History repeated for Carrick

The last time United were at Celtic Park, a moment of inspiration gave the hosts all three points, despite the Reds completely dominating the match.

It's little surprise, then, having sampled that galling defeat just under two years ago, that Michael Carrick felt a sense of 'here we go again' on Wednesday evening.

United again dominated matters in Glasgow, perhaps even more so than in 2006, but looked set to fall foul of Scott McDonald's neat lob until Ryan Giggs' vital late leveller.

"It was a little bit like two years ago in the sense that we had a lot of chances," Carrick told reporters after the match. "When chances go begging and the match goes on longer and longer it's always in the back of your mind that you might not score.

"But we never give up. I'm disappointed really. We played well and had enough opportunities to win the game. We left it late but we deserved a point."

Next up for United is another high-profile away game, with Arsenal awaiting the Reds at the Emirates Stadium for Saturday's early kick-off, and Carrick cannot wait for another crack at winning on the Gunners' new patch.

"We don't have much time before Arsenal now and it's a massive game for us," he said. "But we'll be ready. We're playing well and we want to go there and win."