19 hours Ago By Vatsal Gupta
A quiet spell at Manchester United after the draw against Arsenal was upended after Sir Jim Ratcliffe “faced the music”, in his own words, with multiple interviews. From talking about a new Man Utd stadium, to stressing United’s past mistakes, it was a brutally honest view into the state of affairs at Old Trafford. In many ways, the interviews made it clear why they appointed Ruben Amorim, as the common theme of unfiltered honesty flows through both.
In that same vein, Sir Jim Ratcliffe also namechecked one player who was “knocked about” vs Arsenal, but he predicted a better future for him. Photo by Ed Sykes/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty ImagesSir Jim Ratcliffe’s on ‘knocked about’ player vs ArsenalManchester United exceeded expectations in their draw against Arsenal, with Mikel Arteta’s men counting themselves lucky to come away with a point. Bruno Fernandes was the reliable contributor as always, while Ayden Heaven shone in 45 minutes, but it was not a particularly good night for one player.
Ratcliffe caught on to that fact as well, naming Joshua Zirkzee as someone who was “knocked about” by Arsenal, with the difference in physicality from Serie A to the Premier League, an eye-opener. He said [via The Overlap]: “You could see Zirkzee get knocked about in the first half against Arsenal. He wouldn’t be used to that playing in the Italian league.
So it takes time for players to settle.”Ineos’ hit rate on Man Utd transfers is encouragingSir Jim Ratcliffe was at pains to stress that the mess they inherited at United is so big that it will take some time for them to assemble a team they’re fully accountable for. Zirkzee stands as one player they are accountable for and even though the starting stages for him at the club weren’t positive, he’s shown improvement.
That, combined with players like Noussair Mazraoui impressing, Matthijs de Ligt improving, Ayden Heaven exceeding expectations, and Leny Yoro-Manuel Ugarte becoming important, provides encouragement. Recruitment has been the bane of many issues at United, so getting that right immediately was Ineos’ prime motive, and they seem to have done that. It should only get even better from here now that their own managerial appointment is in place and the executive team is also in place.
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