Erik ten Hag hailed the progress Manchester United have made in their defensive work after recording three successive victories, as he weighs up whether to hand Antony his debut against Arsenal on Sunday.
United continued their recovery from a dismal start to Ten Hag's tenure on Thursday, with Jadon Sancho's goal seeing off Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.
The Red Devils last posted three successive league wins in December 2021, when they downed Arsenal, Crystal Palace and Norwich City.
Ten Hag's team have also kept back-to-back clean sheets after clinching a shutout win over Southampton last week, but while the Dutchman is pleased with their defensive improvements, he knows there is still work to be done.
"I have seen some good stuff, you are taking about that. I see structures are coming, we are constructing and that's good to see," he said.
"We have to do that and improve from game to game, and that means work on the training ground, on the video, and in the games.
"Collectively, I see the whole team is defending and that makes it more easy for our defenders, but I think what they do well is they cooperate, they do it together and they support each other.
"They have a good performance and that makes it hard for the opposition to create chances, I think that's what we see in this moment."
Asked where United need to make further progress, Ten Hag added: "I think many more things, about formation, about creating lines and then making the right decisions on the ball.
"Off the ball, we have made a good step, we have a base, but there is still a lot of room for improvement."
United ended a busy transfer window by getting deals for Ajax winger Antony and Newcastle United goalkeeper Martin Dubravka over the line, but Ten Hag remains unsure whether the former will make his debut against the Gunners.
"Today he did his first training, individually," he said of Antony on Thursday. "Tomorrow we have a team session and Saturday we have a team session.
"So I will think about it, and we will take a decision."
Antony's compatriot Casemiro, meanwhile, is still awaiting his first United start since joining from Real Madrid, with Ten Hag naming the same starting line-up for each of the Red Devils' three consecutive wins.
Asked whether the midfield enforcer could be introduced on Sunday, Ten Hag said: "It is an option.
"I have seen Arsenal, they are a tough opponent. They have started very well, as we all know, this season. You can see they are a team who are together with the coach, he is bringing his philosophy.
"For us it's a good test, we are really looking forward to it.
"We will pick the right team to start, but as you see, it's not only the team, we have a squad."
United have only won one of their past eight Premier League games against Arsenal, posting three draws and four losses in that sequence. However, the Red Devils did triumph 3-2 in this fixture last campaign.
Van Nistelrooy keen to return to Man Utd assistant role under Amorim
Ruud van Nistelrooy is keen to become Manchester United manager one day but says he wants to return to his role as assistant coach under new boss Ruben Amorim.
Having returned to Old Trafford as one of Erik ten Hag’s assistants in the summer, he has stepped up as caretaker head coach since his compatriot was sacked last month.
Van Nistelrooy has overseen victories over Leicester City in the EFL Cup and PAOK in the Europa League, drawing his other game against Chelsea in the Premier League.
The Foxes are the visitors once again to Old Trafford in the Dutchman's final game in charge on Sunday before Amorim takes the reins the following day.
Asked if he would like to manage the team he scored 150 goals for during his playing days, Van Nistelrooy said: "Yeah, of course.
"I thought this through well when I made the decision to come to United as an assistant manager or assistant coach," Van Nistelrooy said.
"I knew that coming to Manchester United was for me a special occasion, where I felt I wanted to be part of this journey with the club in also an assistant role.
"I had clear ambitions to manage. I made the decision to sign a two-year deal as an assistant, and I'm still in that frame of mind to stay in that capacity."
The 48-year-old does have managerial experience, too. He was previously the manager of PSV Eindhoven, winning the Dutch Cup in his only season in charge.
During his short tenure in the Netherlands, he won 34 of his 50 games in charge (D8 L8), scoring 126 goals and ending with a win percentage of 66.67%.
Van Nistelrooy is under contract with United until 2026, but question marks have been raised over his future with Amorim set to bring in his own staff.
But he insisted that this weekend's sole focus is on ensuring that United are in the best possible shape for Amorim's impending arrival at Old Trafford.
"I called it an important period because I think it was important to get through the four games as good as we could," said Van Nistelrooy.
"I think we've done very well so far. The players have reacted very well in the games.
"The focus now is to build on that and show that on Sunday, with a big game ahead and a massive three points that are there to win.
"I don't know if it will be very emotional. I take it very pragmatically as well, although I am proud to be able to fulfil this. We'll see how I feel on Sunday."
And while this may be Van Nistelrooy's second Old Trafford farewell, he has reason to be confident of ending his latest Red Devils stint on a high.
United have lost just two of their last 17 Premier League games against Leicester (W10 D5), with those defeats coming consecutively in May and October 2021.
Van Nistelrooy keen to return Man Utd assistant role under Amorim
Ruud van Nistelrooy is keen to become Manchester United manager one day but says he wants to return to his role as assistant coach under new boss Ruben Amorim.
Having returned to Old Trafford as one of Erik ten Hag’s assistants in the summer, he has stepped up as caretaker head coach since his compatriot was sacked last month.
Van Nistelrooy has overseen victories over Leicester City in the EFL Cup and PAOK in the Europa League, drawing his other game against Chelsea in the Premier League.
The Foxes are the visitors once again to Old Trafford in the Dutchman's final game in charge on Sunday before Amorim takes the reins the following day.
Asked if he would like to manage the team he scored 150 goals for during his playing days, Van Nistelrooy said: "Yeah, of course.
"I thought this through well when I made the decision to come to United as an assistant manager or assistant coach," Van Nistelrooy said.
"I knew that coming to Manchester United was for me a special occasion, where I felt I wanted to be part of this journey with the club in also an assistant role.
"I had clear ambitions to manage. I made the decision to sign a two-year deal as an assistant, and I'm still in that frame of mind to stay in that capacity."
The 48-year-old does have managerial experience, too. He was previously the manager of PSV Eindhoven, winning the Dutch Cup in his only season in charge.
During his short tenure in the Netherlands, he won 34 of his 50 games in charge (D8 L8), scoring 126 goals and ending with a win percentage of 66.67%.
Van Nistelrooy is under contract with United until 2026, but question marks have been raised over his future with Amorim set to bring in his own staff.
But he insisted that this weekend's sole focus is on ensuring that United are in the best possible shape for Amorim's impending arrival at Old Trafford.
"I called it an important period because I think it was important to get through the four games as good as we could," said Van Nistelrooy.
"I think we've done very well so far. The players have reacted very well in the games.
"The focus now is to build on that and show that on Sunday, with a big game ahead and a massive three points that are there to win.
"I don't know if it will be very emotional. I take it very pragmatically as well, although I am proud to be able to fulfil this. We'll see how I feel on Sunday."
And while this may be Van Nistelrooy's second Old Trafford farewell, he has reason to be confident of ending his latest Red Devils stint on a high.
United have lost just two of their last 17 Premier League games against Leicester (W10 D5), with those defeats coming consecutively in May and October 2021.
Al-Riyadh 0-1 Al-Nassr: Mane hands visitors bragging rights
Sadio Mane's first-half strike ensured Al-Nassr maintained their unbeaten start to the Saudi Pro League season with a 1-0 win over rivals Al-Riyadh.
He smartly finished from close range in the 41st minute, with his goal enough to seal the three points and move Al-Nassr up to third in the table.
Al-Nassr's threat grew as the first half went on, with Milan Borjan making a fine double stop to deny Ronaldo and Talisca once again before Mohamed Simakan struck the post on the rebound.
Mane would eventually break the deadlock in the 41st minute though, darting in front of his marker to meet Abdulrahman Ghareeb's low cross and rifle it into the roof of the net.
The Senegalese striker arguably should have doubled his tally before the break, but was denied by Borjan's stretching save when one-on-one with the Canadian.
Talisca should have wrapped up the points in the final three minutes, but he blazed over an empty net from close range, before having a late goal disallowed for offside.
Data Debrief: Derby delight for Al-Nassr
After drawing their last two matches, this win was a welcome result for Al-Nassr as they racked up their sixth victory of the season to close the gap at the top of the table to six points.
It is just the second time Al-Nassr have avoided defeat in their first 10 matches of a Pro League campaign, last doing so in 2013-14, when they won the league title.
They are now unbeaten in their last seven Pro League derbies (W4 D3), their longest such streak since a run of nine between 2018 and 2020.
This is the first time in eight such games that they have kept a clean sheet though, and limited their opponents to just five shots throughout.
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