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Anthony Martial’s impeccable campaign this season has sharpened his position as a proper no.9. The French striker was returned his favored spot by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at the start of the campaign, an alteration from the wing role that he was entrusted with under previous regimes.As such, his current standing has completely removed the spectre of Romelu Lukaku from Manchester United and there is great merit in seeing how he has replaced the Belgian.
Primarily, one needs to observe the function that the two forwards are expected to play in the lineup- that of scoring goals. In that regard, Lukaku was already doing a decent job and continues to do so at Inter Milan.
However, the key difference is how the two players fit in Solskjaer’s United. The Norwegian prefers an attacking style of play reminiscent of Sir Alex Ferguson’s kitchen-sink style.
In this ethos, each player is expected to be dynamic in their movement and the forward lineup is a cogent unit with each member capable of posing a goal-scoring threat.
Lukaku was quite inadequate at fulfilling this role as he is more of a natural finisher who needs the ball to be fed to him in order to pose a goal-scoring threat. His movement is minimal and a creative ethos is heavily lacking.
While he unquestionably has his merits in areas like moving behind defender’s during counter-attacks and in games against low-block defense, the Belgian’s lack of movement was a telling concern.
This is where Anthony Martial has made the biggest difference in replacing him as the no.9. Coming from a left-forward role, the Frenchman is naturally mobile and has a tendency to cut in.
Likewise, his hold-up play is also excellent as he tends to attract the attention of the defenders, bringing wingers and central attacking midfielders into the play, creating a total football ethos. This translates especially well if aided by the creative goal-scoring prowess of a Paul Pogba or Bruno Fernandes.
Speaking of Fernandes, Anthony Martial is the best possible no.9 for a player of his creative presence. The Portuguese midfielder is more adept at identifying danger areas and slotting the long balls into it, which is supposed to be taken advantage of by the forward through a well-timed run.
Anthony Martial is already fluid in this role and the Fernandes partnership is one that is bound to flourish further in the games to come.
This leaves us with the most important partnership with Anthony Martial- that with Marcus Rashford. It is certainly ironic that despite the shared years at the club, the two players were mostly used interchangeably and have only recently begun to share the pitch more often.
The English forward has had an exceptional season and having Martial alongside him up-front has played a large catalyzing influence in him scoring goals. Likewise, the wing play of the two comes intro fray as they can easily interchange their positions and come inside from a wide role to score.
This makes marking the duo a nightmare for the opposition as was displayed on a number of occasions before Rashford got injured earlier this campaign.
Anthony Martial thrives with Marcus Rashford beside him
Further still, as the two assists from Rashford for Anthony Martial during the Sheffield United hat-trick has illustrated, it is a proper give-and-take partnership that can easily flourish in the years to come.
The goals from that game also illustrate another crucial point which is Anthony Martial’s learning curve of scoring as a true no.9. It appears that the Frenchman is finally getting the hang of scoring a poacher’s goal from close range, a feat that Lukaku was exceptionally good at.
Solskjaer is clearly happy with this as he indicated after that very game, rating Martial’s close tap-ins for the first and second goals to be better than erstwhile picturesque chipped shots.
However, all of this should be taken with a pinch of important patience. Lukaku is by no means a poor striker and what penned his downfall from Solskjaer’s side is the lack of consistency, with the goal droughts and minimum touches unbecoming of a United striker.
Anthony Martial has had his issues with consistency as well. What this season of nearly 20 goals scored must underscore in the youngster is the need to properly cement his place upfront and be a regular goal-scoring threat.
