Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford has said that the Red Devils 'can be proud of themselves' for their display against Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.
The 20-time English champions made it four straight Premier League victories with a 3-1 success over Arsenal, with Antony registering on his debut before Rashford netted a second-half double.
Bukayo Saka levelled the scores on the hour mark at Old Trafford, but Rashford sent Man United back ahead in the 66th minute following a through pass from Bruno Fernandes, before Christian Eriksen set the Englishman up for his second of the contest.
The 24-year-old, who provided the assist for Antony to make the breakthrough, said that his side "stood up to the challenge", with Arsenal heading to Manchester boasting a 100% record from five matches.
"It is always a big game against Arsenal, especially as they have had such a good start to the season. It was a big test for us today. We showed up and stood up to the challenge. We can be proud if ourselves. It is good to get into a rhythm," Rashford told Sky Sports News.
© Reuters
"It is tough. They are a good team and know their principles of play and are very good at it. A good possession-based team and offer lots of difficulties with players dropping into pockets and with attacking threats.
"It is what we expected. I thought it was an even game. There were big spaces in the first half we couldn't exploit. We managed to do that in the second half.
"We have some excellent passers of the ball and as long as we make runs we are going to get the ball. We have to keep going for 90 minutes. There are a couple of times today we got through the press. It is important for us to keep going."
Rashford was linked with a move away from Man United during the summer transfer window, with Paris Saint-Germain believed to have expressed an interest in signing him.
However, Ten Hag was quick to shut down the rumours at the time, and the club's academy product has been a key player this season, scoring three times and registering two assists in six league appearances.
© Reuters
Rashford's first goal of the campaign came against Liverpool on August 22, while he also has two assists in his last two appearances against Leicester and Arsenal.
Earlier this summer, the attacker spoke about the impact of having an extended break over the summer, as he was not selected in the England squad for their June internationals.
"I have definitely not had that much rest before in a summer break, so it was a little bit strange at first and I had to adjust my program a little bit, make it a little bit longer, so I could come in with a positive look on everything, and like I say we are excited to go away [on tour] now. You feel every day now you are getting that one step sharper and one step fitter to being ready for the season," he told MUTV at the time.
© Reuters
"I don't think I have had a proper pre-season since 2019 so for me it is definitely a positive thing. I feel like I probably needed that time to switch off a little bit and me having that time enabled me to refocus a lot earlier than I expected to be honest.
"It [the break] was just a few days over four weeks and I always split it in half, so I had two weeks when I was just relaxing and a little over two weeks when I was training so it's been a good period for me.
"Like I say, I feel ready and focused so when that first game does come it's good to know you have done almost six weeks of training beforehand. It will definitely be a positive."
Man United are next in action against Real Sociedad in the Europa League on Thursday night before travelling to Crystal Palace in the Premier League next Sunday.
No Data Analysis info