A starter against Fenerbahce on Thursday night, Anthony Martial continued to show the mediocre form that has plagued him since the start of the Mourinho era.
Unable to impact the game as he wished, the forward just wasn’t his normal self, seemingly unwilling to run at players, one of the strongest and most effective parts of his game last season.
Whether this was tactical, or purely a confidence issue, is a question few can answer straight away, but Eric DI Meco, a pundit for SFR Sport in France, reckons it’s all down to attitude.
Speaking to L’Equipe, the former left-back said: “He has a similar problem to Benzema. He shows an ease that can be see as laziness. This attitude is an advantage when he’s doing great, because he seems unfazed by pressure, but when it goes against him, like now, it seems like he’s not trying.
“To be successful at the highest level, especially in the Premier League, you need to show commitment. That’s something he hasn’t done since the start of the season. He needs to show he’s willing to run through brick walls when he’s on the pitch.”
Despite this attitude ‘problem’, if you want to call it that, Di Meco explained that it was far too soon to worry about the player’s future at Manchester United, especially after the great first season he had under Louis Van Gaal.
Explaining the competition isn’t too ‘fierce’ for Martial’s position, the pundit says that although Martial is ‘well above’ Marcus Rashford, the Frenchman should inspire himself from the young English striker, who, despite ‘not having more qualities than him’ and ‘being more wasteful in his play’, ‘always gives his all’.
Few will disagree with that.
