De Ligt: We still have to improve

Matthijs de Ligt says Manchester United are on the path to improvement, despite a disappointing loss against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

Speaking to MUTV after the game, the Netherlands international said: “Obviously, what I said, we’re really disappointed. Especially if you concede goals like this, chances like that. 

“But, as you mentioned, we are on the road to improve as a team. I think the manager has said it also. Maybe if you do it a certain way, we have a bigger chance of getting results right now, but in the future we stay the same and we won’t improve.”

De Ligt feels that the short-term pain is worth it for the long-term benefits, but did still find some positives from the Reds’ trip to north London.

“Obviously, now the feeling is really disappointed,” the defender continued. “But, as you mentioned, there were some positives, what you say, the defensive phase.

“The amount amount of chances we conceded without the set plays, also. Obviously, in the end, we play a little bit more offensive, leave a little bit more space, and you get some chances against, but in general, I think that was quite good.”

Despite the result, the former Bayern Munich man was a strong presence in the backline, and almost had an impact at the other end, providing a strong header on the end of a Bruno Fernandes free-kick that was only just tipped wide by David Raya.

But that provides little comfort to a competitor like De Ligt, whose focus stays trained on the final result.

He said: “Offensively, we have to, and we will, improve. We are still quite early with the new trainer, but there are some positives. But, overall, we’re really disappointed with the zero points.”

The attention, therefore, immediately turns to this weekend’s assignment, where we welcome Nottingham Forest to Old Trafford for a 17:30 GMT kick-off on Saturday 7 December.

“In the end, we are Manchester United,” De Ligt continued. “We lost again and, yeah, it’s easy, it’s not good enough.

“So, we know that, we will work hard. We have to improve, and in two days or three days is the next game, so that will be a really important one again for us, to show again what we learned from this game and get the three points.”

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