Manchester United star Jadon Sancho has hit back at Erik ten Hag after the Dutch manager suggested that the forward did not feature against Arsenal due to his poor attitude in training.
The Red Devils took on the Gunner at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday (3 September) in a huge Premier League clash. It was a frustrating afternoon for United as they slumped to a 3-1 defeat in North London.
Manchester United took the lead in the 27th minute after an impressive goal from Marcus Rashford. However, Arsenal did not take long to equalise after some good build-up play to set up Martin Odegaard.
In the fixture, VAR played a massive role as the decision to award the Gunners a penalty was first overruled. Subsequently, in the final minutes of normal time, Man Utd thought they’d taken the lead but Alejandro Garnacho’s goal was ruled out for offside.
However, in stoppage time, Declan Rice then made it 2-1 to Arsenal before Gabriel Jesus put the final dagger in the Red Devils in the 101st minute.
A glaring omission from United’s squad for the match was Sancho. Ten Hag revealed that the England international was not selected because he did not put in the required effort in training. However, taking to Twitter shortly after the game, the 23-year-old hit back at the Dutch manager’s claims.
“Please don’t believe everything you read. I will not allow people saying things that is completely untrue, I have conducted myself in training very well this week. I believe there are other reasons for this matter which I won’t go into, I’ve been a scapegoat for a long time which isn’t fair!”
Sancho has been poor at United
United signed Sancho in the summer of 2021 from Borussia Dortmund. In Germany, the Manchester City academy star developed into one of the best young attackers in Europe which earned him a big-money move to Old Trafford.
However, he’s been unable to fulfil his potential so far at the Red Devils. In Manchester, Sancho has struggled to find his feet over the last few seasons. Ten Hag has given the English national a number of opportunities in recent months. But the forward has failed to make much of an impact.
United spent big money to acquire Sancho’s services. Therefore, it is understandable that the Red Devils have stuck with him for so long. But it will be interesting to see how the winger’s statement will affect his relationship with Ten Hag going forward.
