Anthony Martial’s Symbol of Manchester United’s Downfall

Anthony Martial is going to leave Manchester United at the end of the current season. He was signed by the Red Devils in 2015 and is going to end his nine-year-long association with the club soon. The club is going through a crisis at the moment after finishing eighth place in the Premier League table this season, their worst finish in the Premier League era.

Martial Has Had an Underwhelming Stint With Manchester United

Martial was signed by Louis van Gaal, and since then, has also played under José Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Ralf Rangnick and Erik ten Hag. However, the French forward’s return of 90 goals in 317 matches for Manchester United is not something one would associate with a top striker. In fact, those are mediocre numbers, as has been Martial’s stint at Old Trafford on a consistent basis, barring the 2019/20 season that saw him score 23 goals in 48 matches. The fact that he has failed to reach 20 goals in any of the other seasons shows that he has had a pretty ordinary stay with the club. In comparison, Marcus Rashford, who has been with the club since 2015, too, has scored 131 goals in 400 matches. It means that Rashford’s scoring rate (0.325) is marginally better than Martial’s (0.28). However, Rashford has had more highs and won more matches for his club than the Frenchman has. Just for the sake of comparison, the scoring rate of Wayne Rooney was almost 0.47 for Manchester United despite the former having played as a midfielder for them in a number of matches.

Martial Has Played Mostly in a 4-2-3-1

Martial has primarily played as either a left-winger or a centre-forward in a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3 during his stint at United. However, his relative inability to combine with the centre-forward while playing on the left has made the team suffer at times. Moreover, he is not as good a dribbler as Rashford, neither is his shot as powerful. However, the 28-year-old Frenchman is probably a better finisher inside the penalty box. Still, Englishman is probably a more well-rounded player of the two. Manchester United’s problem of not having a true number 9 has been a problem since Rooney vacated that position. The likes of Rashford and Martial have flattered to deceive on most occasions during the past decade. Romelu Lukaku has also played there with very disappointing results. Hence, the Frenchman’s spell with Manchester United has largely coincided with a downfall in the club’s fortunes. Martial has only won an FA Cup, a Europa League and a EFL Cup title during his stint with the club. His performance for the club is a fair indicator of why it has been so.

His Destination is Yet to be Decided

Martial’s destination or his next club has not been decided yet. However, at this stage of his career, he is unlikely to get a big club. He also had a stint with Sevilla on loan and going back to La Liga again.

It remains to be seen whether the Frenchman can revive his career to some extent at his new club. Spending almost a decade at a club as big as United is a good achievement, but he would have certainly hoped for a better return in terms of performance. It has been a failure on the parts of various managers of the Red Devils over the years too, as far as bringing out the best from him is concerned.