KEY POINTS

  • The Manchester United boss has made it clear that Anthony Martial is going nowhere
  • Martial was seen as the weakest link in their loss to West Ham United
  • The maligned winger has to prove to the fans that he still has value to the club 

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer came to the defense of heavily-criticized forward Anthony Martial.

The Norwegian Solskjaer opted to give Martial the full 90 minutes in their loss to West Ham United in the Carabao Cup, and fans were very much displeased with the latter’s performance.

However, Solskjaer made it very clear that Martial was not the only person to blame for their disastrous outing.

“I don't think it's right to go into individual performances. Anto (Anthony Martial) was the same as the rest of the team,” Solskjaer said.

"We lacked some of that cutting edge and he knows what we want from him. He'll keep working and get his chances."

But for many, Martial’s time at Old Trafford should be coming to an end soon.

“We need to see more from Anthony Martial, we have said it many times before but he is not helping his cause," former player-turned-analyst Dion Dublin told BBC Sport.

“I want to see him sweating and putting the ball in the back of the net. He has not done enough since being at United, you see flashes and think it is the start then he doesn't do anything," he added.

"His body language is horrible to watch, he doesn't want to run around and work hard to be Manchester United's No, 9."

Martial drew the ire of Manchester United fans due to his lack of effort against what should have been a beatable West Ham United team.

As a forward, Martial was expected to be aggressive in taking his chances in the box.

Teammates Jadon Sancho, Jesse Lingard and even Diogo Dalot, who made his first appearance this season, tried crossing the ball into the box for a great shot on goal, but Martial lagged behind.

Fans did not expect to see Martial play the full 90 minutes after a disastrous run in the game, but Solskjaer decided to let Martial prove himself to the fans at home.

The missed opportunities came back to bite Manchester United as they are now out of Carabao Cup contention.

The Old Trafford side will now have to regroup at home as they welcome Aston Villa on Saturday, September 25 for an English Premier League fixture.

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