Zlatan Ibrahimovic has come under intense scrutiny after failing to score against Burnley this past weekend. The 35-year-old striker who joined Manchester United from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer after his contract with the French club expired, started well this season but his form has tailed off drastically.
The Swede had 12 shots on goal against Burnley but failed to score a single goal past Tom Heaton. This is Ibrahimovic’s worst run of form since 2007. The enigmatic striker has not scored for six Premier League games in a row which has raised eyebrows about the striker’s ability to still play top flight football at his age.
Many have suggested that he is too old to play in the Premier League and that Mourinho made a mistake by signing him.
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However, recently on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, Ibrahimovic got the backing of ex-Arsenal and Barcelona front man Thierry Henry. Henry, while speaking on MNF about his ex-teammates form, had this to say: "All the questions have been about Jose Mourinho and Wayne Rooney but now they are about Zlatan Ibrahimovic. It's the first time he's found himself in this situation in his career.”
"Sometimes it's okay if you don't score but your team still wins but he knows he's had great opportunities to score goals in important games,” Henry added.
Ibra has character and ability to deal with the slump, says Henry
When Jamie Carragher asked Henry whether this poor run of form must be affecting Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henry said, "Yes, it does affect you but I would still back him to deliver for United because of the player he was and he is still.”
"He's going to have to deal with it. I know he has the character and the ability to deal with it but it will be better for him if it happens sooner rather than later.It hasn't happened for him recently for United, but he needs to find a way to score goals because they need that,” Henry continued.
"Does it affect him? Yes, he's a human being but he has the right tools in his mind to recover from that."
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The United striker looks a shadow of his former self and lacks confidence in front goal, a case for Jose Mourinho to drop him for the upcoming Europa League fixture against Fenerbache.
However, Thierry Henry who played with Zlatan at Barcelona has backed the striker to overcome this goal drought and get back to scoring ways for United.
Henry said that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is still a world class striker and will recover from this momentary lull as he has the right attitude and mindset.
