Erik ten Hag praised Antony’s lethal pairing with Marcus Rashford after Manchester United’s new acquisition scored on his debut and his striking partner’s brace sent Arsenal to a 3-1 defeat on Sunday.
Antony made a fairytale start, scoring 35 minutes into his first game after joining manchester united for £82 million ($94 million).
Some commentators questioned United’s choice to pay such a high amount for the 22-year-old.
Ten Hag, on the other hand, knows Antony well from their time together at Ajax, where the United manager worked before taking over the Premier League team in the summer.
And Antony appeared to the manor born as he unfurled a slew of abilities and shrewd play to dazzle the Old Trafford crowd.
He formed an instant relationship with fellow forward Rashford, who provided an astute assist for Antony’s clinical finish.
After Bukayo Saka’s equalizer, Rashford took the game away from Arsenal with a pair of composed strikes to end the Premier League leaders’ perfect start to the season.
“They both played great, a continual threat. I know our offense is really strong, they are creative and have speed,” Ten Hag said of Antony and Rashford.
“This is the first time they have played together and this performance is great to see.
“I thought the first 10 minutes was the best we have played so far this season.”
Arsenal had won their first five games but United’s four-match winning run is their longest in the Premier League since winning five in a row in 2021 under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
It is exactly the kind of streak Ten Hag needed his team to go after his reign started with embarrassing defeats against Brighton and Brentford.
Spirited United
The 4-0 loss at Brentford was especially chastening, but since then Ten Hag has got the response he wanted after calling for his players to show more hunger and character.
“We are happy and satisfied with the win, also the performance against a really good team,” Ten Hag said.
“The spirit from this team, they can deal with setbacks. It is really great and shows your mentality. We have really improved on that.
“We have the right characters and now it is about cooperation. We have to stay calm, stay composed, and play our game.”
Old Trafford was buzzing in the aftermath of another encouraging result that showed United’s 2-1 success against bitter rivals Liverpool was no fluke.
But, well aware of the flaws in a team that finished a woeful sixth last season, Ten Hag warned United not to get carried away.
The winning streak has lifted them to fifth place after they were bottom of the table following the Brentford debacle, yet Ten Hag sees plenty of room for improvement.
“We could’ve done things better but we are not as long together as Arsenal,” he said.
We will have better control of the game if we have that. That’s a lot of labor. There is much space for improvement.
“We can improve our pressing and organizational skills. We have more control over the game.
“If we can improve our possession and keep our calmness on the ball, we will be able to influence the game even more.
“We’ve only been together for a short time, so we’ll work on it. Arsenal appears to be more cohesive, but our team spirit propels us to victory.”
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