Dion Dublin blasts Anthony Martial after an abject display in Carabao defeat over West Ham saying the forward’s “body language is horrible to watch” and “he doesn’t want to work hard to be United’s No.9”.
Manchester United striker Anthony Martial ‘has not done anything since joining the club six years ago, according to former player Dion Dublin.
The 25-year-old has not scored for the Red Devils since bagging a brace during their 9-0 victory over Southampton back in February – seven months ago.
He missed the end of last season with a ruptured knee ligament but after United’s 1-0 Carabao Cup defeat to West Ham, he has now failed to score in the last 14 games that he has participated in.
Dublin who played for the Red Devils from 1992 to 1994, said after the game: ‘We need to see more from Anthony Martial, we have said it many times before but he is not helping his cause”.
‘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”.
‘His body language is horrible to watch, he doesn’t want to run around and work hard to be Manchester United’s No 9”.
‘There were too many parts in the game where Manchester United did not do enough, the final third was poor.’
Martial had a disappointing performance during United’s third round exit to West Ham.
Manuel Lanzini scored the winner for the Hammers early on as United failed to score despite having 27 shots on goal – although many were from outside the box.
There were big hopes for the Frenchman after his £36m move from Monaco in the summer of 2015, especially after he scored a goal on his debut against rivals Liverpool.
However, he has failed to live up to the potential fans saw in him when he initially joined, despite scoring 78 goals in 263 appearances.
Last season was arguably his toughest at Old Trafford to date, scoring just seven goals in 36 appearances across all competitions before he missed the last three months of the season.
That is compared to the year before where he bagged 23 goals in 48 games – his best campaign to date.
Fans have also begun to lose patience with their No 9, with one Twitter user commenting: ‘Anthony Martial’s career is finished at Man United if we’re being honest.’
Another United fan account tweeted: ‘If 36-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo could trackback, defend, and run up and down the pitch, what excuse does 25-year-old Anthony Martial have?
‘Slow, uninterested, and static upfront. Makes it hard to defend him.’
United fan Ryan posted: ‘Genuinely think I put more effort making my cup of tea this morning than Anthony Martial did tonight. This is Man United’s #9.’
With the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Mason Greenwood, Edinson Cavani and Marcus Rashford at the club, this season could be his toughest to date in terms of getting regular game time.
When quizzed on Martial’s disappointing performance, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but said the forward ‘will get his chances’ if he keeps working.
‘I don’t think it is right to go into individual performances,’ Solskjaer told a press conference.
‘Anto was the same as the rest of the team. We played some nice football but lacked the cutting edge and he knows what we want from him.
‘He keeps on working and he’ll get his chances.’