By Mark Weasley
It was almost two years ago when Anthony Martial announced himself as a supremely gifted individual with a solo goal against Liverpool. The then 19-year-old has been signed for a mind-boggling sum of £36m by manager, Louis van Gaal to help offset the losses of Robin Van Persie and Radamel Falcao who left that summer, and it was a sign of things to come for the young Frenchman, likened to Theirry Henry. He took the ball out on the left, danced and dribbled past a couple of Liverpool players before slotting in the bottom corner. In light of his recent troubles, reports suggest that Arsene Wenger wants to sign him from United, but we don’t want any of that.
It was the manner of the finish that excited United fans who were delirious about having their own Thierry Henry, famous for his time at bitter rivals, Arsenal as he scored all sorts of goals against the Old Trafford outfit. Year after year, Henry perfected the art of placing the ball and here was a teenager who could do almost the same at 19. A return of 17 goals in all competitions was impressive but that is where the story almost ends of this supremely gifted player. Zlatan arrived last summer and everything changed for Martial. He lost his jersey number without consultation to the Swede and allegations of infidelity affected his marriage and ultimately, form.
He has looked good so far this season, coming off the bench to score and assist in the match against West Ham, but Jose wants more consistency from him. There are no better managers to improve widemen than the Portuguese tactician. He has been linked to Inter Milan as part of the Ivan Perisic deal to Old Trafford, but he has his hearts on staying at United, but ahead of a World Cup year knows that regular playing time will do him a lot of good to make Les Blues squad for the mundial in Russia.
France is currently brimming with quality as the likes of Mbappe, Dembele, Sissoko, Lemar, and others try to make names for themselves, but Martial won’t be fazed.
Jose has commended his attitude and resolve to play in the first team and it seems Arsenal will have to find another Thierry Henry. United have the latest one and it’s Martial.
Man U will be very stupid if they decide to let Martial go to Arsenal……