Manchester United Update: Solskjaer Backs Under-Fire Star Amid 'Arrogant' Accusations

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer thinks Anthony Martial can bounce back despite being criticized over his poor form and speculations about his behavior.

After an impressive goalscoring season last year, Martial hasn’t been himself for Untied this season. But for Solskjaer, his star forward just needs more chances as his work rate is still there.

"Anthony last season showed he made big strides. Now it's time again to make even bigger strides, to develop more," Solskjaer said after United’s 1-0 win over West Brom on Sunday. "He scored 23 goals last season, which was a big return.”

"For me, it's him getting the chances, that's the big thing,” he added. “His conversion rate has always been good. Maybe at the moment, the keepers have made a few good saves against him, but that will change quickly.”

Solskjaer even blamed the frustration of not being able to convert goals in Martial’s decline. For the Norwegian, the French footballer remains a lethal scorer and it just so happened that the goalkeepers have done a great job stopping his latest attempts.

"Every season is a challenge and you cannot rest on your laurels as a right-back, a left-back or a center-forward at Man United, there are demands in every position,” the manager explained. “We want Anthony [Martial] to kick on.”

“With France against Portugal, when he showed his qualities as a center-forward, getting into positions, then [Rui] Patricio made a few good saves and that might have affected Anthony's confidence,” he further explained

It can be recalled that Martial was sent off for violent conduct in United's humiliating 6-1 defeat to Tottenham on October 4. As a result, the 24-year-old missed important games against Newcastle, Chelsea and Arsenal.

The said incident against Tottenham and the poor showing in the West Brom match have made Martial a hot subject in recent discussions in the English Premier League. Pundits are now accusing him of being “arrogant,” including ESPN’s Craig Burley.

“Anthony Martial thinks he’s a better player than he is. It’s as simple as that,” Burley said. “He’s a talent but can he carry a club of this size as a striker? You see flashes of it but when Edinson Cavani came on, he must have said to him, ‘you know you’re allowed to move and make runs?’ Because he doesn’t do enough.”

“On top of that his finishing wasn’t right,” he continued. “I think with him there’s an arrogance that it’s just going to happen, rather than make it happen, and that’s a problem.”