Scholes Claims Martial Has Fooled Many
Paul Scholes changed his tone against Anthony Martial by labeling the Manchester United striker had “blinded” the fans’ eyes for his prowess in scoring.
Martial enjoyed his best season in 2019-20 by setting aside his early injury problems by scoring 23 goals in 48 appearances.
The French international was named Best Player last season after reciprocating the trust given by Red Devils manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer while leading the attacking machinery to help Manchester United occupy the English Premier League (EPL) as well as three advances to the semi-finals.
Last August, Scholes said Martial had finally succeeded in convincing him that he was capable of navigating a midfield attack by telling BT Sport: “I thought, ‘Does he look like a number nine player or is he a winger?’
“He eventually transformed himself into the number nine player in every game I watched, the longer it became very interesting to watch. When he approached the opposing players and rushed towards them, I felt he could not be restrained.”
However, due to Martial drought goals or scoring goals throughout the season, the former United star feels “almost deceived” by the striker’s performance in the past.
“This striker is a very talented player. We all know that,” he told Astro Stadium.
“The problem with the United striker, none of them is a true central striker.
“Martial almost made us think that he was one of the best options at the end of last season as he scored so many goals and was good enough.
“He started the season so bad enough that it made me think he was not really good. He (our) eyes have been blurred. That’s why I keep saying we need a reliable number nine player.”
Since Scholes’ positive comments two months ago, Martial has only played for 207 minutes in league competition.
Despite failing to score any goals, he also failed to seize the opportunity when only making two attempts, thus adding to the problem for United.
Solskjaer’s side fell to Crystal Palace on the opening day of the league and hoped for luck in the action at Brighton & Hove Albion followed by a 1-6 thrashing by Tottenham at home.
Martial was ruled out of the match which he said would be missed for a visit to Newcastle United, early this Sunday morning.
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