MINTAH Writes: The woes of Jesus might be blessing in disguise for Kai Havertz

Largely lost in the consensus confusion that set in after Arsenal splashed 65 million pounds to sign Kai Havertz from fellow London side Chelsea is how impressive the Gunners frontline was in the 2022-2023 season and what the German could add to that tally.Even in the absence of Gabriel Jesus for a good number of weeks and playing with wing forwards (Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka) who are still yet to turn 23, the Gunners scored 88 goals and only scored six fewer than league champions Manchester City.Mikel Arteta doubled down on wing forward production by signing Leandro Trossard in the January transfer window and the same theme run through the rationale behind Arsenal’s Havertz signing.While not exactly a wing forward, Havertz thrives in a hybrid role through the central area and those swats of grassland carved out between the edges of the penalty box and the central areas in the final third. He has been signed to provide exactly what Martinelli and Saka provide on the wings but through the middle.Beyond Havertz, Arsenal has signed defender Jurrien Timber and midfielder Declan Rice to address areas they fell short in the final stretch of the last campaign that cost the Gunners the EPL title.While negotiations in football are a tricky business and it playing a big role in Rices’ somewhat delayed arrival at the Emirates, it is clear Havertz was targeted by Arteta as the guy to give the Spanish coach the chance to fully utilize his playbook.After spending extensive time with Arsene Wenger in his latter playing days and doing same with Man City coach Pep Guardiola as an assistant coach, Arteta most assuredly has grand tactical schemes he couldn’t get his hitherto thin squad to play out in real time until now.With so many quality and versatile players at his disposal, the biggest threat to an Arsenal EPL title winning season is Arteta’s man management skills. Throw up every in game scenario that demands a tactical tweak or two and Arsenal have the men to get the job done. Throw up any crazy formation and Arsenal can match the shape to beat 85% of teams they face.However, keeping starting caliber players engaged and ready to contribute immediately despite playing limited minutes in backup roles is the subtle art Arteta needs to pull off. Only the best of the best managers have done this and that list includes Sir Alex Ferguson, Carlo Ancelotti, Zinedine Zidane and Arteta’s former boss, Pep Guardiola.In short, Arteta’s evolution into an elite manager from a hot shot ex player turned coach is one of the standout themes to follow this season.Gabriel Jesus has suffered a knee injury and is set to miss games at least in the first month of the new season and that comes with a silver lining in the dark cloud of the Brazilian suffering from a similar injury that cost him extensive game time just months ago. Should this development persist, it could curtail Arsenal’s return on their “Gabriel Jesus investment”.How Arsenal lines up against Man City in Sunday’s Community Shield is sure to give a sense of what Arteta’s team brings on a nightly basis at least from a schematic standpoint and how to get the best out of Havertz this season.Playing Havertz, Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice in Arteta’s familiar 4-3-3 setup wins a ton of games against many a team in the world but against Guardiola’s that is too risky.Playing out such a setup would take Arsenal back to the last campaign and bring up the same issues that cost them the league title last season and that is defensive cover. As brilliant as Rice is, flanking Odegaard and Havertz on either side of the Englishman is asking a lot defensively from the former West Ham player to solve on his own since Odegaard and Havertz work hard a ton for their team but shining on the defensive side isn’t exactly their forte.Quite frankly, Guardiola’s Man City will overrun Arsenal should the aforementioned trio start in midfield as will Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and to some extent Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea and Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United.Playing through mistakes and phasing out mistakes highlight the importance of playing preseason games and in the loss to Man United, Arteta was given a rude awakening of what lies before him should he pair Odegaard, Rice and Havertz in midfield against a top tier team.Partey’s improved involvement in preseason shows he is very much part of the Gunners plans for the upcoming campaign.However, switching to a 3-4-3 system that spreads the midfield in a diamond shape is the best way to offer defensive protection to Aaron Ramsdale while providing space to accommodate Rice, Odegaard, Havertz, Saka and Martinelli plus another forward.Arsenal’s envisaged lineup for Sunday’s game has William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Timber in the backline with Thomas Partey at the base of the diamond midfield with Rice and Odegaard lining up on the right and left sides diagonally off Partey and Havertz placed at the tip of the shape.The German gets to play centrally behind Eddie Nketiah with Martinelli and Saka on the left and right wings respectively and for a guy who tagged himself as a, “midfield player who likes to go into the box” this setup puts Havertz right where he needs to be.Nketiah does a ton of great work keeping defenders busy with his work rate and constant movement and doing so gives Havertz chances to do what he does best; manipulate spaces, recognize spaces and take advantage of spaces.This is highlighted in some of his stats from last season where he ranked third in attacking runs in the EPL only behind Heung- Min Son and Ollie Watkins while ranking fifth in the league in runs made that challenged the backline.For runs Havertz made as a target of passes, the German ranked second in the entire league only behind Mohammed Salah.The return of Jesus won’t change this Havertz trend from happening and that is exactly what the German needs to build up his confidence after a poor run with Chelsea.A confident Havertz who scores goals off late runs into the box is a Havertz who can even push up and lead the line considering the fine goal returns of Martinelli (15) and Saka (14) last season. Both wing-forwards are expected to kick on from their impressive outings and score more than they did last season.Now this is a different situation from the Chelsea setup that had wings Raheem Sterling, Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke, Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech struggle in front of goal as this group combined for just eight goals with Havertz scoring seven goals in the Premier League.Havertz can lead an attacking line but he under performed last season because he didn’t get enough help from fellow attackers and his confidence was shot to the extent he missed quite a number of sitters.After a difficult spell at Chelsea, signing for Arsenal was a very odd choice shrouded in uncertainties over where he would be played to best utilize his strengths.In his final season at Bayer Leverkusen in 2019, Havertz scored 20 goals and added seven assists in 42 games and with a bit of tweaking from Arteta, Partey’s timely return to his early 2022-2023 season form and Gabriel Jesus’ injury, Kai Havertz is in the best situation to excel.

MINTAH writes: Onana gives Ten Hag his best shot at replicating Guardiola’s striker less system at Man Utd

It definitely has taken some time to sink in but at this point, Pep Guardiola must be the greatest football coach of all time.

While it is difficult to picture the Spaniard deliver these words in the bellowing defiant tone Muhammad Ali did after shocking the world with a beat down of Sonny Liston, he doesn’t need to do so.

After all, the actions of leagues he has coached in, national teams, fellow coaches, referees and all stakeholders in football, communicate that Pep is indeed the greatest to ever do it.

No man or woman has had this much influence on how the beautiful game is played, enjoyed and perceived than Pep.

It is for this reason, Bastian Schweinsteiger will pin the poor performance of the German Men’s national football team on Guardiola.

Well why wouldn’t he? Instead of playing efficient, fast counter attacking football, that relied heavily on crosses to feed strikers like Mario Gomez, Miroslav Klose and Kevin Kuranyi, the Germans have been bitten by the Pep bug ever since Guardiola infused his possession heavy style into Germany’s team, Bayern Munich.

*Guardiola shows off his first Champions League title with Manchester City (Photo Courtesy: Evening Standard)*

Playing with a false nine marked Guardiola’s way of moving off Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto’o while accentuating Lionel Messi’s march to becoming the greatest in his own right. Playing Messi centrally worked so well that the most dominant team in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s, Spain, applied it and won a third international title in a row.

La Roja won the 2008 Euros and 2010 FIFA World Cup on the back of using Guardiola’s Tiki Taka system and switched their way to European glory by playing midfielder Francesc Fabregas as a central striker. Teams want to play and win like Pep’s teams after dominating in Spain, England and Germany while winning the treble with two teams in two countries.

*Spain wins 2012 Euros (Photo Courtesy: DW)*

If all this doesn’t make you believe Pep is the GOAT of coaches, then why would an elite goalkeeper like David De Gea be unemployed at the time of writing this piece. For a false nine system or tiki taka system to work, the team’s goalkeeper must be comfortable with the ball at his feet since the keeper is for the most part, the initiator of possession.

*David De Gea of Manchester United (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)*

While Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag showed a lot of patience throughout last season with De Gea’s inefficient passing especially in losses to Brentford and Brighton early in the campaign, Sevilla later in the season, the breaking point came in the FA Cup loss to Man City.

David De Gea led the entire game in wayward passes with the former Atletico Madrid stopper playing an eye-gouging 18. That’s a goalkeeper registering more bad passes than outfield players who touch the ball more, to put things in perspective.

Despite keeping 190 clean sheets in 545 appearances, winning the 2022-2023 Golden Glove award and a handful of Man United Player of the Season awards, it still wasn’t enough to keep De Gea at Old Trafford beyond the campaign.

*Erik Ten Hag (Photo Courtesy: The Mirror)*

By snapping up Andre Onana from Inter Milan, Ten Hag not only reunites with the Cameroonian international he worked with for multiple years at Ajax but also his fine shot stopping skills and most importantly for Man United and Ten Hag, his ball playing ability. Onana’s traditional goalkeeping abilities are quite understated but are good enough to hang with the best of them.

*Andre Onana (Photo Courtesy: ManUtd.com)*

For instance, Onana registered a 77.8% save rating while De Gea registered a 73.5% rating last season. De Gea’s clean sheets mark stood at 43.1 compared to Onana’s 46.3 clean sheet mark and all these stats come on the back drop of Onana playing 41 games to De Gea’s 58 according to the BBC. When adjusted, Onana’s numbers should be at par with De Gea’s numbers if not better.

*Andre Onana (Photo by Richard Sellers/Allstar/Getty Images)*

Aside passing, saving penalties is another Achilles heel of De Gea and even his vaunted shot stopping skills aren’t as great as they look compared to the marks he set earlier in his career especially in the most turbulent post Sir Alex Ferguson years.

So aside getting an upgrade in Onana in passing and chance creation categories, De Gea’s biggest selling point-preventing goals- isn’t such a big sell after all and adds up to justify Ten Hag’s decision to move off him.

The Ten Hag era is really going to kick into gear in his second season at Old Trafford and it is likely to continue to be without a recognized striker.

*Harry Kane (Photo Courtesy: Team Talk)*

Getting Harry Kane is a very long shot this season just as getting Victor Osimhen while Kolo Muani and Rasmus Hojlund aren’t accomplished enough to entrust them with the enormous responsibility of leading the offensive line on the back of what is sure to be a huge financial layout from the Red Devils.

Seeing Man United play Wolves on August 14 with Anthony Martial as the team’s sole striker should be no surprise and while Martial looks the part, how he has applied himself in the role is questionable just as his ability to stay fit.

*Erling Haaland of Manchester fouls Andre Onana of Inter during the UEFA Champions League 2022/23 final (Photo by Marvin Ibo Guengoer – GES Sportfoto/Getty Images)*

This means Ten Hag has to roll out a Pep Guardiola system with wingers/ wing forwards in Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Amad Diallo and Antony leading the line. Guardiola used this system to win the 2021-2022 EPL title after Sergio Aguero missed significant time to injury.

Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Raheem Sterling led the line so well, Aguero had a hard time getting back into the starting lineup. It also marked recently departed Ilkay Gundogan’s best goal scoring campaign in the EPL (13). Ten Hag has Mason Mount and Bruno Fernandes ready to replicate this kind of production.

Having Onana’s ball playing skills and athleticism and awareness to play as a keeper-sweeper should help Man United inundate opposing team’s boxes to force teams to make mistakes.

*Anthony Martial of Manchester United (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)*

Had Man United rolled into the season with no recognizable striker and had De Gea in post, teams equipped with the right quality in personnel and tactics would easily exploit the gaps in between the lines created by having a goalkeeper with passing deficiency who lacks the athleticism and confidence to step up and be a third center back passing option.

*Erik Ten Hag the manager / head coach of Manchester United (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)*

Having this in play gives Man United the chance to create mismatches and overloads which is essential in building attacks.

Man City’s successful EPL title winning season with a striker less system was made possible by having a ball playing goalkeeper in Ederson in post; with Andre Onana, Man United has the right guy to do same.

Ten Hag and Guardiola worked together at Bayern Munich and having seen his former boss use the striker less system to win an EPL title, Ten Hag has all the tools now to beat season expectations of a third place finish.

Defeat to Man City testament that Arsenal and Arteta are not yet elite

If I have to think about it, then you shouldn’t be voted into the Hall is the paraphrased mantra of famous American Sports Broadcaster Skip Bayless whenever the topic of voting former players into the NFL Hall of Fame comes up.

When there is no thought processing involved in judging a player’s worthiness for the title Hall of Famer to be bestowed on him, then that player deserves to be voted into the famed Hall according to Skip.

While controversial, there are several examples that give credence to this argument considering former Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning got voted into the NFL Hall of Fame just 14 seconds after his name came up.

Ask the average football fan about Manchester City’s chances of winning its outstanding games to move to the English Premier League summit and there is very little hesitation.

On the other hand, many an Arsenal fan will ponder and stutter about the Gunners chances of winning the English Premier League title. Even for a solid stretch of time when Arsenal held an eight point lead over Man City, Gunners fans couldn’t say it with their chest that they were winning the league title.

If you have to think about winning a title even when all factors point in the affirmative, then you aren’t built strong enough to win it. Since football is a team sport, there are several variables to consider that makes one doubt a team’s title winning credentials. It could be player quality, injuries, a superior opponent (as Liverpool found out last season) or coaching.

Arsenal players react after conceding a third goal to Manchester City (Photo by Oli SCARFF via Getty Images)

Manchester United lost the 2011-2012 title to Man City on goal difference and in the final phase of the season, two Manchester teams faced off in a quasi-title decider that Man United lost to a Vincent Kompany stunning strike.

There is a legitimate case to make about Man United losing the title before falling to Man City after losing to Wigan and drawing 4-4 with Everton in the immediate prior games to the Man City matchup.

However, losing to Man City got the Red Devils to slip from first place to second place in the standings and the log stayed same to close out the season handing Man City the league title.

It almost feels inevitable Man City will win the title and Arsenal finish in second place but the latter won’t point to those drawn games against Liverpool, West Ham and Southampton as the stretch that hurt Arsenal. Losing 4-1 to Man City is the dagger to Arsenal’s league title chase but the loss at the Etihad wasn’t down to inferior player quality or bad luck or even injuries to an extent but coaching.

The main protagonist in that Etihad matchup was Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta and his setup for the Gunners showed as great as he has done with this North London side, there is still a layer above him. That layer has the likes of Man City’s Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti, Jose Mourinho, Zinedine Zidane and all your favourite coaches’ in there.

At a time in the season where his best player (Thomas Partey) is off colour and his best defender (William Saliba) is injured, Arteta still held on to his beloved 4-3-3 system despite its flaws and played it against the man who has maxed out the 4-3-3 system; little wonder he came up short. Rather than take a page from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s defense first, counter attack heavy system or do a playback of his defense laden 1-0 win over Man City in the 2019-2020 FA Cup semifinals, Arteta set his team to play front foot football and press high up the pitch.

With Partey playing well below his standard and Saliba injured, adopting a conservative approach was the best option for Arsenal to get a win.

Beyond that, Arteta maintained Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka as inverted wingers that hurt Arsenal’s chances of playing direct and fast when it gained possession. Matched up against the slower Manuel Akanji, Martinelli’s speed would have given Arsenal a big advantage down the right with Martinelli as an orthodox wing-forward.

However, playing Saka on the right gave Man City time to recover when not in possession since Saka is heavily left footed has to move infield to get comfy and even in instances when he works the ball with his weaker right foot, it takes a couple of seconds to set himself up and those minuscule seconds are just what Man City needs to regroup.

Playing the speedy Martinelli against the speedier Kyle Walker neutralized the Gunners down the left flank and Arsenal’s wing play got further damaged by Ben White’s inability to stretch the field via an overlapping run whenever Saka cut inside.

While Saliba’s absence compromises Arsenal’s chances of playing with a high line due to Saliba’s brilliant change of pace in recovery, the Frenchman aides the Gunners to play out from the back. The modern style of building attacks is sexy and has its upside but it isn’t for everyone and every team. Man City excels in this and is closely followed by Roberto Di Zerbi’s Brighton and Hove Albion in this regard.

Guardiola’s men successfully lured Arsenal into a very high press but proceeded to deliver concise passes to beat the press and set up Kevin De Bruyne’s first goal in the seventh minute. It was disappointing to see Arteta not get his men to fall for this trap and get them to play a mid-block by crowding Man City in the middle rather than go after them deep into City’s half and leave their back exposed.

Minutes later, Arsenal tried playing out from the back but City’s press was so organized and Arsenal, missing Saliba and using Rob Holding and Aaron Ramsdale in the passing sequence, ended up conceding a throw in deep in its half.

On the contrary, Man City’s biggest scoring opportunities all came when Arsenal pressed high and played with a high defensive line that gave City a lot of openings for De Bruyne and the impressive Erling Haaland to run into.

Playing deeper and surrendering possession sounds crude and outdated but it does have its benefits especially when matched against a Pep Guardiola team in a must win game. Aside providing counter attacking opportunities, playing deep against Man City reduces space behind the defensive line and indirectly limits Haaland’s effectiveness.

Erling Haaland of Manchester City celebrates after scoring the team’s fourth goal against Arsenal FC (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

Say Arsenal plays deep against Man City and grinds out a goalless draw to the 75^th or 80^th minute, Man City is bound to get anxious and commit even more men forward and play a higher defensive line even for its standards. Such a situation plays into the hands of Arsenal’s counter attacking fit players like Saka, Martinelli, Eddie Nketiah, Reiss Nelson and Gabriel Jesus.

Man City and Pep Guardiola didn’t even need to be at his absolute best to get past Arsenal and all but squash the Gunners title winning credentials.

They didn’t need to be at their best since a former disciple of Pep goofed in the biggest way on the biggest stage.

Arteta has got Arsenal to move past the disappointment of a Champions League miss last season to all but guaranteeing the team’s best finish in almost a decade but top level tests are a constant reminder Arsenal and its Manager still has a a couple of steps to surmount to become elite.

Arsenal Players under most pressure heading into the 2022-2023 Season

Arsenal Football Club isn’t part of the mock top four ranked teams in the 2022-2023 English Premier League Season with Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspurs and Chelsea making up the elite quartet. Even in the face of Arsenal spending north of $120 million in new signings this offseason, Arteta’s team is not widely expected to improve its fifth place finish in the immediate past season mainly due to fellow London rivals Chelsea and Tottenham’s similar top level act of purchases.

The Gunners brought in Oleksandr Zinchenko, Gabriel Jesus, Marquinhos, Fabio Veira and Matt Turner and are still in the market to get Leicester City’s Youri Tielemans. Arsenal bringing in a top Brazilian forward like Jesus was met by Spurs bringing in one of their own in Richarlison. Zinchenko was roped in earlier in the offseason but Chelsea has matched that by bringing in Marc Cucurella. Arsenal is under immense pressure to deliver the promise that has been baking for three seasons since Arteta replaced Unai Emery to undertake not a rebuild but some variant of a retooling of the playing unit.

The former Manchester City Assistant Head Coach has shown a ton of promise but with three seasons of EPL Head Coaching experience under his belt and a new three year deal, the time to deliver a Champions League spot and another domestic title is here. “Bad teams, no one leads. Average teams, coaches lead but Elite teams, players lead’ is the famous quote from American Football Coach PJ Fleck. For Arsenal to take the next step into the vaunted space of the Best League in the World, the Gunners group of top tier players needs to step up and the following three members of the playing unit are under the most pressure to do so:

Gabriel Jesus

Arsenal’s new front man has big shoes to fill considering the Gunners boast a history of legendary front men in Thierry Henry and Ian Wright for starters. While his time at Arsenal ended in bizarre fashion, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang did produce at a top level before his exit and this reflects in 68 goals and 16 assists in 128 Premier League games registered across three full seasons and two half seasons combined.

While Gabriel Jesus doesn’t have quite the extensive minutes as a starter in the EPL as Aubameyang due to a crowded frontline at previous club Manchester City, his production (58 goals and 29 assists in 159 games) needs an upgrade for Arsenal to thrive at the elite level. Aside from being on the hook to improve his stats, the 25 year old has a big curse to break after picking the “Number 9 Jersey”. Chelsea’s version of this curse is well chronicled through Fernando Torres, Mateja Kezman and Romelu Lukaku’s disappointing runs at Stamford Bridge.

However, flying under the radar is Arsenal’s version of the curse that has had strikers fail to live up to expectations with the jersey number on their back. Davor Suker, Lukas Podolski, Lucas Perez, Alexandre Lacazette, Eduardo and Julio Baptista have suited up for the Gunners wearing the jersey number and have produced average at best performances or flat out flop performances. Jesus is on the watch by picking up the jersey number after his move from Man City.

Thomas Partey

Heading into his third season at Arsenal and in the EPL, Partey has a simple mission to accomplish; deliver and deliver well. After his big money from Atletico Madrid in the 2020-2021 season to the London Club, the world is still waiting to see the best of Thomas Partey. In his first season, injuries, COVID 19 related issues and settling in process made for a frustrating debut campaign but made way for an improved string of performances in the following season.

By taking those positive steps, Partey is in prime position to play his way to the level that made him a must have talent for elite teams. As the second highest paid player on the team behind Gabriel Jesus, it is only fair the pair occupy the top spots in this list. That aside, reported off the field issues involving the Black Stars Deputy Captain have put a big target on Partey’s back ahead of the new season and consistent slip ups in production would worsen matters.

William Saliba

Arsenal’s Center Back pairing of Gabriel Magalhaes and Ben White proved to be a very good combo with room to grow into an unbreakable unit considering last season was the first time the two joined forces at the heart of Arteta’s defence. 21 year old Saliba was touted as “a can’t miss” talent from Saint-Etienne in the Ligue 1 Arsenal beat off tough competition from the likes of Totttenham to get him. However, Saliba is yet to consistently get a good run of games at the Emirates Stadium after spending a season and a half playing on loan at Nice and Marseille.

Thus far in his career, 6 foot 4 inch Saliba has proven he can produce in the French League (a league famed for its conveyor belt of talents) but this is the time to step up and play with the Big Boys. A failed season would be a huge indicator Saliba might just not be good enough to play in the big leagues for a win-now team hence the pressure on him to deliver this season.

Man United ought to keep Alex Telles at least for one more season

What many anticipated to be a quick fire blazing efficiency in transfer dealings this offseason to give new Manchester United Head Coach Erik Ten Hag the perfect situation to get his era underway has not played out as expected. For a team needing a lot of improvement from incumbent players and extensive time with the new Coach for new players to do way better than it did last season, Man United isn’t placing itself in good stead to hit on the latter.

League Champions Man City bolstered its attack by signing Erling Haaland from Dortmund

This situation is totally different from what Man U’s direct rivals have gone through this offseason with Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspurs landing big targets to beef their squads long before preseason activities commence. United gets its preseason underway later this week with a game against Liverpool but at the time of writing this piece, just has one new signing confirmed.

Liverpool have signed former Benfica Striker Darwin Nunez

Left Full Back who can operate as a Wingback Tyrell Malacia was signed from Feyenoord after a breakout season with the Dutch side; his performances in the UEFA Conference League aided his rise up the rankings. A Center Back preferably a Left Footed Center Back is needed as is an elite Defensive Midfielder to balance the team out.

Grabbing an ascending 22 year old for less than $20 million is a shrewd buy for United but Malacia joins a team that has three full backs on its roster. Alex Telles, Luke Shaw and Brandon Williams operate primarily as full backs on the left side but have played in advanced roles in wing backs capacity at various points in their careers.

In the caretaker years under former Head Coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Williams played as a Right full back. As a soon to be 30 year old year who has struggled to replicate the form he showed at his previous club FC Porto, Telles looks like the biggest candidate to get offloaded in the transfer window.

However, Williams reported injury issue has prevented him from joining Man United on the preseason in Asia giving Telles the chance to impress Ten Hag and earn the spot ahead of the younger full back. Also, Williams low wages and young age (21) makes him a more suitable target for several teams in need of a player with his traits on and off the field than an older and more expensive option like Telles. Brighton and Hove Albion is a credible option to get Williams to replace Marc Cucurella who is bound to leave for Manchester City.

That aside, Man United should keep Telles for the upcoming season because Ten Hag’s attack minded tactical flexibility is sure to yield a three man backline system at various points in the season. Such systems are likely to have Luke Shaw operate as the half back on the left side with either Malacia or Telles as the left wing back. Shaw has produced solid performances as a Left Half Back and having the experienced Telles as a backup option for Malacia is a fair deal.

For the first time in the history of modern day football, the FIFA World Cup will be held in November and December. This unique arrangement alters club football calendars all over the world heavily and in turn puts more pressure on players. For most European leagues, the first half of the upcoming season is bound to be packed with a lot of games prior to the Mundial while the post World Cup schedule in the 2022-2023 campaign would be less packed but hectic all the same.

Having competent backups is a must for a team like Man United that is set to compete on four fronts through the season especially considering Shaw is injury prone and is likely to feature in England’s team at the World Cup same as Malacia for Netherlands. On the flip side, Telles is on the outside looking in on the Brazilian squad for selection for the Qatar trip and could be the “freshest” left full back/wing back when EPL action returns from the World Cup break.

Man United is heavily linked to Defensive Midfielder/ Defender Martinez

After making 30 Premier League appearances for Man United, Telles has just six assists, no goals, three big chances created and has a 23% cross accuracy to his name according to EPL stats and that is awfully woeful for a player whose strength lies in the attacking phase of the game.

A quick look at Alex Telles’ record at his previous European stops suggests Man United is likely to get the best version of the Brazilian in his third season at the club. The initial phase of his run at Galatasaray and Porto wasn’t inspiring but his second stint was successful for both teams and suggests Man United should keep the veteran full back at least for one more season.

Jadon Sancho as Man United Wing Back Works

It sounds crazy but all the turmoil Manchester United is going through was expected since the team decided to sign Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of an elite defensive midfielder. Such a player is sure to come in the January transfer window in what is likely to be the team’s last bid of support to push Ole Gunnar Solskjaer over the line to finally get that elusive title on his CV.

With Man United already out of the Carabao Cup, any title win at the end of the season would be either the Champions League, FA Cup or English Premier League title. Against Manchester City and Liverpool, Man United looked and played well below its ability considering the depth of talented high profile players on the team.

Against Liverpool, the tactical shape was wrong but against Man City, Solskjaer got that bit right only to undo all the right things by picking the wrong personnel. The need for an elite defensive midfielder was again highlighted as Fred and Scott McTominay failed to impress and assert themselves in the game. Beyond a needed January signing, Man United needs to get the best out of a headline signing the team made in the immediate past transfer window.

After a two year transfer marathon, Man United finally got Jadon Sancho and looked forward to a frontline combo just like Borussia Dortmund’s with Sancho and Haaland combining effectively. With a third of the season played, it is safe to say, Sancho has been anything but a positive signing for Manchester United and his poor performances have affected his place in the English national team.

Gareth Southgate’s men could seal an automatic place at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar by mid November but Sancho won’t be a part of it since he didn’t make the list in the latest call up. Reports have indicated Solskjaer is willing to utilize Sancho as a wing back to create a spot for the former Man City player in the starting unit.

This wild suggestion is so unlike Ole-a man who does the conventional stuff but rarely goes for the unconventional because if he did go for the unconventional, he wouldn’t have had McTominay and Fred play beyond 20 minutes against City. But Sancho as a wing back in theory works because Diego Simeone found himself in a similar sticky situation with a winger just like Ole with Sancho.

Simeone couldn’t find a spot for Yannick Carrasco as a starter without sacrificing his “organization” game plan until Carrasco returned from China and Simeone went totally off script by playing him as a wing back. The Argentine Coach didn’t just play Carrasco as a wing back, he went over board by playing the right footed player as a left wingback and fast forward to 2021, the Belgian has played the best football of his career since leaving AS Monaco.

Like Carrasco, it sounds outlandish to push Sancho into a wing back role but the Englishman has all the qualities to make a fine wingback for a troubled team. For starters, Sancho is as speedy as they come with bags of tricks, a solid goal scoring count and an eye for a pass. He isn’t Kevin De Bruyne, Cesc Fabregas or Bruno Fernandes but Sancho registered 50 goals and 64 assists in 137 games for Dortmund. In 13 games at Manchester United, there have been no goals and no assists but a ton of frustration.

MADRID, SPAIN – OCTOBER 03: Yannick Carrasco of Atletico de Madrid runs with the ball during the La Liga Santander match between Atletico de Madrid and Villarreal CF at Estadio Wanda Metropolitano on October 03, 2020 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Diego Souto/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)

A key element that aids Sancho’s assist game is off the ball movement especially movement ahead of him with the ball at his feet. Ronaldo and Cavani and to an extent Bruno Fernandes offer a lot of movement in attack and Sancho shouldn’t have trouble finding them either via crosses into the box or quick passing sequences.

Playing Aaron Wan-Bissaka as a wing back is a poor move from Ole since the former is almost a non factor in attack but Wan-Bissaka’s defensive production keeps him in the team making room for Sancho very hard to come by. Man United Legend Paul Scholes ripped into Wan-Bissaka stating the latter is “useless with the ball”.

With Rafael Varane injured and Eric Bailly not trusted by Ole, it is time to play Wan-Bissaka on the right side of a back three with Sancho ahead of him and Diogo Dalot backing Sancho up. Such a system allows Solskjaer to have five defenders (because McTominay in reality plays as a defender) on the pitch but have an extra room for an attacker in Sancho to aid Man United’s high press or Ole’s specialty-the counter attack.

There are a lot of games to be played between the last post international break of 2021 and January 2022’s transfer window and until that time comes for United to splash the cash on an elite defensive midfielder, changes must be made if Ole wants to keep his job and deploying Sancho as a wingback is a major change that could unlock Man United’s great potential even with five defenders on the pitch at a time.

On a personal level, switching to the wingback position would mark an evolution to the 21 year old’s game, distinguish him from the rest of England’s speedy wingers and make him a permanent fixture in Southgate’s starting lineup at next year’s World Cup. The wing back role holds tremendous benefits to Jadon Sancho and Manchester United and it is an option worth exploring.

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Tag: Man City