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Carrick: No let up at Arsenal

Michael Carrick insists Manchester United will be motivated to beat Arsenal this weekend, despite having wrapped up the Barclays Premier League title with four games to spare.



The Premier League record points total of 95 is still within reach, but Carrick believes the champions have a duty to perform in the remaining games anyway.

Third-placed Arsenal will certainly be up for it as they are aiming to secure a Champions League place in a close battle with Chelsea and Tottenham that looks set to go to the wire.

Carrick told ManUtd.com: "We’ll approach it the same as always because our pride dictates that we want to win the game.

"We’ve won the league but we won’t go there and relax; we want to put on a good performance and try to play as if the title depended on it – that’s how we’ll approach it.

"Of course we’re in a position where we can play with a bit of freedom but we still want to get a result, so we won’t be taking anything lightly.

"We don’t want to take our foot off the gas; we want to carry on until the end of the season. It’s only fair to us and the other teams that we do as much as we can."

Sir Alex has outlined his desire to involve the fringe players in his squad in the final few games and Carrick can appreciate why.

"The big thing about this season is that everyone has played a part; everyone has contributed to us winning the league," the in-form midfielder added.

"The manager has changed the team regularly and everyone wants to be a part of it now because it’s a great time to play. We can enjoy it and play with confidence, whatever team the manager picks."

Carrick carried an injury through Monday’s title-clinching win over against Aston Villa but if he is involved at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, he could come up against fellow midfielder and countryman Jack Wilshere, a player he admires.

"I’ve played against Jack a couple of times and you can see he’s a big talent with a great chance of doing really good things in the game," Carrick added.

"Unfortunately he’s had a bit of a stop-start career so far: he suffered an injury last season and has had one or two niggles this season.

"He’s still young and still learning but he has a lot of pressure on his shoulders because people expect big things of him.

"In an ideal world he’d be left to develop but that’s the nature of the beast in football. I’m sure he’ll cope with it fine and go on to have a good career."