well because he only needed one touch of the ball and it went in.

"It just shows how good the squad is and how tough we are mentally."

Source: PA