Michael Carrick has warned Arsenal that his Manchester United players are feeling confident going into Thursday night's encounter.
After a difficult few weeks leading to the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, United have begun to rebuild under the temporary stewardship of Carrick.
The former midfielder has guided the club to a victory over Villarreal in the Champions League and a well-earned draw at Premier League leaders Chelsea.
The visit of Arsenal to Old Trafford will almost certainly be the end of his stint as caretaker boss, as incoming interim manager Ralf Rangnick is expected to be in the-hot seat in time for Sunday's meeting with Crystal Palace.
Yet Carrick will be hoping the positive impact he has had on United continues against Arsenal and believes recent results have helped to build the squad's confidence back up.
"Confidence is always important in any sporting arena, if you like," Carrick told United's in-house media.
"And, yeah, when you step onto that pitch at Old Trafford, you want to have belief and confidence that you can go and do what you’re good at.
"Certainly, the players will have that feeling. They were two very different games, the Villarreal and Chelsea games, and two decent results. Two wins would have been even better but maybe that’s a bit too greedy at this stage.
"The boys are looking forward to it on Thursday night.”
Carrick also shared what it means to him to manage such a high-profile game on a personal level.
"It’s obviously a huge privilege and one I never imagined would actually happen at any stage," he added.
"So to be in that position is a huge sense of pride and responsibility, of course. You know, I’m a fan and my family are just supporters of Manchester United anyway, so to be in that seat will be a good feeling.
"I still keep going back to I can’t hide the fact I am here because of the situation with Ole so I’m not getting carried away with at all. I’ll try to make the most of it tomorrow night but actually it’s about the players, the team and getting the right result.”
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