MANCHESTER, United Kingdom: Erik ten Hag is set to remain as manager of Manchester United following a post-season performance review by club chiefs, British media reports said Tuesday.
The BBC said United were understood to be talking to the Dutchman about extending his contract at Old Trafford, which is about to enter its final season.
A poor second campaign for Ten Hag ended on a high note as he led United to a shock 2-1 victory in the FA Cup final against rivals Manchester City.
But the build-up to the match at Wembley was dominated by talk over Ten Hag’s future after a report said he would be sacked by United’s new co-owner Jim Ratcliffe regardless of the result.
United finished eighth in the Premier League — their lowest placing since 1990 — and crashed out of the Champions League at the group stage.
After the FA Cup final, the former Ajax boss, 54, admitted he did not know what the future held for him.
“The only thing I am doing is preparing my team, developing my team, progressing my team and individual players. This is for me a project,” he said.
“When I came in things were a mess. We are now better but by far not where we want to be.”
Various managers have been linked with the United job since the end of the season.
Ratcliffe was reported to have held talks with Thomas Tuchel last week as speculation mounted over Ten Hag’s future but the former Bayern Munich and Chelsea boss reportedly ruled himself out of the running.
The club’s interest in Mauricio Pochettino is understood to have cooled even though he is now a free agent after leaving Chelsea.
Other managers linked to United have been Graham Potter, Thomas Frank, Roberto De Zerbi and current England boss Gareth Southgate.
Ten Hag ended a six-year trophy drought for United in his first season by lifting the League Cup in 2023 and finished third in the league, encouraging fans that they might launch a Premier League title bid in 2023/24.
But they lost 14 games and ended with a negative goal difference, finishing a whopping 31 points behind champions Manchester City.
Ten Hag is United’s fifth permanent manager since the end of Alex Ferguson’s trophy-filled reign in 2013, following David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Ten Hag to remain as Man Utd boss: reports
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Ten Hag to remain as Man Utd boss: reports
- Ten Hag is United’s fifth permanent manager since the end of Alex Ferguson’s trophy-filled reign in 2013
Arsenal put away Chelsea to reach League Cup final
- Mikel Arteta’s side had put themselves in pole position in the first leg and Havertz came off the bench to finish the 4-2 aggregate victory in the closing moments at the Emirates Stadium
- In their first final for six years, Arsenal will face Manchester City or Newcastle at Wembley on March 22
LONDON: Arsenal reached the League Cup final for the first time in eight years as Kai Havertz sealed a 1-0 win against Chelsea in the semifinal second leg on Tuesday.
Mikel Arteta’s side had put themselves in pole position in the first leg and Havertz came off the bench to finish the 4-2 aggregate victory in the closing moments at the Emirates Stadium.
It was a cathartic triumph for the Gunners, who had lost their previous four semifinals in the 2025 Champions League and League Cup, the 2022 League Cup and the 2021 Europa League.
In their first final for six years, Arsenal will face Manchester City or Newcastle at Wembley on March 22.
City hold a 2-0 lead over Newcastle ahead of Wednesday’s second leg at the Etihad Stadium.
Arsenal haven’t won the League Cup since 1993, losing in their last three final appearances.
Now they have the chance to end that drought by winning the club’s first trophy since the 2020 FA Cup.
That remains the sole silverware won by Arteta since he was hired in December 2019.
“We knew it was going to be a real battle out there. That resilience, that clarity to understand what kind of game we had to play, we did so well,” Arteta said.
“There was a special atmosphere inside our stadium. It makes such a difference. We’ve been waiting a few years to get into this position and we’re certainly going to enjoy it.”
It is shaping up to be a memorable season for Arsenal, who are six points clear at the top of the Premier League and reached the Champions League last 16 by winning all eight of their group matches.
Despite their success, Arsenal have attracted criticism for their reliance on goals from corners and set-pieces.
Arteta launched a passionate defense of Arsenal’s style of play this week, revealing he has a “massive book of people” who feel his side are the “most exciting in Europe.”
Tuesday’s war of attrition will hardly silence Arsenal’s critics, but Arteta won’t care about that after leading his team to Wembley.
Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior had won six of his seven matches in all competitions since arriving from Strasbourg to replace Enzo Maresca.
But Rosenior was unable to solve his Arsenal conundrum, with the Gunners handing him the only two defeats of his brief reign.
“Arsenal know they were in a game, over both ties. We dominated the areas we wanted to in the second half, but we didn’t find that quality moment,” Rosenior said.
“It’s painful to lose. We just need to keep making improvements, which I’m seeing from the first leg to the second.”
Knockout blow
Without captain Martin Odegaard, sidelined by a muscle problem, and winger Bukayo Saka, who was injured in the pre-match warm-up at Leeds on Saturday, Arsenal weren’t at their best but still ground out the win.
Rosenior’s switch to a three-man central defense allowed Chelsea to stifle Arsenal in a scrappy first half.
The Gunners briefly shook off their shackles as Piero Hincapie’s curler from just inside the area was palmed away by Robert Sanchez.
It rained so heavily in the first half that Rosenior had to take off his soaked glasses to see what was happening.
Squinting through the squall offered Rosenior an alarming view as Malo Gusto’s misjudgment let in Gabriel Martinelli before the Chelsea defender scrambled back to block the shot.
It took 43 minutes for Chelsea to muster a shot on target when Enzo Fernandez’s long-range blast was punched clear by Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Chelsea needed to push for a goal and Rosenior sent on Cole Palmer and Estevao Willian after an hour, ditching his back three.
Estevao immediately set up Fernandez for a curler that flashed over, but Chelsea’s threat petered out.
Havertz delivered the knockout blow in the final seconds of stoppage-time, rounding Sanchez to slot into the empty net after Chelsea were caught on the counter.
