A MANCHESTER United player said they hoped that they would “rattle Arsenal’s cage”.
The boos at half-time and full-time at the Emirates confirmed Arsenal were well and truly rattled.
Only a fortnight earlier, United players were subjected to that treatment after the FA Cup elimination by Brighton.
It makes their two-week turnaround under Michael Carrick a truly remarkable mood shift. United fans were singing, “We’re gonna win the league” at full-time on Sunday.
If United had won those daft draws and defeat against ten-man Everton, Nottingham Forest, Tottenham, West Ham, Bournemouth, Wolves and Burnley, they would have 15 more points. They would be top of the league.
Carrick is so coy he will not even say United must target Champions League qualification now they sit in fourth.
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That has always been Carrick’s personality and he is not going to change now. His popularity is greater than it was when he was lifting five Premier League trophies and the European Cup as a player.
At Arsenal, Carrick barely showed a flicker of emotion. He would occasionally offer calm hand signals, advising a player on where to position themselves.
The only time he was stirred was when Casemiro was denied a free kick on the edge of the Arsenal area. Even then, Carrick merely glanced quizzically at his bench, rather than at the fourth official.
He was the polar opposite to Mikel Arteta, a coach-cum-cheerleader who let rip at Viktor Gyokeres for not returning to the dugout quickly enough when he was about to come on.
Arteta could do with some of Carrick’s composure. Arsenal fans were jittery when they were winning and Arteta mirrors their anxiety.
Since Carrick drove into United’s Carrington training complex two weeks ago, he has had an immediate impact.
United’s sessions are shorter but Carrington sources say the training days are more intense than they were under Ruben Amorim.
The players have been impressed by the level of detail in Carrick’s sessions and there was a “different energy” from his first day with the squad on January 14.
A dressing room source said it had been “great all week” under Carrick leading up to the triumphant Manchester derby victory over City.
United’s coaching staff appears more collaborative. Although Amorim brought an army of allies, on matchdays the only two who had a true touchline presence were him and assistant Carlos Fernandes.
Well-placed sources feel United have benefited from the blend of personalities and skill sets that Carrick and assistants Steve Holland, Jonathan Woodgate and Jonny Evans have brought. Carrick was repeatedly in conversation with the trio at Arsenal.
Woodgate wears an earpiece so he is in constant communication with the analysts in the press box.
Holland, conscious of the cameras, always covers his mouth when he converses with Carrick about strategy.
Woodgate has hit the ground running working with United’s defenders and spent the second half of the pre-match warm-ups drilling centre halves Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez.
Evans and Woodgate, two gifted centre backs during their playing days, have started overseeing some two-on-one training with 19-year-old centre back Ayden Heaven at Carrington.
Carrick has also introduced more individual work with other specific players as the coaching staff hone their technique.
The staff’s presence at the FA Youth Cup victory against Derby County on Friday night has predictably gone down well after the no-shows from Amorim and Erik ten Hag at youth games.
Carrick has a vested interest as his son, Jacey, is in the academy and in line for a Youth Cup debut next season. Amorim was spotted watching an academy game at Carrington.
Wayne Rooney, in attendance last week for son Kai’s Old Trafford bow, welcomed the shift after Amorim’s criticism of the academy.
“It is great to see all the coaches taking a big interest in the academy which is important for that football club,” Rooney said.
“I have a different focus watching my son. Potentially in the next few years, some of those players might get an opportunity for the first team.
“So it is important they have that interest. It was great to see them all.
“They were all at the Under-16 game (on Saturday) as well before they travelled to London. It has been missing.
“I have been quite vocal on this. It has been missing in the last few years. It is great to see that coming back into the club.”
As a United player of 12 years and then coach and caretaker for two-and-a-half years, Carrick has a rare stature and authority.
Carrington sources say he has reminded the squad what a privilege it is to represent United and stressed that they enjoy it.
He has a kindred spirit in Casemiro, another esteemed midfielder. If Casemiro sees anything he is unhappy with, he will quietly raise it with the staff.
Carrick has also overseen minor tweaks on matchdays as United arrive slightly later at Old Trafford. Ten Hag insisted on United turning up four hours before kick-off, a measure that was scrapped by Amorim.
“Calm” is the most frequently used description of Carrick’s methods by those who see him on a daily basis.
Rather than go berserk at full-time at Arsenal, Carrick congratulated his staff before shaking hands with Mikel Arteta.
He then consoled Albert Stuivenberg and Gabriel Heinze, two figures from his past at United associated with two very different eras.
Heinze was Carrick’s team-mate in his first season when United ended a four-year title drought in 2006-07.
Stuivenberg was a first team coach under Louis van Gaal, the man who told Carrick his United career was over in 2016.
In the end, it was over for Van Gaal. Jose Mourinho replaced him and ordered Ed Woodward to give Carrick a new one-year contract.
That sliding doors moment put Carrick on the path to coaching and, eventually, managing United.
Mourinho also had form for rattling Arsenal’s cage.
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