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Horse Racing Talking Football with…. Mikael Silvestre: Man Utd are Winning, There’s No Need to Start Ronaldo & Maguire
We once again sat down with Mikael Silvestre to discuss all things Manchester United, Arsenal and the Premier League. Mikael was quizzed about United’s recent upturn in form and whether they’re better without Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo. The former Gunners defender also assessed Mikel Arteta’s time at Arsenal after 100 Premier League matches in charge.
Two wins from the last two for Manchester United, they have Leicester next. They’ve been impressive in these wins, do you think they are gonna make it three from three midweek?
I think they are in a good position to continue that run because they are getting momentum and confidence. On the other side, Leicester is not at its best at the moment, so they could make it three in a row which would be nice because Arsenal is setting a fast pace since the beginning. It could be an opportunity to stay in contact.
Obviously, they won both these matches without Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo in the starting lineup, do you think that’s going to be the way forward for Erik ten Hag at United?
You know in football form comes and goes, at the moment it’s all positives, attacking and defensively. A clean sheet against Southampton away from home, one goal, and they scored two against Liverpool. Unless you need to rotate because it’s the rhythm of games. You need to freshen up the legs and the players to be fully fit.
Maybe that could be the reason why there would be a change. Otherwise, in terms of performance, the team is winning so I don’t see any reason why we could see Harry and Cristiano back in the starting lineup.
They made a couple of new signings. Start with Casemiro, coming from Real Madrid. Do you think he would be a good signing for the club? And do you think it’s a bit of a panic buy considering the price tag and the length of the contract he’s on?
I don’t think he was the first choice. It’s a late one in the window and the price is also high. So you have to adjust if you can’t get your number one or number two – I don’t know which number Casemiro was on the list – but for sure he was on the list.
It’s a good signing nevertheless, even if it’s last minute, even though it’s a reaction to the market and because of Tchouameni, and maybe Camavinga, at Real Madrid. To have this player available for United and happy to come, and we know his mentality as a warrior, [he’s a] Brazil international.
He’s ticking a lot of boxes for the club despite being in his 30s. Right now, United needs to perform. If you can build for the future in the central position it’s good, but having the experience of Casemiro will be, once he masters the English language, very important.
He’s obviously very a different player to Frankie de Jong. Do you think he fits the team a little better or do you think Frankie de Jong would be a better signing?
No, yeah, absolutely, different players. But with Eriksen and Bruno in the squad, I think they can complement each other with what Casemiro, Fred, and McTominay are bringing to the team. It’s still very positive in my eyes.
So, I think it’s been officially announced today that you know, they are singing Antony from Ajax. What are your expectations from him, how do you see him fitting into the team and the Premier League?
It’s an exciting signing cause he’s got blistering pace and skills. Whenever defenders are going to face him it’s going to be a challenge because they don’t know him well, so I think he’s got the upper hand.
I just hope his transition and adaptation will be smoother than Jadon Sancho’s was. Only time will tell. We don’t know until we see him on the pitch and playing for the Reds.
Do you think that he could be a potential replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo (his position in the squad) if he looks to leave the club in the next couple of days?
The position of Antony, Martial, Marcus, they can all play number nine. Antony can play all the positions in the front 3, but I think he’s most effective as a winger. Now you have a lot of strikers that can play all the positions up front and he’s got that capacity as well.
Looking back to last weekend, United had that win over Liverpool. How important could that be? Will it be a turning point for Erik ten Hag in the long term at Old Trafford?
It’s always nice to start with a victory against Liverpool, as did I in 1999! It’s a big occasion. It’s like you’re playing a final in terms of expectations. Okay, it’s only three points at stake but at home with the fans, it’s giving him credit. I’m sure he’s got that the team was well equipped and could do that. But to actually do it and finish with three points and a nice victory must be pleasing.
He’s under a lot of pressure because he has to rebuild and close the gap with the top teams. So beating Liverpool, who over the last few years has been one of the top performers, it was good to be able to do it.
We had the Europa League draw last week. Manchester United alongside Real Sociedad, Sheriff, and Omonia, a team from Cyprus.
[Laughs] Yeah, it’s good, we work on our geography in the Europa League.
What do you think of the group? Do you expect United to breeze through it?
Yeah, they should finish on top. You know, because apart from Real Sociedad, who could be a challenging team, the other two teams can’t compete with United in theory. They should easily qualify.
Do you fancy their chances in the tournament? It’s their longest run without a trophy since the 1980s. Do you think they can win something this year? Could the Europa League be that trophy?
It could be that trophy. It’s a long campaign with a lot of travel. It’s not easy to play Thursday and Sunday. That’s the only downside of this competition. It’s a rhythm because you feel like you have no rest. You play Sunday after traveling. Monday again, everybody’s back at work. It always feels like it’s a never ending season when you are in that competition. But we’ll see, there is a break with the World Cup, so it’s going to be a strange one for sure.
It’s 100 Premier League games in charge for Mikael Arteta at Arsenal. How would you assess his time at the club so far?
There was a good start and then a bit of doubt about his capacity to revive Arsenal. Rebuilding and with the good support of the owners and the staff, they managed to make room for the talented academy players, Smith Rowe, Saka. And then they acquired very good players, especially now with Jesus coming in and with Saliba showing that he belongs there.
I think he’s done well. Credit to him for persevering with the type of football he wants to play. Sometimes when you’re under pressure you might go the so-called “easy way” and lose a little bit of your identity. But we can see that Arsenal style of play is back. When Arsenal was dominant, they played the same way. So now it’s all about getting there and being there at the end of the season to win.
Injuries started to creep in a little for Arsenal. They were without Zinchenko and Thomas Partey on the weekend. It looks like Mohamed Elneny is going to be out for a while. Do you think they are a bit short in the midfield ahead of the game against Villa this week?
I thought from the beginning that they were a bit short in some positions. It was Xhaka, Elneny, and Partey. It’s a little bit like United – I think they miss one piece in midfield. You’re not far from injuries, suspensions and it can be damaging. It’s an area they could do something, but we’ll see.
Kieran Tierney played on the weekend, his first start of the season at left-back. Do you think he should be starting left-back or do you think he should be cover for Zinchenko? Very different players, who do you think should get the nod?
I think Zinchenko going forward is linking with other players in a better way than Tierney does. They are different players, but I think they are close in terms of performance. It’s a good duo for Mikel to choose from.
To choose one maybe with the style of play and maybe the fact that sometimes they switch between. I would go with Zinchenko as a starter and Tierney as number two.
So, obviously a very good start to the season at Arsenal, but one player who has been a bit cold is Bukayo Saka. What do you think isn’t working out for him at the moment? Do you think he’ll improve moving on into the rest of the season?
I think he’s being watched more carefully now because of his progress and what he’s done last season for Arsenal for England. I think players are giving less space and it’s probably difficult for him. I think he will grow during the season and I think his contribution will come, it’s just a tough time.
Arsenal are reportedly in contract talks with Saka, William Saliba and Gabriel Martinelli and I think all three players’ current deals expire at the end of next season. How important is it for Arsenal to get those deals done?
Extremely important. Arsenal has been losing players on free transfers too many times before. Now that the team is performing and you can see the progression. It’s a young group of players so they need to tie them up for much longer because if you go on the market and try to buy these players now it’s going cost you a lot of money.
It’s hard to manage the wage bill and the balance to keep your best players but you need to set a bar where everybody feels comfortable. The club has to be the final decision maker about those deals. They need to do that as soon as possible and if it can be before the World Cup, that would be the best scenario because you never know what could happen.
One player who has left Arsenal is Nicolas Pepe, record singing for the club of course. He’s gone on loan to Nice, what do you think of this move?
It was needed for Nicolas to get out and get some game time. He wasn’t getting enough minutes and you could see his confidence was getting low.
Nice is ambitious in Ligue 1. Lucien Favre has a reputation, he likes his team to play well going forward. I think going back to Ligue 1 will be good for him. He can go back to his best and try to discover his form again.
So, Pepe leaving creates a bit of a gap I think at for Arsenal. There’s not so much cover for Saka and we already touched upon the midfield. What position do you think is the weakest for Arsenal with the Europa League and cup competitions coming up?
If they could add one more winger and one midfield player, it would be ideal. Sometimes you have to shift players from one position to another for a few games. You have to deal with it. You can’t have a perfect scenario.
It also gives the chance to the fringe players and maybe the academy players to get their shot. It’s better to sign the right players or sign nobody. I think Arsenal is in that position. They are leading the table and they don’t need to panic in the transfer market.
William Saliba has had a very good start to the season. What do you think are his chances of making France’s World Cup squad this winter?
I think pretty big. He made good progress at Marseille last season and now is showing his full ability. He might not be a starter for France, but I would expect him to make the cut and to be in Qatar.
Moving to the Premier League. We’re a few weeks in, have your predictions for the top 4 changed at all based on what we’ve seen in the first five matches, four matches?
I think it’s just now we can count more on Arsenal to disrupt the top 4, to break into it. So the question is who is going to drop from there, is it Liverpool or Chelsea?
Predictions are going to change again. It’s good because it’s not settled. You see Chelsea investing in the squad. United too. Arsenal did their business early so nobody is giving up. It’s very exciting for this season.
It’s going to be very competitive.
Yeah.
Looking at the Premier League as a whole, which teams have surprised you in the opening weeks for better and for worse?
Arsenal is the team that has impressed me the most.
I saw them play a friendly game against Chelsea when they won 4-0. Chelsea wasn’t present that day. They were very poor collectively and individually. You could sense something but you know sometimes preseason games don’t reflect reality. Since then, it’s been going well for them except for the start when they conceded first against Fulham. But they recovered and got control of the game and chances and it was just a matter of time before they could score the first and second goals.
They’re a team that looks like they have been working, like they’ve had no break. They finished the season and carried on. I wonder if they went on holiday sometimes because the progression has been constant. They are for me the most impressive so far.
